Get Started With Microchip Graphics Suite (MGS) on the SAMA7D65 MPU using MPLAB® Extensions for VS Code®
Introduction
Welcome to the getting started user guide for Microchip Graphics Suite (MGS) on the SAMA7D65 Microprocessor Unit (MPU) using MPLAB® Tools for VS Code®.
This guide is designed to help developers, engineers, and enthusiasts quickly set up and begin developing graphical applications on the SAMA7D65MPU platform. Leveraging the power of Microchip’s MPLAB development ecosystem and the flexibility of VS Code, you will learn how to configure your development environment, import and build MGS projects, and deploy your first graphical application to the SAMA7D65.
Install VS Code and MPLAB Extensions
Refer to the Learn MPLAB® Extensions for Microsoft® Visual Studio® Code (VS Code®) page for the steps on how to install VS Code and MPLAB Extensions.
Download the MGS Application Examples for the SAMA7D65
The MGS application examples for the SAMA7D65can be downloaded from GitHub®. For more information about the SAMA7D65 Development Kits and application examples, check the SAMA7D65 User Guide for Microchip Graphics Suite (MGS) Harmony page.
Build and Run the MGS Quickstart Application
The MGS Quickstart application provides a good starting point for Graphical User Interface (GUI) development with MGS Harmony Graphics. To boot from an SD card, you will need a microSD™ card that is formatted with FAT or FAT32.
To get started, build and program the appropriate MGS Quickstart project based on the display module being used and the preferred color mode by following these steps.
Launch VS Code.
In VS Code, click File > Open Folder.
Navigate to the mgsh_sama7d65_vs/mgs_quickstart directory and open the project folder that matches your SAMA7D65 development kit.
- Refer to the SAMA7D65 User Guide for Microchip Graphics Suite (MGS) Harmony to identify which project matches your development kit.
- Example: To build the MGS application example for the SAM9X75 Curiosity and AC69T88A - 5" WVGA LVDS display w/ maXTouch®, open the mgs_qs_sama7d65_curiosity_ac69t88a folder.
Click Select Folder to open.
MGS Application example folder for the SAMA7D65 Curiosity and AC69T88A - 5" WVGA LVDS Display w/ maXTouch
To build the MGS Quickstart application, select and run MPLAB CMake: Clean Build from the VS Code command palette.
Once the build completes, the harmony.bin application binary is created as a post-build step and can be found in the out/<project> directory. Copy the harmony.bin file to the microSD card.
Copy the bootstrap binary (boot.bin) to the micro SD card. The boot.bin is found in the binaries/ folder.
The micro SD card should have boot.bin and harmony.bin in it.
Insert the microSD card into the SD Boot slot on the SAM9X75 Curiosity and power up the board.
The display will show the MGS Quickstart screen.
Tapping the Quick Start button will switch to a second screen.
Next Steps
Now that you can build an MGS Quickstart application for the SAMA7D65, you can start designing your embedded User Interface (UI) using MGS and MGS Composer. Refer to the Using MGS With MPLAB Extensions for Microsoft VS Code guide to get started.