Tutorial : How to create a new project ?
This tutorial shows how to create a new project in the Arduino Designer.
To create a new project, click on the first button in the tool bar and select the New project menu or if no project is already open click on the Arduino toolbar button.
A new dialog opens. Enter a name for your project and set the location if necessary, then click on Finish.
The Dashboard opens automatically. The dashboard helps the user by indicating what is the next step in the process development. There are three steps to follow :
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Describe the hardware platform and the connected hardware modules : the user must define the hardware platform he is using and the different sensors and actuators he connects to the Arduino. This is done by defining platforms, modules and wires thanks to the tools available in the palette of the Hardware representation. We support by default the Arduino Uno platform and we provide the hardware components included in the DFRobot Ardublock kit which contains: ambient light sensor, infrared sensor, sound sensor, push buttons, rotation sensor, servo motors and we also support a fan.
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Describe the software : Then the user must write the sketch (in Arduino speak, a program) that describes the behavior that the hardware platform should have. This description is done using a simple graphical block-based language. With this graphical language it is possible to create instructions like while, repeat or if instructions, which introduces kids to the basic control structures of most programming languages. It is also possible to use functions like delay, to reference hardware modules, to create variables and constants and use some mathematical operators. The language remains close to the text-based Arduino language, providing a direct connection between the graphical representation and the textual representation of a program.
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Upload the software to the target : And finally, to run the software on the hardware platform, the user simply has to upload the sketch to the target thanks to the upload button available in the toolbar or from the dashboard.
From the Dashboard, click on the bug to describe the hardware.
A new kind of diagram opens to describe the hardware that would be connected to the Arduino board.
First, select the Platform.
Then select the Modules.
And finally connect the Modules to the Platform pins.
When the Hardware definition is valid (since one module is connected to the platofrm), a new icon is available from the Dashboard. Click on the computer to create a new sketch.
Create a sketch by using the tool available from the palette.
The sketch is valid when the loop is closed.
When the sketch is valid, a new icon is available on the Dashboard, double click to Upload the code to the Arduino board.
It is possible to navigate between the different representations from the Dashboard or from the toolbar buttons :
