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5.8
Toolbar
Since MPLAB has more than one component, each
of the components has its own toolbar. However, there is a toolbar which
is some sort of a combination of all toolbars, and can serve as a common
toolbar. This toolbar is enough for our needs, and it will be explained in
more detail. In the picture below, we can see a toolbar we need with a
brief explanation of each icon. Because of the limited format of this
book, this toolbar is shown as a hanging toolbar. Generally, it is placed
horizontally below the menu, over the entire length of the screen.
Universal toolbar with brief
explanations of the icons
Meaning of icons in a toolbar
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If the current toolbar for
some reason does not respond to a click on this icon, the next one
appears. Changeover is repeated so that on the fourth click we will
get the same toolbar again.
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Icon for opening a project.
Project opened in this way contains all screen adjustments and
adjustment of all elements which are crucial to the current project.
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Icon for saving a project.
Saved project will keep all window adjustments and all parameter
adjustments. When we read in a program again, everything will return
to the screen as when the project was closed.
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Searching for a part of the
program, or words is operation we need when searching through bigger
assembler or other programs. By using it, we can find quickly a part
of the program, label, macro, etc.
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Cutting a part of the text
out. This one and the following three icons are standard in all
programs that deal with processing textual files. Since each program
is actually a common text file, those operations are useful.
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Copying a part of the text.
There is a difference between this one and the previous icon. With
cut operation, when you cut a part of the text out, it disappears
from the screen (and from a program) and is copied afterwards. But
with copy operation, text is copied but not cut out, and it remains
on the screen.
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When a part of the text is
copied, it is moved into a part of the memory which serves for
transferring data in Windows operational system. Later, by clicking
on this icon it can be 'pasted' in the text where the cursor is.
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Saving a program (assembler
file).
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Start program execution in
full speed. It is recognized by appearance of a yellow status line.
With this kind of program execution, simulator executes a program in
full speed until it is interrupted by clicking on the red traffic
light icon.
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Stop program execution in
full speed. After clicking on this icon, status line becomes gray
again, and program execution can continue step by step.
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Step by step program
execution. By clicking on this icon, we begin executing an
instruction from the next program line in relation to the current
one.
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Skip requirements. Since
simulator is still a software simulation of real work, it is
possible to simply skip over some program requirements. This is
especially handy with instructions which are waiting for some
requirement following which program can proceed further. That part
of the program which follows a requirement is the part that's
interesting to a programmer.
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Resetting a microcontroller.
By clicking on this icon, program counter is positioned at the
beginning of a program and simulation can start.
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By clicking on this icon we
get a window with a program, but this time as program memory where
we can see which instruction is found at which address.
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With the help of this icon
we get a window with the contents of RAM memory of a
microcontroller.
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By clicking on this icon,
window with SFR register appears. Since SFR registers are used in
every program, it is recommended that in simulator this window is
always active.
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If a program contains
variables whose values we need to keep track of (ex. counter), a
window needs to be added for each of them, which is done by using
this icon.
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When certain errors in a
program are noticed during simulation process, program has to be
corrected. Since simulator uses HEX file as its input, so we need to
translate a program again so that all changes would be transferred
to a simulator. By clicking on this icon, entire project is
translated again, and we get the newest version of HEX file for the
simulator.
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