Release Notes for MPLAB^® IDE v8.02+

Includes MPLAB Editor v4.01+

February 8, 2008

Table of Contents

1      PC Operating System Support List

2      Reference Documents

3      Minimum Required Configuration

4      Installing/Uninstalling MPLAB IDE

5      Network Administrator Information

6      Multiple Installations of MPLAB IDE v7.xx and later

7      What's New in v8.02

8      Repairs and Enhancements Made in v8.01

9      Debug/Release Selection

10     Known Problems

11     Plug-in Tools

12     Third Party Support

13     Customer Support

14     License Agreements

1         PC Operating System Support List

This tool has been tested under the following PC operating systems:

Windows^® 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2, and Windows Vista™ (32-Bit)* OSs

* Only initial testing has been performed on the 32-bit version for this release. The 64-bit version is not supported at this time.

Tools associated with MPLAB IDE may not support the same operating systems as MPLAB IDE. See individual tool readme's for more information.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Beginning with MPLAB IDE v7.51, MPLAB IDE and its related components (except those listed below) will no longer be tested on Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows NT^® OSs. MPLAB IDE and its related components may continue to work under these operating systems, but their operation will no longer be verified through testing.

·         Microchip will continue to support Visual ProCMD and PM3CMD on Windows 98.

2         Reference Documents

The following documents may be found on our website or MPLAB IDE CD-ROM:

·         MPLAB IDE Quick Start (DS51281)

·         MPLAB IDE User's Guide (DS51519)

On-line help (Help>Topics) is also available for this tool:

·         System>MPLAB IDE

·         System>Editor

The default locations of the Help files are:

·         C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB IDE\Core\hlpMPLABIDE.chm

·         C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB IDE\Core\hlpMPLABEditor.chm

3         Minimum Required Configuration

The following minimum configuration is required to run MPLAB IDE:

·         PC-compatible Pentium^®-class system

·         Supported Windows operating system (see section 1)

·         128 MB memory (512 MB recommended)

·         400 MB of hard disk space

·         Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater for installation and on-line Help

4         Installing/Uninstalling MPLAB IDE

4.1        Installing MPLAB IDE - Microchip Website

For some Windows OS’s, you will need administrative access in order to install software on your PC.

·         Go to the Microchip website using the IE browser. Locate the MPLAB IDE page and click the software link to launch the installation wizard.

·         In the wizard, select either a complete (all tools) or custom installation. Follow other wizard steps to complete the installation setup and then begin the download installation of MPLAB Tools.

·         Error 1311: If you receive this error while attempting to install, go to your Windows Temporary Internet files folder, delete all files, and then attempt to download again. For example, in Microsoft Internet Explorer, select Tools>Internet Options. On the General tab, under "Temporary Internet files", click "Delete Files".

·         For general installation program problems, consult http://consumer.installshield.com/

NOTE: Microsoft recommends reinstalling the service pack after ANY software or device driver is installed on an NT system. Refer to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;196269 for additional information.

4.2        Changing/Uninstalling MPLAB IDE - Microchip Website

·         Select Start>Programs>Microchip>MPLAB IDE vx.xx>Setup MPLAB Tools.

·         When the dialog box appears, select either "Modify", "Repair" or "Remove" and then click "Next".
NOTE: You will need to be connected to the internet if you modify or repair MPLAB IDE.

·         After an uninstall (Remove), the installation directory can be deleted.

4.3        Installing MPLAB IDE - CD-ROM

For some Windows OS’s, you will need administrative access in order to install software on your PC.

·         Place the CD-ROM into the drive. Follow the MPLAB Tools dialogs to set up and then install MPLAB IDE. If no MPLAB Tools install wizard appears, use Windows Explorer to find and execute this file by double-clicking on the executable file setup.exe.

·         For general installation program problems, consult http://consumer.installshield.com/.

NOTE: Microsoft recommends reinstalling the service pack after ANY software or device driver is installed on an NT system. Refer to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;196269 for additional information.

4.4        Changing/Uninstalling MPLAB IDE - CD-ROM

·         Select Start>Programs>Microchip>MPLAB IDE vx.xx>Setup MPLAB Tools.

·         When the dialog box appears, select either "Modify", "Repair" or "Remove" and then click "Next".

·         After an uninstall (Remove), the installation directory can be deleted.

5         Network Administrator Information

Note to network administrators on installing MPLAB IDE v7.30 and later in a secure environment:

MPLAB_X_YY.MST file is a Windows installer transform file, located in the full zipped installation of MPLAB IDE vX.YY. This file can be used by domain administrators with Microsoft Active Directory and group policies to assign the application for software deployment in a security environment (local machines do not have admin rights). Microsoft Active Directory can be used to assign the application to local workstations. It has not been tested for "assigning/publishing to users." If this is a first time install, you may need to install the isscript10.msi first. Apply the transform file to the MPLAB_X_YY.MSI installation file in the group policy object (GPO). All of the files in the MPLAB IDE vX.YY full download zip must be located on a shared network directory.

6         Multiple Installations of MPLAB IDE v7.xx and later

Multiple versions of MPLAB IDE may be INSTALLED on the same PC.

Note: You still may not RUN multiple versions of MPLAB IDE at the same time, i.e., only one version will be registered on the PC.

If necessary, you may switch between installed MPLAB IDE versions (i.e., change which one is registered) by following the steps listed in the following sections.

Note: See “Known Problems”, “Operating System Issues” for OS-specific conditions that may apply when switching MPLAB IDE versions.

To switch between v7.00 through v7.10:

·         Open a Command Prompt window (Start>Programs>Accessories>Command Prompt).

·         Find the installation directory of the v7.xx that you want to run.

·         In the "MPLAB IDE Common" directory, execute mpswitch.exe -l to determine the installed v7.xx versions of MPLAB IDE on your system. The version marked with an asterisk is the active version.

·         Execute mpswitch.exe <version>, where <version> is the v7.xx to which you wish to switch. For example, to switch from MPLAB IDE 7.01 to MPLAB IDE 7.00:
C:> mpswitch.exe 7.00

To switch between v7.11 and v7.20 (and later versions):

·         Double-click on the icon of the version you wish to run.

To switch between v7.51/v7.52 and v7.60 (and later versions):

If you have installed MPLAB IDE v7.51 or v7.52 after v7.60, that version of mpswitch.exe will not work correctly. Do the following:

·         Delete the mpswitch.exe file in the "MPLAB IDE Common" directory.

·         Reinstall MPLAB IDE version v7.60.

7         What's New in v8.02

·         Bug fixes.

7.1        What’s New in v8.01

·         PC-Lint plug-in.

·         MATLAB – Array Snapshot and Data Capture features.

·         MATLAB – Additional dsPIC33F peripheral support for DCI, QWI, TMF.

·         RTOS’s – embOS-32, CMX-32 and ThreadX-32 Viewer support.

·         MPLAB ICD 2 – AND’d breakpoints for PIC32MX devices.

·         MPLAB REAL ICE in-circuit emulator – initial midrange device support.

·         MPLAB REAL ICE in-circuit emulator – Watch window controls to set runtime watch and/or data capture.

·         Additional Debug/Release functionality. See section 8.

7.2        What’s New in v8.00

·         Support for the new PIC32MX family of 32-bit microcontrollers. MPLAB IDE now includes the MPLAB ASM32 and MPLAB LINK32 language tools. (MPLAB C32 student edition available on our website.) MPLAB SIM, MPLAB REAL ICE in-circuit emulator, and MPLAB ICD 2 tool support for these new devices as well.

·         MPLAB REAL ICE in-circuit emulator now has dynamic linking on error messages.

·         Projects without linker scripts – For projects using the 16-bit language tool suites, linker scripts will automatically be added based on the selected device.

·         Generic libraries – For projects using the 16-bit language tool suites, a generic library may be built from an option on the Build Options dialog, ASM30/C30 Suite tab.

·         ICE/ICD Header information is now shown on the Select Device dialog.

8         Repairs and Enhancements Made in v8.02

·         MPLAB-1091:  Data memory size and address range is incorrect for several 33F and 24H devices.

·         MPLAB-1082:  Missing bits in SPI1STAT register.

·         MPLAB-1080:  MPLAB IDE crash occurs when trying to modify a large array in the watch window.

·         MPLAB-1077:  Selecting "Disassembly Listing" crashes IDE for memory devices.

·         MPLAB-1065:  C32 Heap and Stack size values duplicated after pressing OK.

·         MPLAB-1028:  [ PIC18Fx480 ] - bits 2 and 3 in register CONFIG5L, CONFIG6L, CONFIG7L are unimplemented and must be maintained 1. But clear all memory makes these bits 0.

9         MPLAB-648:  Bank indicator does not work correctly for Baseline devicesDebug/Release Selection

For some language tools, MPLAB IDE provides an automated way to perform debug setup using the “Build Configuration” drop-down box on the Project Manager toolbar or the “Build Configuration” item on the Project menu.

To set up language tools for debug, select “Debug”. When your code is debugged and you are ready to release it (program the finished code into a device), select “Release”.

Note: For 8-bit language tools, you will still need to use an “i” version of the linker script file to build debug code (e.g., 18F8720i.lkr) and a standard version of the linker script file to build release code (e.g., 18F8720.lkr).

For more information, see Debug Features in MPLAB IDE Help.

10    Known Problems

The following is a list of known problems. For information on common problems, error messages and limitations, please see Troubleshooting in the online help file for MPLAB IDE (hlpMPLABIDE.chm). Bolded prefix represents internal tracking numbers.

10.1    Launch Issues

The splash screen flashes, but MPLAB IDE will not launch

When you try to start MPLAB IDE, the splash screen flashes by, but the application does not launch.

(1) Applies to MPLAB IDE versions 7.01 and 7.10:

Occurs on PCs with non-administrator (user-only) privileges.

Note: Administrator rights are required to install, but should not be required to run.

The workaround is to modify the target path on the MPLAB IDE shortcut and append the option -noswitch:

mplab.exe -noswitch

You can reach the target path by selecting the MPLAB IDE icon on the desktop, right-clicking properties, and then selecting the shortcut tab.

(2) Applies to MPLAB IDE version 7.61a:

You will need to remove the following entry from the PC registry:

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microchip\MPLAB IDE\DebugDisplays]

Select Start>Run, enter regedit or regedt32 after “Open”, and click OK to open the registry for editing.

MPLAB IDE used to work, but now it will not launch

Items to check are:

·         Did you recently install another version of MPLAB IDE? Please see section 7 for information on switching between versions of MPLAB IDE.

·         Did you recently install other software? If so, it may have overwritten a system DLL in such a way that other applications cannot use it. Consult the software documentation and the Windows OS documentation to determine how to repair or reinstall the correct system DLL.

·         Did you recently edit your PC registry? MPLAB IDE uses the registry to find related files. Try reinstalling MPLAB IDE.

·         Do you have virus protection software on your machine? Try other programs on your PC to see if they are functioning correctly. If not, you may have a virus.

10.2    Operating System Issues

·         Once the program is installed and you attempt to run it, you might receive an error stating that a dll file failed to register. This is caused when the Windows OS does not allow the MPLAB IDE installation to register the file for some reason. You will need to select Start>Programs>Microchip>MPLAB IDE vx.xx>Setup MPLAB Tools and run Repair to install and register the file.

10.2.1 Windows Vista OS

·         When attempting to install MPLAB IDE 7.6x on a Windows Vista PC, you may receive the message: “MPLAB Tools v7.6x Error IS OnError - Error 1935. An error occurred during the installation of assembly…” The problem is some registry settings/permissions related to XML. To resolve this issue, do one of the following:

·         Deselect MPLAB VDI in the MPLAB IDE installation.

·         If you cannot deselect MPLAB VDI from the installation, you can use the Microsoft installation for XML 4.0 SP2. You can get the Microsoft original install here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3144b72b-b4f2-46da-b4b6-c5d7485f2b42&DisplayLang=en

MPLAB-685: Windows Vista OS Installation Directory: Database errors received if a non-default directory, such as D:\, is used for installation.

MPLAB-813: You must turn off User Account Control in order to switch between MPLAB IDE versions. This is accessed through the Control Panel > User Accounts > Turn User Account Control on or off.

MPLAB-938: Build problems seen while building a CCS project. Sometimes a project builds fine, and sometimes it fails. At this time, CCS does not support Vista.

10.2.2 Windows 2000

To switch between v7.50 and v7.51, you must initially run an Installer Repair on v7.50. Once this is done, you will be able to switch between the two versions of MPLAB IDE without the use of the Repair. See section 6 for more on switching between versions of MPLAB IDE.

10.2.3 Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT OSs

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Beginning with MPLAB IDE v7.51, MPLAB IDE and most components will no longer be tested on Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows NT.  MPLAB IDE and its related components may continue to work under these operating systems, but their operation will no longer be verified through testing.

·         On Windows 98/ME, for every open Editor window, a message box entitled "File Time warning" appears with the content, "The parameter is incorrect".  This happens after a build or after minimizing and restoring the application's main window.

Fix: Close MPLAB IDE and run the batch file located, by default, at:

C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB IDE\Core\Editor\Register Old Editor 9x.bat

Restart MPLAB IDE and select Help>About MPLAB IDE.  Verify that MPEditor.dll, and not MPEditor4.dll, is registered.  If the batch file fails, you may need to update your PATH to include the path to regsvr32.exe (wherever it is installed on your system.)

·         "File not found" error on Windows NT systems, usually from an import or project manager build. This is a Windows NT v4.0 issue, not an MPLAB IDE issue. Update Windows NT v4.0 with service pack or set registry flag HK_CU\Network\DeferFlags = 1. For more information, see: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;169138

SSR 21029: While most Windows NT users have been able to use the MPLAB IDE, a limited number of these users have reported being unable to run MPLAB IDE. Microchip Development Tools has determined that one cause of this problem is that Windows Desktop Update is not installed on the user's PC. See the Microsoft web site for more information about the Windows Desktop Update. Another cause of the problem may be due to a registration problem; the work-around: run register.bat in the dll subdirectory of the MPLAB IDE installation directory.

10.3    General Issues

·         MPLAB IDE v8.01 workspaces are incompatible with previous workspaces. Open the project file (.mcp) and reselect the device and other configuration settings before saving as a new workspace.

·         When opening a workspace/project, MPLAB IDE crashes. The workspace/project file may be corrupt or from a previous version. Try opening a different workspace/project or MPLAB IDE alone as a test. If the workspace file (.mcw) is corrupt or from a previous version, delete it and then open the project file (.mcp). In this case, you may have to reselect the device and other configuration settings before saving as a new workspace. If the project file is corrupt (.mcp), you will have to rebuild the project.

·         "Access Denied" message when trying to open a workspace. Make sure the workspace and related files have not been set to read-only, i.e., right-click on a file, select "Properties", and check that "Read-only" is NOT selected.

·         If you use MPASM assembler to assemble a single file (i.e., you do not use the assembler with MPLINK object linker), you will get a COD file which has a 62 character length restriction for file and path names. To solve this problem either (1) Use MPLINK linker with MPASM assembler to create a COFF file, which has no character length restriction, or (2) Shorten your file name or move your file into a directory closer to the root directory (shorten the  path name), and try assembling your file or project again. There are additional COD file restrictions. See MPASM assembler documentation for more information.

·         Some language (build) tools may have problems if you use spaces, illegal characters or long file names for the file or project name. Consult the language tool documentation for details.

·         If your language tools do not work correctly after installing this version of MPLAB IDE, go to our website or third party website to get the latest version of your language tool. If you have purchased the tool, contact your sales rep for an upgrade.

·         When moving any MPLAB IDE window, if a dialog pops up, MPLAB IDE may freeze. Use <Alt>-<Tab> to move out of and then back to MPLAB IDE. The desktop should then be unfrozen.

·         LCD Pixel View does not supported these devices: PIC18F64J90, PIC18F65J90, PIC18F8393, PIC18F83J90, PIC18F8493, PIC18F84J90, PIC18F85J90.

SSR 23550: While in Animate mode, if you select File>Exit, MPLAB IDE will crash.

SSR 25806: [COFF] dsPIC disassembly listing shows address rather than Wreg number.

MPLAB-661: Call Stack Window: Simulator can hang when stepping through MPLAB C30 optimized code with the Call Stack window open.

MPLAB-803: Editor autocomplete: After a device change, while using the same project/workspace, the autocomplete list does not show the SFRs of the new device, but continues to list those of the old device.

MPLAB-918: PIC12F683: Disassembly shows wrong information for banksel instruction. Program memory window shows two instructions used for banksel instruction, whereas disassembly window shows only a single instruction.

MPLAB-964: Stopwatch in simulator gets removed when MPLAB ICD 2 as a programmer is enabled.

MPLAB-1045: When a user combines the linker "generate map file" option with a relative output directory "./output", the IDE attempts to use an invalid path to load the COFF file.

MPLAB-1087: If the ICE 2000 State and Operations gauge is embedded underneath watch window, workspace will crash MPLAB IDE.

MPLAB-1117: When Output window is docked, and user docks Stop watch or Stimulus under the simulator, the MPLAB IDE systematically crashes.

11    Plug-in Tools

MPLAB IDE supports a number of plug-ins under its Tools menu.

12    Third Party Support

12.1    Language Tools

MPLAB IDE supports language tools from many different vendors. If you encounter problems using the tools with MPLAB IDE, see the vendor website for the latest version of the tools and associated MPLAB IDE plug-ins.

Some vendors provide plug-in support for their language tools. Among these are:

·         B Knudsen Data (http://www.bknd.com)

·         CC5X

·         CC8E

·         Byte Craft (http://www.bytecraft.com)

·         Assembler & C Compiler

·         CCS (http://www.ccsinfo.com)

·         C Compiler for PIC12/14/16/18

·         HI-TECH (http://www.htsoft.com)

·         PICC Toolsuite

·         PICC Lite Toolsuite

·         PICC18 Toolsuite

·         IAR Systems (http://www.iar.com)

·         IAR Systems Midrange

·         IAR Systems PIC18 Toolsuite

·         microEngineering (http://www.melabs.com)

·         PicBasic Pro Toolsuite

·         PicBasic Toolsuite

Other vendors use a generic interface which is tailored through the use of MTC and INI files. These files are available in:

C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB IDE\Core\MTC Suites

More recent tailoring files are usually available through the language tool vendor.

12.2    RTOS

MPLAB IDE supports RTOSs from many different vendors. If you encounter problems using the RTOS with MPLAB IDE, see the vendor website for the latest version of the RTOS.

View RTOS information from Tools>RTOS Viewer.

MPLAB IDE supports the following real-time operating systems (RTOSs) as plug-ins:

·         CMX (http://www.cmx.com)

·         RTX

·         TINY+

·         Micrium mC/OS-II (http://www.micrium.com)

You must include "os_dbg.c" in the project and set OS_DEBUG_EN = 1 for the Micrium mC/OS-II viewer to operate properly

·         embOS (http://www.segger.com/embos.html)

·         ThreadX (http://www.ghs.com/products/rtos/threadx.html)

For device support and other information on RTOS’s, see our website for the RTOS link under Software on the Development Tools page.

12.3    Version Control

MPLAB IDE supports version control (VC) programs from many different vendors. If you encounter problems using the VC programs with MPLAB IDE, see the vendor website for the latest version of the VC programs.

MPLAB IDE supports the following VC programs under projects:

·         Microsoft Visual Source Safe (http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/previous/ssafe)

·         PVCS (http://www.serena.com/Products/professional/vm/home.asp)

·         CVS (http://www.nongnu.org/cvs/)

·         Subversion (http://subversion.tigris.org)

12.4    Miscellaneous Plug-ins

MPLAB IDE supports plug-ins from many different vendors. If you encounter problems using the plug-in with MPLAB IDE, see the vendor website for the latest version of the plug-in.

MPLAB IDE supports the following plug-in tools:

·         MATLAB/Simulink (http://www.mathworks.com/)

·         Gimpel PC-LINT/MISRA (http://www.gimpel.com/html/pcl.htm)

13    Customer Support

13.1    The Microchip Web Site

Microchip provides online support via our web site at http://www.microchip.com. This web site is used as a means to make files and information easily available to customer