Programmer Software

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Introduction


PICPgm is a PC-Software to program PIC microcontrollers using an external programmer hardware connected to the PC.

It allows to:

  • Program a HEX file into a PIC microcontroller
  • Read the content of a PIC microcontroller and save it to a HEX file
  • Erase a PIC microcontroller
  • Check if a PIC microcontroller is empty, i.e. not programmed (Blank Check)

The PICPgm Development Programmer Software is Freeware. It is available with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and a Command Line interface.

 

System Requirements


To use PICPgm, you need the following environment:

  • PC running Windows or Linux
  • PIC programmer (list of supported programmers)
  • Parallel port (LPT), serial port (COM) or USB port (only supported USB programmer so far is PICPgm USB programmer)

Supported operating systems:

  • Windows 98/ME/2k/XP/Vista/7
  • Windows XP x64/Vista x64/7 x64
  • Linux (command line version of PICPgm only)
  • MacOS X (command line version of PICPgm only, experimental)

 

Supported PIC microcontrollers


A full list of all supported microcontrollers can be found here.

 

PICPgm Graphical User Interface (GUI)


The GUI version of the PICPgm Programmer is designed to be very simple and intuitive to use.

It mainly consists of:

  • Menu
  • Toolbar
  • Main dialog with tabs
  • Statusbar

PICPgm GUI Overview


 

Menu Description


File

Menu Item Description
Load HEX file ... Load the HEX file which shall be programmed into the PIC.
Reload HEX file Reload currently selected HEX file.
Exit Quit PICPgm application.

Command

Menu Item Description
Autodetect Programmer Automatically tries to find the PIC programmer hardware connected to your PC.
Autodetect PIC Automatically tries to identify the PIC which is connected to the PIC programmer hardware.
Program PIC Programs the content of the loaded HEX file into the PIC microcontroller.
Verify PIC Reads the content of the PIC microcontroller and compares if it is equal to the loaded HEX file.
Read PIC and Save to File Reads the content of the PIC microcontroller and compares if it is equal to the loaded HEX file.
Erase PIC Erase the PIC flash memory.
Blank Check Check if the PIC fash memory is blank, i.e. check if the PIC is empty.

Hardware

Menu Item Description
Hardware Selection / Configuration Manually select the programmer hardware to be used instead of autodetecting it (useful if autodetection fails). It also allows to change the programmer pin configuration. Further a hardware test dialog is implemented here to manually check if the programmer hardware is working properly.

Extras

Menu Item Description
Clear Log Window Clears the logging messages in the Log tab.

Help

Menu Item Description
Check for Updates Checks if newer version PICPgm is available for download.
About Provides information about PICPgm application (version number, author, build date,...).

 

Toolbar Description


Symbol Name Description
PICPgm Toolbar Icon Autodetect Programmer Hardware
Autodetect Programmer Automatically tries to find the PIC programmer hardware connected to your PC.
PICPgm Toolbar Icon Autodetect PIC Microcontroller
Autodetect PIC Automatically tries to identify the PIC which is connected to the PIC programmer hardware.
PICPgm Toolbar Icon select PIC Microcontroller
Select PIC Manually select PIC microcontroller (instead of auto detection).

Note: Some PICs cannot be automatically identified because they don't have a device ID. This PICs are marked with a "*" at the end of the name. This PICs must be selected manually!

PICPgm Toolbar Icon Program PIC Microcontroller
Program PIC Programs the content of the loaded HEX file into the PIC microcontroller.
PICPgm Toolbar Icon Verify PIC Microcontroller
Verify PIC Reads the content of the PIC microcontroller and compares if it is equal to the loaded HEX file.
PICPgm Toolbar Icon Read PIC Microcontroller and Save to HEX file
Read PIC and Save to File Reads the content of the PIC microcontroller and compares if it is equal to the loaded HEX file.
PICPgm Toolbar Icon Erase PIC Microcontroller
Erase PIC Erase the PIC flash memory.
PICPgm Toolbar Icon PIC Microcontroller Blank Check
Blank Check Check if the PIC fash memory is blank, i.e. check if the PIC is empty.

 

PICPgm with Command Line Interface


The Command Line Version of the PICPgm Programmer has the same features like the GUI version.

The Command Line Version of the PICPgm Programmer is controlled via command line arguments and so it can be used in Batch programms or can be invoked by a Compliler IDE or something else.

A list of all supported command line arguments is shown when the PICPgm is started with the argument -h, e.g: C:\picpgm>picpgm -h

Programmer Screenshot - command line version