Before you begin with Visualino: it requires Arduino 1.6 IDE. You need to download it and install it. Visualino uses Arduino IDE to build and transfer the programs to the Arduino boards. Versions below 1.4 are also supported, but the Arduino IDE splashscreen will appear when building your programs.
Visualino doesn't have a Windows installer yet. In order to use it these are the steps described below:
- Download the zip file.
- Uncompress the zip file
- Locate the EXE.
- Execute it.
- Configure it.
- Done!
Download
Go to Downloads > Windows section and click on the latest version. This will be the most recent file (look at the dates) or the highest version number (major version.minor version-revision).
Unzip
Now you have the visualino-x.y-z-win32.zip file in your computer. Go to your personal Downloads folder and locate the zip file.
Extract
Right-click in the zip file to open the context menu to uncompress its contents.
Extract
Now select the folder in which to extract the file. Then click "Extract".
Executable
Now click on the created folder to browse the uncompressed files. Among them, you'll see "visualino", the executable file. That's the one you need to double-click in order to execute Visualino.
Windows 8: SmartScreen permissions
Windows 8 requires user permission in order to execute third-party software, not certified by Microsoft. In Windows Vista, you won't see this dialog. To execute Visualino, press "More information" and "Execute it anyway".
Run
Now, you should be running Visualino. Congratulations!
Settings
Visualino has a settings dialog. There you can change some important settings that must be correctly defined in order to work correctly.
Visualino comes with default settings that should work in your PC, but in case you have troubles, continue reading.
Settings: Arduino IDE Path
A very important setting is Arduino IDE program path. This the path to Arduino IDE EXE file that will be used to build and transfer your programs to the Arduino boards. If the EXE file is not found, you won't be able to program your boards, so be careful.
Arduino IDE is usually installed in this paths: C:\Program Files\Arduino\ or
C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\. But you can also install the Arduino IDE in
other paths, so locate the correct folder.
Arduino IDE 1.6 comes with to EXE files. One is arduino.exe and
the other one is arduino_debug.exe. Choose
arduino_debug.exe, because this one won't display the splashscreen when
Visualino asks to build your programs.
Visualino is able to use previous versions of Arduino IDE. The only difference is that Arduino IDE splashscreen will be displayed when building your programs.
Ready!
Now you should have everything in place and ready to tinker with Visualino. Enjoy!