Quick Start Guide

Easy GUI comes pre-programmed from the factory with sample Gem pages stored in the onboard flash. If you haven't already done so, please take a few minutes to power up the Amulet Starter Kit module to review the pre-programmed demo. To power up the Starter Kit and begin GUI navigation, proceed as follows:

1. Make sure that the DIP switch settings on SW6 are set to the following default values:
   

   Switch 1 ON --- Prog/Run Mode (Run Mode) Switch 4 ON --- Touch Panel Mode (No Calibration Mode)

   
   
2. Connect one end of the power adapter to the power input on the LCD module and the other end to any standard wall socket.
    
3. The unit powers up and displays the Home Page. A touch panel stylus may make it easier to navigate the GUI, depending on the size of the display.

Creating Your First Easy GUI Graphical User Interface

By now, you should be familiar with the operation and navigation of the LCD module. The next step is to use the GEM Compiler to compile and program a GUI. In keeping with a long-standing programming tradition, this section introduces you to the GUI development tools by guiding you through the creation of a "Hello, World!" program. Proceed as follows:

Launch the GEMcompiler by whichever means you prefer.

Before compiling any projects, the Amulet OS files must be compiled and programmed into the Amulet GEM-compliant Chip's serial data flash. If this is the first time launching the GEMcompiler, the following dialog box appears:

If the USB driver has not been installed at this point, connect your Amulet module to the PC via the included USB cable. When Windows ask for a driver, point Windows to the GEMcompiler\USB Drivers folder and select the sub-folder that matches your version of Windows. Once Windows has fully installed the driver and created a new virtual comm port, hit the Refresh button to refresh the list of available comm ports on your machine. Choose the newly created comm port.

The OS needs to match the specific display you are using, so choose the Width x Height, the Manufacturer, and Part Number of your display. When the correct display has been chosen, hit the OK button. The GEM Compiler will start up by compiling the latest OS files and packaging them along with a welcome screen that will immediately be programmed into your module.

Once the OS files have been loaded into the module, you can now move on to the "Hello World!" project.

1. From the GEM Compiler's File menu, select Open. You will be presented with a file dialog box.
2. Use the controls in the file dialog open the \Help subdirectory of the Amulet GEMcompiler's main directory. By default the Amulet main directory is C:\Program Files\AmuletTechnologies\GEMcompiler, however you may have specified a different path during the install.
3. Select HelloWorld_XXXxYYY.htm, where XXX and YYY are the width and height of your module in pixels, (For example, HelloWorld_320x240.htm) and click the Open button.
   Note: If you do not have file extension names shown, you can look for the name which has the icon for your default web browser, like Intenet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

The GEM Compiler will open and compile HelloWorld.htm and all other files that are linked from HelloWorld.htm. When the conversion is complete the compiler will display something like this:

<Successful Compile! Ready to Program X files (XXXX bytes) into Flash>

NOTE: DO NOT click on the Program FLASH button yet because you must first prepare the Easy GUI module for programming. If you have already loaded the OS files into your module, the USB/RS232 settings are probably already setup correctly, but it doesn't hurt to go through the process of confirming the settings below.

Setting up the USB/RS232 port for FLASH programming

The GEM Compiler uses a USB virtual comm port or an actual RS232 port on your PC to program the flash memory of your Amulet module. Prior to programming for the first time, you must select a comm port and select the programming and auto "wake-up" baud rates. The GEM Compiler stores these settings in its cfgAmulet.ini file so that they can be recalled each time you launch the GEM Compiler. If using a USB cable, the comm port will not appear in the drop down menu until the Amulet module has gone through USB enumeration, so the Amulet module must be powered on and the USB cable must be attached to the Amulet module and the PC's USB port.

To select a serial port for programming:

1. From the GEM Compiler's Settings menu, select USB/RS232. You will be presented with the USB/RS232 dialog box.
2. Select USB or UART for the Comm Type. USB is highly recommended as the programming rate is much faster using USB compared to UART.
3. If USB selected, select the serial port added after the Amulet module has gone through USB enumeration from the Comm Port list. All ports listed in your Windows Registry will be listed. Note, if using USB, the Amulet module must be powered up and the USB cable must be connected to the Amulet module and the PC's USB port, otherwise the virtual comm port will not appear in the drop down menu. If this is the first time the Amulet module has been attached via USB to your PC, then it will need to load a USB driver. When Windows asks for a driver file, browse to GEM Compiler\USB Drivers and select the subfolder that matches your version of Windows. The file AmuletUSB.inf or AmuletWin2000.inf will be selected and after the driver has been loaded, a new virtual comm port will be added to your system. This comm port should be selected from the Comm Port drop down list.
4. If USB selected, continue on to step 7.
5. If UART selected, choose a baud from the Flash Rate list. In most cases, use 115200.
6. If UART selected, choose a baud from the uP Comm Rate list. The GEM Compiler will use the uP comm rate to send out the "wake-up" message to the Amulet controller during a programming session. In order to use the auto "wake-up" feature, the uP comm rate baud needs to match the baud rate used by the META tag (if META is not present, the default is 115200) of the currently displayed Gem  page on the Amulet display. For the factory default settings this is 115200.
7. Click the OK button to save the USB/RS232 settings.

Programming The Flash

Click on the Program FLASH button in the Compiler window. If there is a comm port conflict, the compiler will display "Port is in use." If the compiler doesn't see the Easy GUI module, the compiler will display "Serial port timed out." Normally, though, the compiler will display a series of messages as each file within the page is flashed. When the flash programming is complete, the compiler will display:

<Successfully Flashed 9540 bytes, occupying 9728 bytes in flash.>

Congratulations! You have successfully compiled and flashed your first Easy GUI Gem page(s). The Hello World page is now displayed on the LCD of the Easy GUI module.

Editing HelloWorld.htm

Now, it is time to personalize your GUI. Using a text editor, such as Notepad or a "WYSIWYG" tool like Namo, open the appropriate HelloWorld HTML file for your resolution LCD module, located in the \help subdirectory of the Amulet GEMcompiler's main directory. View the source code for the page and search for "Hello, World!" between the <BODY> and </BODY> tags.

Replace "World" with your name. For example, "Hello, World" should now read "Hello, John!"

Save the modified file and compile it.

Click on the Program FLASH button.

Congratulations! You have successfully modified a uHTML page. A personalized version of the home page is now displayed on the LCD of the module. If desired, see Restoring The Flash To Factory Configuration.

If you are familliar enough with your web editor, try changing the font color with a <font> tag or the background color of the <table> using the bgcolor parameter. See the HTML Support page for help on these and other tags. Once you've got a handle on that, move on to our Widgets.

Creating A GUI from Scratch

Before you embark on creating your own GUI from scratch, a few tips are in order:

• Learn from our examples: You may want to examine the source code for the sample pages that were factory configured into your Starter Kit's FLASH. The code resides in the \Projects subdirectory of the Amulet main directory. The home page is called CompileMe.htm. You can use any of these pages as templates for your own GUI. Just copy these pages to your own projects directory first.
• Use a template page: In the AmuletTechnologies\GEMcompiler\Projects\Templates folder, there are two template .html pages (Template_480x272.htm & DivTemplate_480x272.htm) that start out with either a 480x272 table or a 480x272 DIV floating box. They can be handy if wanting to build a page from scratch.

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