In a modern development workflow both command-line and a graphical user interface has its place. On the GUI side, Eclipse is famous that it offers many different ways to accomplish something which is great. But sometimes I continue to use an old habit or way because I have missed that there is a newer and better way, and the MCUXpresso Eclipse IDE is no exception to that. In this article I show a few ways how to use the mouse even more productive.

Bottom Toolbar Links: Web Pages and Project Folder on Disk

The IDE has bottom toolbar with links to click:

• Open the NXP web site
• Open the NXP web site for the device used in the selected project
• Open the project folder on disk

Open Command Prompt or Explorer

I can use that ‘open project folder’ shortcut instead going into the project properties and browsing for that project. There is a menu to open a command prompt there or open the directory browser/Explorer for that selected project:

Open Launch Configuration

Instead using the ‘Run’ Menu, I can open a launch/debug configuration with double-clicking on the .launch file in the project:

Direct Debug Action

Very often I have multiple debug probes attached: with the ‘direct’ buttons in the Quickstart panel I have the ability to do a debug action for a probe type:

Project Properties and Settings

I have the habit to use the menu Project > Properties and then dive down to the compiler settings. An easier way is to use the ‘Edit project settings” in the Quickstart Panel:

Scan for attached debug probes

Instead of manually add or clone/edit launch/debug configurations, I can trigger an automatic re-scan of attached debug probes using the ‘Debug’ icon in the Quickstart panel with the SHIFT key pressed while clicking on it:

Importing Projects

Instead of using the menu File > Import > Existing Project(s) I can simply drag&drop the project folder or .project file:

The IDE asks me if I want to copy that project into the workspace or if I want link to it.

Getting SDK Projects

Instead using a web browser and go to https://mcuxpresso.nxp.com I can use the ‘web’ button in the ‘Installed SDKs’ view and use Eclipse to use that web page:

Importing SDK Projects

The easiest way to import a new SDK into the IDE is to drag&drop the archive file into the ‘Installed SDKs’ view:

Changing Project Settings

In the project Explorer view, there is a ‘Project Settings’ group. I can use this to quickly change settings of the project, for example changing the C/C++ standard library to be used:

Summary

It is always good to read the release notes or new features section of an Eclipse IDE, as with every new release there can be new ways of doing things, doing it better. These small things make working even easier. If you have other tips and tricks: post a comment!

Happy Mousing 🙂

Links

• NXP MCUXpresso IDE: https://www.nxp.com/mcuxpresso/ide
• NXP MCUXpresso SDK: https://mcuxpresso.nxp.com