User Interface

Start Development wizard

Upon starting Config Tools, you are automatically welcomed by a startup wizard. With this wizard, you can create a configuration or open an existing one.

Note: To skip the wizard on subsequent startups, select the Always open last configuration checkbox below the Open an existing configuration option. You can also perform the same action by selecting the Automatically open previously used configuration checkbox in Preferences.

Start development wizard

Note: The content of this wizard is similar to the wizard that you open by selecting File > New in the Menu bar.

Creating, saving, and opening a configuration

In this context, configuration stands for common tools settings stored in an MEX (Microcontrollers Export Configuration) file. This file contains settings of all available tools. The folder with the saved MEX file must contain exactly one project file to be able to parse the toolchain project.

Creating a new configuration

You can create a configuration from the Start development wizard or by selecting File > New from the Menu bar.

If you start creating your development for any NXP board or kit, we recommended you start with example to create a configuration for a board or a kit. Such configuration contains board-specific settings. If you select a processor, the configuration will be empty.

After the new configuration is created, you can continue by importing an existing configuration from an MEX file. It is useful if you already have a configuration available or if you want to reuse a previous configuration. To import an existing configuration from an MEX file, select File > Import… > Import configuration (*.mex) from the Menu bar.

Creating a new standalone configuration

You can create a new configuration that is not part of any toolchain project.

Creating a new configuration

To create a standalone configuration, do the following:

1. In the Start development wizard select Create a new standalone configuration for processor, board, or kit. Alternatively, in the Menu bar, select File > New.

2. Click Next.

3. Select the processor, board, or kit from the list.

   Note: If you are working offline, you will only see locally saved options. For more information, see the Working offline section.

4. Name your configuration. Optionally, you can select processor package, core, and SDK version.

5. Click Finish.

Saving a configuration

To save your configuration for future use, select File > Save from the Menu bar.

To save a back-up of your configuration, do the following:

1. In the Menu bar, select File > Save Copy As.

2. In the dialog, specify the name and destination of the configuration.

3. Click Save.

   The folder with the saved MEX file must contain exactly one project file to be able to parse the toolchain project.

Opening an existing configuration

To open an existing configuration, do the following:

1. In the Start development wizard, select Open an existing configuration. Alternatively, in the Menu bar, select File > Open.

2. Click Browse to navigate to your configuration file.

3. Select the configuration file and click Open.

4. Optionally, select Always open last configuration to skip the Start development wizard and load the last-saved configuration by default.

User templates

You can export and store the current configuration as a user template for later use as a reference configuration file.

Export template

The exported template is available in the New Configuration wizard and can be used to create a configuration. You can also define custom labels for pins or identifiers prefixes for #define in generated code. You can export the configuration by selecting, in the Menu bar, File > Export > Tools Configuration > Export Configuration as Template.

Create a new configuration from the template

Note: The templates are stored in at the following location on your local hard disk: {$user}/.nxp/{tools_folder}/{version}/templates.

Importing sources

You can import source code files to use as a basis for further configuration.

Note: You can import only C or DTSI files containing valid YAML configuration blocks generated by the Config Tools. The configuration is reconstructed from the YAML block and the rest of the imported file is ignored.

To import source code files, do the following:

1. In the Menu bar, select File > Import….

2. From the list, select MCUXpresso Config Tools > Import Source.

   

   Import Source wizard

3. Click Next.

4. On the next page, click Browse to specify the location of the source file.

5. Select the source file that you wish to import and click Open.

6. On the next page, select which functional groups to import (based on tools) by selecting the checkbox in the left column.

7. Define how to import the functional groups by selecting one of the two available options in the dropdown menu in the right column:

   • Rename – All files are merged into the current configuration. It imports all the functions only. If the imported function has the same name as an existing one, it is automatically renamed to the indexed one. For example, if BOARD_InitPins exists in the configuration then the imported function is renamed to BOARD_InitPins1.

   • Overwrite – All files are merged into the current configuration. It imports all the functions only. If the imported function has the same name as an existing one, then the existing one is replaced with the imported one.

8. Click Finish.

Importing configuration

To import an existing configuration from an MEX file, do the following:

1. In the Menu bar, select File > Import…>.

2. In the Import wizard, select MCUXpresso Config Tools > Import configuration (*.mex).

3. Click Next.

4. On the next page, click Browse to specify the location of the registers file.

5. Select the MEX file that you wish to import and click Open.

6. On the next page, select which functional groups to import (based on tools) by selecting the checkbox in the left column.

7. Define how to import the functional groups by selecting one of the two available options in the dropdown menu in the right column:

   • Rename – All files are merged into the current configuration. It imports all the functions only. If the imported function has the same name as an existing one, it is automatically renamed to the indexed one. For example, if BOARD_InitPins exists in the configuration then the imported function is renamed to BOARD_InitPins1.

   • Overwrite – All files are merged into the current configuration. It imports all the functions only. If the imported function has the same name as an existing one, then the existing one is replaced with the imported one.

8. Click Finish.

Import Wizard

Import configuration

Importing Board/Kit Configuration

Use import settings from default board/kit templates provided within CFG tools data for further configuration.

To import board/kit configuration, do the following:

1. In the Menu bar, select File > Import…>.

2. In the Import wizard, select Config Tools for i.MX > Import Board/Kit Configuration.

3. Click Next.

4. On the next page, select the board/kit variant from the dropdown menu.

5. Select which functional groups to import (based on tools) by selecting the checkbox in the left column.

6. Define how to import the functional groups by selecting one of the two available options in the dropdown menu in the right column:

   • Rename – All files are merged into the current configuration. It imports all the functions only. If the imported function has the same name as an existing one, it is automatically renamed to the indexed one. For example, if BOARD_InitPins exists in the configuration then the imported function is renamed to BOARD_InitPins1.

   • Overwrite – All files are merged into the current configuration. It imports all the functions only. If the imported function has the same name as an existing one, then the existing one is replaced with the imported one.

7. Click Finish.

Exporting sources

It’s possible to export the generated source using the Export wizard.

To launch the Export wizard:

1. Select File > Export from the Menu bar.

2. Select Export Source Files.

   

   Export wizard

3. Click Next.

4. Select the target folder where you want to store the generated files.

   

   Export sources – Select target folder

5. In case of multicore processors, select the cores you want to export.

6. Click Finish.

Menu bar

The Menu bar contains six menus: File, Edit, Tools, Views, Help, and a tool-specific menu.

The File menu contains file management items.

Menu item	Description
New…	Create a configuration. For more information, see the Creating, saving, and opening a configuration section.
Open	Open a configuration from an MEX file.
Save	Save the current configuration.
Save Copy As…	Create a backup copy of the current configuration.
Switch processor	Switch to a different processor. For more information, see the Switching processor section.
Switch package	Switch to a different processor package. For more information, see the Switching processor section.
Select Core	Select a processor core for further configuration.
Data Manager	Manage local data. For more information, see the Managing data and working offline section.
Import…	Import settings from source files. For more information, see the Advanced Features section.
Export…	Export source files and other tool information. For more information, see the Advanced Features section.
Exit	Exit the application. If there are any unsaved changes, you are prompted to save the changes.

The Edit menu contains basic editing actions as well as items modifying the appearance and behavior of the whole framework.

Menu item	Description
Open Update Code Dialog	Update code after configuration change. For more information, see the Update code section.
Undo (…)	Cancel a previous action. The action to be undone is always appended.
Redo (…)	Cancel a previous undo action. The action to be redone is always appended.
Copy	Copy the selected text to the clipboard.
Select All	Select the whole text in the current field/view.
Call from default initialization function	Set the currently selected functional group to be called from the default initialization function.
Functional Group Properties	Edit functional group properties.
Preferences	Edit preferences. For more information, see the Preferences section.
Configuration Preferences	Edit configuration preferences. For more information, see the Configuration Preferences section.

The Tools menu lists all the tools available in the tools framework. Use this menu to switch between the tools.

The Tool-specific menu contains items tailor-made for individual tools. Only items relevant to the currently active tool are displayed. The menu name copies the name of the currently active tool.

Item	Description
Functional Groups	Edit functional group properties.
Automatic Routing	Attempt to resolve routing issues. Opens the Automatic Routing dialog, which displays routing issues that have been resolved and the ones that require manual correction.
Apply Expansion Board	Apply an expansion board to an already created expansion header
Create the Default Routing	Open a dialog for the creation of a new functional group containing the after-reset state of pins and internal signals.
Refresh	Refresh both the generated code and the whole GUI.
Reset to Board Defaults	Reset the configuration of the Board/Kit defaults.
Reset to Processor Defaults	Reset the configuration of the processor’s defaults.

The Views menu contains a tool-specific list of available views. Select a view from the list to open it. Select an already opened view to highlight it. Choose Reset views to reset the current tool perspective to its default state. The Help menu contains assistance and general information-related items.

Item	Description
Contents	Display the User Guide.
Quick Start guide	Open a PDF file of the Quick Start guide.
Release Notes	Display release notes of the installed version.
Community	Display web pages of the product-related community forums.
Processor Information	Display web pages containing information about the currently used processor.
Kit/Board Information	Display web pages containing information about the currently used board or kit.
Check for updates	Check for a newer version of the product. If a new version is available, you are prompted to confirm and perform the update
Open Cheat Sheet	Display a cheat sheet to help with using the tools. You can also load a cheat sheet from a file, or from a URL.
About	Display general product information.

Toolbar

The toolbar is on the top of the window and includes buttons/menus of frequently used actions common to all tools. See the following sections for more information.

Item	Description
Config Tools Overview	Open the Overview dialog with information about currently used tools.
Show Problems View	Open the Problems view.
Update Code	Open the update dialog allowing you to update generated peripheral initialization code directly within specified toolchain project.
Generate Code	Regenerate source code when “Enable Code Preview” preference is disabled.
Functional group selection	Select functional group. Functional group in the Peripherals tool represents a group of peripherals that are initialized as a group. The tool generates a C function for each function group that contains the initialization code.
Call from default initialization	Set the current functional group to be initialized by the default initialization function.
Functional group properties	Open the Functional group properties dialog to modify name and other properties of the function group.
Tool selection	Display icons of individual tools. Use them to switch between tools.
Undo/Redo	Undo/Redo last action.

In addition, the toolbar may contain additional items depending on the selected tool. See the chapters dedicated to individual tools for more information.

Config tools overview

The Config Tools Overview provides you with general information about your currently active configuration, hardware, and project. It also provides a quick overview of the used/active and unused/inactive tools, generated code, and functional groups. By default, the Config Tools Overview icon is on the left side of the toolbar.

Config Tools Overview contains several items.

Item	Description
Configuration – General Info	Displays the name of and the path to the MEX file of the current configuration. Click the link to open the folder containing the MEX file. To import additional settings, click the Import additional settings into current configuration button.
Configuration – HW Info	Displays the processor, part number, core, and SDK-version information of the current configuration.
Project	Displays toolchain project information.
Pins/Clocks/Peripherals/DDR/SERDES/PBL/TEE	Displays basic information about Pins, Clocks, Peripherals, DDR, SERDES, PBL, TEE tools.

To enable/disable the tools, click the toggle button. You can navigate to the tools by clicking their icons. Following information about the tools is also available:

Item	Description
Generated code	Contains the list of source-code files. Click the links to open the files in the Code Preview view.
Functional groups	Contains the list of the currently active functional groups. To select the groups in the Functional groups tab in the toolbar, select the relevant links.

Config Tools Overview

Note: Unsupported tools are not displayed in the overview.

Update code

To update the project without opening the Update Files dialog, deselect the Always show details before Update Code checkbox.

To access the Update Code dialog from the Update Code dropdown menu, select Open Update Code Dialog.

Update Code dropdown menu

Note: The generated code is always overwritten.

The Update Code action is enabled under following conditions:

• If the MEX configuration is saved in a toolchain project, the processor selected in the tool matches with processor selected in the toolchain project

• Core is selected (for multicore processors)

Functional groups

Every Pins configuration can contain several functional groups.

These groups represent functions which will be generated into source code. Use the dropdown menu to switch between functional groups and configure them.

Functional groups

You can use two additional buttons to further configure functional groups:

Icon	Description
	Toggle “Called from default initialization function” feature (in source code)
	Opens the Functional group properties window

Note: Red/orange background indicates errors/warnings in the configuration.

Functional group properties

In the Functional Group Properties window, you can configure several options for functions and code generation. Each setting is applicable for the selected function. You can specify generated function name, select core (for multicore processors only) that is affecting the generated source code, or write function description (this description is generated in the C file). You can also add, copy, and remove functional groups as needed.

Aside from name and description, you can choose to set parameters for selected functional groups.

Functional group properties are specific for individual Config Tools:

The Pins tool:

• Set custom #define prefix- If this property is set, the specific custom prefix is used for macros generated into the pin_mux.h. Otherwise the name of the functional group is used as the prefix.

• Prefix - The custom prefix string. If it is empty, no prefix is used.

• Clocks gate enable - If this property is enabled, the clock gate is enabled in the generated code. The clock gate is needed for access to the peripherals, so have it enabled elsewhere.

• Core(for multicore processors only) - Selects the core that is used for executing this function.

• Full pins initialization - If this property is set, all features of the pins are fully initialized in the generated function even if matches the after-reset state of the processor. If it is not set, values “Not specified” or “No init” can be selected.

• De-initialization function - If this feature is set, an additional function that sets all pins and peripheral signals in this functional group to their after-reset state is generated. The new function has a suffix _deinit by default.

• Set custom de-initialization function name - Allows specifying a user-defined name of the de-initialization function.

Clocks tool:

• Set custom #define prefix - If this property is set, the custom prefix is used for macros define in clock_config.h Otherwise the name of the functional group is used as the prefix.

• Prefix - The custom prefix string. If it is empty, no prefix is used.

• Other settings - The processor-specific settings are specific for each processor. See the tooltips for details.

Peripherals tool:

• Prefix - It is used for identifiers, constants, and functions related to the functional group that is used in generated code. If it is not specified, no prefix is used.

TEE tool:

• Set custom #define prefix - If this property is checked, the custom prefix is used for macros define in generate code. Otherwise the name of the functional group is used as the prefix.

Functional group properties for the Pins tool

Undo/Redo actions

You can reverse your actions by using Undo/Redo buttons available in the Toolbar. You can also perform these actions from the Edit menu in the Menu bar.

Icon	Description
	Cancels the previous action
	Cancels the previous undo action

Preferences

To configure preferences in the Preferences dialog, select Edit>Preferences from the Menu bar.

Note: You can restore settings to default by selecting Restore Defaults in the lower right corner of the dialog.

Preferences

Several settings are available.

Item	Description
Line ending style	Select between Windows (CR + LF), (LF), or Default (based on host).
Always overwrite files without asking	Update existing files automatically, without prompting.
Always show details before Update Code	Review changes before the project is updated.
Undo history size	Enter the maximum number of steps that can be undone. Enter 0 to disable.
Proxy connection	- Direct – Connect directly and avoid a proxy connection. - Native – Use system proxy configuration for network connection. Note: The proxy settings are copied from operating system settings. In case of error, you can specify proxy information in the tools.ini file, located in the <install_dir>/bin/ folder. Make sure that the file contains the following lines: - Djava.net.useSystemProxies=true (already present by default) - Dhttp.proxyHost=<somecompany.proxy.net> - Dhttp.proxyPort=80 Note: Authentication is not supported.
Work Offline	Disable both the connection to NXP cloud and the download of processor/board/kit data.
Processor data update	Select from the following options:- Auto Update – Update the processor data automatically. - Manual – Update processor data after confirmation. - Disabled – Disable processor data update.
Check for application updates	Check for application updates on a weekly basis
Show pin label & identifier table columns (Pins Tool)	Select to show the pin label and the label identifier in the relevant views.
Require an identifier for Pins (Pins Tool)	Controls generation of pins “Identifier” related warnings. With this preference enabled, warnings will be generated for bidirectional signals that have no Identifier set.
Help us improve the tool	Send device-configuration and tool-use information to NXP. Sending this information to NXP helps fix issues and improve the tools
Show Overview window on opening configuration for the first time	Open the Overview dialog on opening configuration for the first time.
Automatically load last configuration on startup	Avoid the startup window and load the last used configuration instead.
Enable animations	Enables animations in the user interface, such as smoother scrolling or opening a drop-down menu.

Configuration preferences

The configuration preferences are general preferences stored within the configuration storage file (MEX).

To configure the preferences related to the configuration, select Edit > Configuration Preferences from the main menu.

Configuration preferences

The following preferences are available:

Item	Description
Generate YAML	Select to generate YAML into C source files.
Custom toolchain project link	Select to set the path to the toolchain project folder, otherwise the default path in the same folder as the configuration is used. An absolute path or a relative path to a saved configuration (MEX) can be used. Only for standalone Config Tools.
Custom source file copyright header	Select to add a custom copyright header to generated source files that do not already contain copyright.
Output path overrides	Rules that are used to override the path of the output files are generated by the tools. They are applied in the Update code and Exports commands. A special dialog allows editing.
Generate code only for registers that are different from the after-reset state	Select to generate code for registers that are different from the after-reset state.
Enable Code Preview	Controls how the code is generated. When this preference is enabled, code generation is performed automatically after every change in the configuration and the Code Preview is updated accordingly. When this preference is disabled, code generation is stopped, warning message is displayed in Code Preview window, and the action can be manually triggered by using one of the available options: - By pressing the “generate code” link highlighted in the warning message from the Code Preview window. - By pressing the Update Code button in the toolbar, where code update is preceded by code generation.

Warning: When the source does not contain YAML code, it cannot be imported.

Problems view

The Problems view displays issues in individual tools and in the inter-dependencies between the tools.

Problems view

To open the Problems view, click the Show Problems view button in the Toolbar, or select Views > Problems from the Menu bar.

The Problems table contains the following information:

Item	Description
Level	Severity of the problem: Information, Warning, or Error.
Resource	Resource related to the problem, such as signal name, the clock signal.
Issue	Description of the problem.
Origin	Information on the dependency source.
Target	Tool that handles the dependency and its resolution.
Type	Type of the problem. It is either the validation checking dependencies between tools, or a single tool issue.

Every issue comes with a context menu accessible by right-clicking the table row. Use this menu to access information about the problem or to apply a quick fix where applicable. You can also copy the rows for later use by right-clicking the row and selecting Copy or by using the Ctrl+C shortcut. You can use the Ctrl+left-click shortcut to add additional rows to the selection.

Note: Quick fix is only available for problems highlighted with the “light bulb” icon.

Filter buttons are available on the right side of the Problems view ribbon.

Button	Description
	Filters messages in the Problems view. If selected, only problems for the active tool are displayed. See Configuration preferences section for details.

Registers view

The Registers view lists the registers handled by the tool models. You can see the state of the processor registers that correspond to the current configuration settings and also the state that is in the registers by default after the reset. The values of the registers are displayed in the hexadecimal and binary form. If the value of the register (or bit) is not defined, an interrogation mark “?” is displayed instead of the value.

Registers view

The Registers view contains several items.

Item	Description
Peripheral filter drop-down list	List the registers only for the selected peripheral. Select all to list registers for all the peripherals.
Show modified registers only checkbox	Hide the registers that are left in their after-reset state or are not configured.
Text filter	Filter content by text.
Import/Export registers	Import/Export registers from/to CSV (Import is available only for the Clocks tool)

The following table lists the color highlighting styles used in the Registers view.

Color	Description
Yellow background	Indicates that the bitfield has been affected by the last change made in the tool.
Gray text color	Indicates that the bitfield is not edited and the value is the after-reset value.
Black text	Indicates the bit-fields that the tool modifies.

Note: When the Peripherals tool is active and register initialization components are used, the user can perform manual changes to some of the displayed values.

Log view

The Log view shows user-specific information about Tools operations. The Log view can show up to 100 records across all tools in chronological order.

Each log entry consists of a timestamp, the name of the tool responsible for the entry, severity level, and the actual message. If no tool name is specified, the entry was triggered by shared functionality.

You can filter the content of the Log view using the combo boxes to display only specific tool and/or severity level information. Filters in different tools can be set independently.

Buffered log records are cleared using the clear button. It affects Log views across all tools.

Log view