Easily develop and design graphical user interfaces

Microchip announce their MPLAB Harmony Graphics Composer (MHGC), a modern and flexible GUI composer tool. MHGC is a free development tool for developing GUIs for all PIC32 microcontrollers through their Harmony Configurator and MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The software allows anyone to create branded content using the Harmony Graphics Library, in conjunction with their custom assets, to create GUIs in a WYSIWYG design model, without complex and cumbersome coding. “Design engineers do not need to be graphic artists to build professional-looking GUIs that will drive brand recognition and preference,” said Rich Hoefle, director of marketing for Microchip’s 32-bit Microcontroller Division. “We believe the MPLAB Harmony Graphics Composer will have a positive business impact for those who use it by driving brand preference every time a customer uses their product. It allows them to quickly deliver aesthetically pleasing content with a minimum of design resources.” The Composer takes care of all configuration requirements as well as generating all source code needed for a professional-looking GUI. Users can easily import images and fonts and add them into projects via MHGC’s intuitive, user-friendly interface. The tool gives the user the ability to add, delete, move, scale and configure objects within the application. Objects can be interactive, including sliders, dials and buttons without the developer needing to understand graphics code. “The response from customers has been very positive,” continued Hoefle. “We have found the feedback invaluable and created a platform that we believe our customers will find simple, professional and intuitive.” MPLAB Harmony Graphics Composer is integrated with their MPLAB X and utilises the graphics libraries in MPLAB Harmony.