Lesson 2 Add Libraries and Open Serial Monitor

Once you are comfortable with the Arduino software and using the built-in unctions, you
may want to extend the ability of your Arduino with additional libraries.

What are Libraries?

Libraries are a collection of code that makes it easy for you to connect to a sensor, display,
module, etc. For example, the built-in LiquidCrystal library makes it easy to talk to
character LCD displays. There are hundreds of additional libraries available on the
Internet for download. The built-in libraries and some of these additional libraries are listed
in the reference. To use the additional libraries, you will need to install them.

How to Install a Library

Using the Library Manager To install a new library into your Arduino IDE you can use the
Library Manager (available from IDE version 1.8.0). Open the IDE and click to the
"Sketch" menu and then Include Library > Manage Libraries.

Then the library manager will open and you will find a list of libraries that are already
installed or ready for installation. In this example we will install the Bridge library. Scroll the
list to find it, then select the version of the library you want to nstall. Sometimes only one
version of the library is available. If the version selection menu does not appear, don't
worry: it is normal.
There are times you have to be patient with it, just as shown in the figure. Please
refresh it and wait.

Finally click on install and wait for the IDE to install the new library. Downloading may take
time depending on your connection speed. Once it has finished, an Installed tag should
appear next to the Bridge library. You can close the library manager.
You can now find the new library available in the Include Library menu. If you want to add
your own library open a new issue on Github.

Importing a .zip Library

Libraries are often distributed as a ZIP file or folder. The name of the folder is the name of
the library. Inside the folder will be a .cpp file, a .h file and often a keywords.txt file,
examples folder, and other files required by the library. Starting with version 1.0.5, you can
install 3rd party libraries in the IDE. Do not unzip the downloaded library, leave it as is.

In the Arduino IDE, navigate to Sketch > Include Library. At the top of the drop down list,
select the option to "Add .ZIP Library''.

You will be prompted to select the library you would like to add. Navigate to the .zip file's
location and open it.

Return to the Sketch > Import Library menu. You should now see the library at the bottom
of the drop-down menu. It is ready to be used in your sketch. The zip file will have been
expanded in the libraries folder in your Arduino sketches directory. NB: the Library will be
available to use in sketches, but examples for the library will not be exposed in the File >
Examples until after the IDE has restarted.

Those two are the most common approaches. MAC and Linux systems can be handled
likewise. The manual installation to be introduced below as an alternative may be seldom
used and users with no needs may skip it.

Manual installation

To install the library, first quit the Arduino application. Then uncompress the ZIP file
containing the library. For example, if you're installing a library called "ArduinoParty",
uncompress ArduinoParty.zip. It should contain a folder calledArduinoParty, with files like
ArduinoParty.cpp and ArduinoParty.h inside. (If the .cpp and .h files aren't in a folder, you'll
need to create one. In this case, you'd make a folder called "ArduinoParty" and move into
it all the files that were in the ZIP file, like ArduinoParty.cpp and ArduinoParty.h.) Drag the
ArduinoParty folder into this folder (your libraries folder). Under Windows, it will likely be
called "My Documents\Arduino\libraries". For Mac users, it will likely be called
"Documents/Arduino/libraries". On Linux, it will be the "libraries" older in your
sketchbook.

Your Arduino library folder should now look like this (on Windows):

My Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty.cpp

My Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty.h

My Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\examples

or like this (on Mac and Linux):

Documents/Arduino/libraries/ArduinoParty/ArduinoParty.cpp

Documents/Arduino/libraries/ArduinoParty/ArduinoParty.h

Documents/Arduino/libraries/ArduinoParty/examples

....

There may be more files than just the .cpp and .h files, just make sure they're all there.
(The library won't work if you put the .cpp and .h files directly into the libraries folder or if
they're nested in an extra folder. For example:

Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty.cpp
Documents\Arduino\libraries\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty\ArduinoParty.cpp won't work.)

Restart the Arduino application. Make sure the new library appears in the Sketch->Import
Library menu item of the software. That's it! You've installed a library!

Arduino Serial Monitor (Windows, Mac, Linux)

The Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is the software side of the
Arduino platform. And, because using a terminal is such a big part of working with
Arduinos and other microcontrollers, they decided to include a serial terminal with the
software. Within the Arduino environment, this is called the Serial Monitor.

Making a Connection

Serial monitor comes with any and all version of the Arduino IDE. To open it, simply click
the Serial Monitor icon.

Selecting which port to open in the Serial Monitor is the same as selecting a port for
uploading Arduino code. Go to Tools -> Serial Port, and select the correct port.

Tips: Choose the same COM port that you have in Device Manager.
Once open, you should see something like this:
Settings

The Serial Monitor has limited settings, but enough to handle most of your serial
communication needs. The first setting you can alter is the baud rate. Click on the baud
rate drop-down menu to select the correct baud rate. (9600 baud)

Last, you can set the terminal to Autoscroll or not by checking the box in the bottom left
corner.

Pros

The Serial Monitor is a great quick and easy way to establish a serial connection with your
Arduino. If you’re already working in the Arduino IDE, there’s really no need to open up a
separate terminal to display data.

Cons

The lack of settings leaves much to be desired in the Serial Monitor, and, for advanced
serial communications, it may not do the trick.