TFT Displays and Font Ic's

Thread Starter

skusku

Joined Aug 9, 2009
80
Hi All

I wish to enquire about font IC's on TFT displays.

I am looking at 5" and 7" touch Screen Displays. Hoping to integrate it with ARM.
It is my 1st time doing any displays on mcu's (apart from the normal HD44780 LCD).

If I may post a link for a reference:
http://www.buydisplay.com/default/7...display-module-w-ssd1963-controller-board-mcu

At the bottom of the list one is able to choose a font chip. On other sites I have seen the display getting sold with no Font Chip.

Now there are quite a few GUI display software, I am looking at VisualTFT from MikroE (which I already purchased).
I want to draw good looking rounded buttons with background images and some text etc. Touch the on-screen button and a physical led turns on for example.

1) Is a font IC optional or mandatory?
2) Why does one need a font chip if one would like to draw graphics etc?

On another question, what GUI software does everyone use for creating Arduino based TFT?

Thanks
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
1. Optional, but possibly helpful in some cases.

2. Because unlike alphanumeric displays which already come loaded with all the letters and numbers they can display a graphic display displays, well, graphics. Pixels. Dots. It has no idea how to handle a text string sent to it, other that it may assume you must mean bits on and off.

I've never used the Mikro software as the Microchip stuff is free for the same tasks. Microchips libraries hold the font information in memory, or they did when I last used them. Mikro may have a function to read one from the outside, you would have to check that yourself.
 

Thread Starter

skusku

Joined Aug 9, 2009
80
I don't mind using the microchip libraries either. Any good tutorials you can recommend, including wiring diagrams?
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
Well, when I find some I will let you know. I am just restarting an effort to get back into this stuff, and what I did know is now obsolete as the libraries, compiler, and even the IDE have been upgraded since I last did my work in this.

I will start, and perhaps finish that search on Microchips site. They have pretty good info there, plus their forums can be excellent.

I would STRONGLY recommend you start with a tested development board so you can safely ignore hardware issues and just stick to the code. When I started I used Mikro's MMB board, though I did use Microchips libraries. (side note: Microchip had a bug in their driver for this device, plus I had to create a custom hardwareprofile.h file, both of which took two or more full weeks to get thru.)

OK, I am ignoring this advice as I want to use an unsupported device but my first go around will be to use someone else's project as a starting point, meaning his code with his design. Once I get that working I will see about adapting it to the display I want to use.

So to make your life easier I recommend any display you use already be supported with Mikro or Microchip drivers for both the graphic display and also the touch screen portion. I sure don't want to be writing those, doubt you do either.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,712
I just finished a project with a TFT on an STM32 system.
I didn't like the font that came with the library. So I created my own.
It's not difficult to do.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
Microchip provides a free tool to import fonts.

Back in the days when I did simple B&W screens I made several font files. Same basic fonts, just different sizes of small medium and very large.

I did some good work but abandoned it all once I saw my first reasonably priced color screen.
 

Thread Starter

skusku

Joined Aug 9, 2009
80
Well I initially wanted to go for the ssd1963 7" tft and hoped to use a pic32 device for it, but I think the PIC32 is too slow for it so I wanted to learn ARM along with it. Now the problem is that it is my 1st time learning TFT along with my 1st ARM project as well. I will prefer doing PIC since I am a lot more familiar with it, but the refreshing speed/response time on the PIC32 will be an issue I believe.
 

Thread Starter

skusku

Joined Aug 9, 2009
80
Mr Chips, what software did you use for STM32 to program the GUI and code.
I see embedded wizard is available (which looks amazing) but at 3000 Euro it is too expensive for me.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,712
Mr Chips, what software did you use for STM32 to program the GUI and code.
I see embedded wizard is available (which looks amazing) but at 3000 Euro it is too expensive for me.
I use IAR EWARM. Sorry, it is not cheap.
I like to write my own GUI even though STemWin is available.
 
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