14.24.2 Projects Window – Project Menu

Right click on a project name in the Projects window to pop up the Project menu. Menu items are shown in the tables below.

Table 14-90. Project Context Menu Items
Menu Item	Description
Build	Builds the project according to the options selected in the Project Properties window. Note: When you Debug or Run, your project is built automatically.
Clean and Build	Cleans and then builds the project according to the options selected in the Project Properties window. Note: When you Debug or Run, your project is built automatically.
Clean	Cleans the project by deleting the outputs of previous builds.
Batch Build	Builds one or more configurations.
Set Configuration	Displays project configurations for selection, or click Customize to open the Project Properties window to manage project configurations.
New	Creates a new item  for MPLAB X IDE; embedded file types are available. See New Submenu Items table below.
Add	Adds an item  for MPLAB X IDE; embedded file types are available. See Add Submenu Items table below.
Set as Main Project	Sets this project as the main project. This is useful when you are working with multiple projects.
Find	Finds specific text in files in this project.
Locate Headers	Locates all the header files (.h) called out in the C code project files and presents them in a checklist window so they may be added to the project There are several reasons why you might want to add headers to your project: The files can be opened from the Projects window under Header Files instead of hunting for them on your computer. The project created by Save Project As will not contain header files unless they are added to the project; therefore this project may not build if any user-generated header files are required. The zipped project created by Package will not contain header files unless they are added to the project; therefore the unzipped project may not build if any user-generated header files are required. This feature is able to locate user-generated header files for all Microchip toolchains.
Run	Executes the project code.
Debug	Executes the project code in a debug environment.
Step Into	Steps into Paused code running in the debug environment.
Make and Program Device	Programs the target device and holds in Reset (do not run).
Projects	Select Project actions. See Projects Submenu Items table below.
Close	Closes the selected project.
Open Required  Projects	Loads all other projects that are required for the selected project to run.
Code Assistance	Selects assistance in creating code: code folding, code completion, etc.
Analysis	Displays list of analysis tools for selection.
Show Code Coverage Summary	Opens Code Coverage window to display summary.
Versioning	Controls the version of the project by using a version control system.
History	To view, or revert to, the local history for the project.
Properties	Sets project properties. For MPLAB X IDE, the Project Properties window is specific to embedded development.

Table 14-91. New Submenu Items
Menu Item	Description
Directory	Opens the New Directory dialog. To view the new directory, see the Files window. Note: To create a new logical folder, select Add > Add Logical Folder.
Compiler-specific header file	Click to create the compiler-specific header file template. For example, xc32_header.h.
Compiler-specific file	Click to create the compiler-specific file template. For example, xc32_newfile.c.
Text File	Opens the New Text File dialog.
Other	Opens the New File dialog.

Table 14-92. Add Submenu Items
Menu Item	Description
Add Existing Item	Adds an existing file to the project. The path to the file may be auto (selected by MPLAB X IDE), absolute or relative. Additionally, you may choose to copy the file into the project folder.
Add Existing Items from Folders	Adds all files contained in the specified folder(s). You may also specify a pattern to ignore certain folders from inclusion. Click Default to see the default pattern. See also Tools > Options > Miscellaneous > Files, Files ignored by the IDE.
Add Logical Folder	Adds a new logical folder to the Projects tree. Note: To create an actual folder, select New > Directory. To view the new directory, see the Files window.
Add External Item	Adds an existing item to the project. The path to the file may be auto (selected by MPLAB X IDE), absolute or relative. Additionally, you may choose to copy the file into the project folder. This is useful for adding simulator files, data sheet PDFs, and other files to the project for your reference.
Add autoload.py	Adds the autoload.py file to support scripting for devices supporting this feature.
Learn more about scripting	Opens the WebHelp topic Use IDE Scripting (autoload.py).

Table 14-93. Projects Submenu Items
Menu Item	Description
Package	Packages the current project into a .zip file.
Rename	Renames the project.
Move	Moves the project to another location. Along with the project, it moves the source files that are inside the project directory. Files outside the project directory are not moved. However, the project still maintains reference to the files outside the project directory – this is by design.
Copy	Creates a copy of the project. If the source files are within the project directory, the source files are also copied to the new location. Files outside the project directory are not copied. However, the project still maintains reference to the files outside the project directory – this is by design.
Delete	Deletes the project files. The project file is deleted but not the contents under the project directory. Only on selecting Also delete sources are all the source files deleted.
Export Hex	Exports the project build as a Hex file. In MPLAB IDE v8, export is an extraction of memory objects. In MPLAB X IDE, export is the hex file result of a build; therefore, it needs to include all necessary auxiliary memory settings for configuration and EEPROM in code. If analyzing the exported hex file, use the device PIC file to decode extended linear address records.