Welcome to Bitmap2LCD !

Topics accessible from the internal Web Browser

Bitmap2LCD is a software tool for programming small Graphic LCDs in embedded systems and a programmable text and graphic processing tool.

How to search for information ?

At the TOP RIGHT HAND SIDE of this BLOG you’ll find

1. For example the link (green arrow) of this Quick Tutorial
2. Search this website using keywords (orange arrow)

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Translation of these Tutorials

Translations Traductions Übersetzungen Traducciones_ Traduzione

Presentation slide show on the website

Link to the Slideshow

The Windows

In the red frame below (Windows tab – Main Menu ) the windows of the Program

Bitmap2LCD is a floating multi-window application for dual screen computers.

Getting Started > Basic Settings

Getting Started > Basic Settings

Work Canvas

It’s the GRAPHIC EDITOR, the Paintbox : Import graphics into it, draw pixels and shapes, add text…

It has a user defined size and color depth matching with the target Graphic LCD device of the project.

Color Depth

Monochrome , Grayscale or Colors

Fig 4a+b )

Details about the Work Canvas

Details about Grayscale

Load a graphic

Variant 1 : Dialog (red frame)

Variant 2: File explorer

Open/Show the FILE EXPLORER window
In the list, click to select the graphic file to load (blue arrow). It shows in the GRAPHICS PREVIEW window.
Resize, turn or tilt the preview image with the buttons located at the top of the preview.
Click the Export Preview to Work Canvas button (green arrow)

If graphic is larger than WORK CANVAS, a dialog shows to resize to fit the Work Canvas or not.

Floating Selection Layer

MOVING THE IMPORTED GRAPHIC INSIDE THE FLOATING SELECTION LAYER

An import of a graphic takes place on the FLOATING SELECTION LAYER, A red frame (red arrow) around the canvas shows an active selection layer.

After MOVING the selection layer (blue arrows), PASTE the graphic (green arrows) to the Work Canvas.

Convert a color bitmap to black and white pixels

2 variants color to monochrome conversion : THRESHOLD LEVEL and DITHERING

Variant 1.THRESHOLD level (red arrow) : move the cursor .

Variant 2. DITHERING (green arrow) with monochrome color reduction. (Dithering Parameters are located in the main menu convert to.. )

After conversion, PASTE the floating SELECTION LAYER (Blue Arrow) to CANVAS

Details about dithering

Fig 8 )

Export a work canvas graphic to GLCD data.

There are several options to choose from :

Your hexadecimal file is in the Text editor in the format defined in the configuration settings.

Example Of How to Convert A graphic To a Data Array

Example of how to convert a Graphic to a Array of Data

System font, Editable Font, Anti-aliased Font, GLCD Font with Bitmap2LCD

Info about Fonts in Bitmap2LCD

Projects, Artworks, Filenames

A PROJECT is a set of configuration settings

For different GLCD projects, the specific set of settings can be saved as a Project. It allows to switch from one to another.

A so called “Artwork” is a set of files related to the graphic source filename : In the below example a graphic saved for example as NewBitmap.BMP , will be converted to an output file called NewBitmap.h , and the associated touch panel file will then be named NewBitmap.TSC (red arrow)

When you save your Artwork with”Define Artwork Name” in the GLCD Graphic Tab (red frames), as a bitmap, you will change the basic filenames.