User Manual

Arduino Library Installation

Controlling DotStars “from scratch” is tedious, so we provide a library letting you focus on the fun and interesting bits.

The library works with most mainstream Arduino boards and derivatives: Uno, Mega, Adafruit Feather, etc.

Install Adafruit_DotStar via Library Manager

Recent versions of the Arduino IDE (1.6.2 and later) make library installation super easy via the Library Manager

interface. From the Sketch menu, > Include Library > Manage Libraries... In the text input box type in "DotStar". Look

for "Adafruit DotStar by Adafruit" and select the latest version by clicking on the popup menu next to the Install button.

Then click on the Install button. After installation, you can click the "close" button.

Manually Install Adafruit_DotStar Library

If you’re using an older version of the IDE, or just want to set things up manually, “classic” installation of the library is as

follows: you can visit the Adafruit_DotStar library page (https://adafru.it/ej7) at Github and download from there, or just

click this button:

https://adafru.it/eio

1. Uncompress the ZIP file after it’s finished downloading.

2. The resulting folder should contain the files Adafruit_DotStar.cpp, Adafruit_DotStar.h and an “examples” sub-

folder. Sometimes in Windows you’ll get an intermediate-level folder and need to move things around.

3. Rename the folder (containing the .cpp and .h files) to Adafruit_DotStar (with the underscore and everything),

and place it alongside your other Arduino libraries, typically in your (home folder)/Documents/Arduino/Libraries

folder. Libraries should

never

be installed in the “Libraries” folder alongside the Arduino application itself…put

them in the subdirectory of your home folder!

4. Re-start the Arduino IDE if it’s currently running.

Here’s a tutorial (https://adafru.it/aYM) that walks through the process of correctly installing Arduino libraries manually.

Another option for Arduino is the FastLED library (https://adafru.it/eip), featuring cutting-edge code with more color-

handling and mathematical support functions. However, it’s a little more tricky to use…so, if connecting DotStars for the