Bug, or incomplete documentation (access to Examples for UNO R4 WiFi)

grb · February 21, 2025, 11:33pm

According to the "Getting Started" documentation for the Arduino UNO R4 WiFi, it should be possible to access the board-specific example sketches (e.g., File > Examples > LED_Matrix > GameOfLife) immediately after the board has been connected, the board package installed, and the board has been selected in the board selector drop-down.

However, while leading a group of trainees through the installation process, it became apparent that the board-specific examples ("Examples for Aurduino Uno R4 WiFi") did not become available in the IDE's File > Examples menu until after the IDE had first been closed and restarted.

So my questions are:

Can anybody else verify this behavior in a new installation? (I saw it on multiple different computers.)
If I file a bug report, is it a Documentation issue or an IDE issue?

sonofcy · February 22, 2025, 12:06am

I just tried it and did NOT have to restart the IDE. I am using the IDE2 on a Mac. I think you changed so much, or your OS didn't detect the files changing.

sonofcy · February 22, 2025, 12:12am

I did a little googling and found several Arduino docs that say the IDE should be restarted. Sometimes you get lucky and don't need to, and I suspect your OS makes a difference as well.

grb · February 22, 2025, 2:06am

Thanks.

Would you mind sharing one such link (or your search terms — I did not have much luck with site:arduino.cc installation "select board" "restart ide")?

I believe that these were all Windows computers (which had never previously had an Arduino IDE installed, in case that makes a difference).

The process was:

Download and install IDE 2.4.3 (MSI installer).
Launch IDE and allow all required drivers to be installed.
Connect Arduino Uno R4 WiFi board via USB.
Select board to install board package.
Test by uploading a new sketch (this does work!).
Open File > Examples.

Everyone who followed this process in our group today could only see the "Built-in Examples" (01–11), and no one saw the "Examples for Aurduino Uno R4 WiFi" unless the IDE was restarted.

sonofcy · February 22, 2025, 3:07am

I am not surprised your search didn't work. Here is what I entered

does the arduino ide have to be restarted after adding boards, libraries

5 restart hits on this page (not one I checked earlier)
https://docs.espressif.com/projects/arduino-esp32/en/latest/installing.html
Another is on https://docs.arduino.cc/software/ide-v1/tutorials/installing-libraries/

Another at https://support.arduino.cc/hc/en-us/articles/5145457742236-Add-libraries-to-Arduino-IDE

What I meant by OS is some are better at 'noticing' some files have appeared or changed in the file space they are monitoring. If you don't have some experience in building systems and how they work, then it probably isn't obvious, but it is to those who do. Anyway, feel free to post an issue, not against documentation, though, maybe IDE.

grb · February 22, 2025, 3:23am

Thanks for the links (and for the tips on How to Google in the Age of AI).

I'll do some more testing (maybe on a macOS system) and perhaps raise an issue on GitHub.

sonofcy · February 22, 2025, 3:43am

You caught that, did you? Yes, with AI, you google differently. Did you notice the one hit was specific to the example code? Note it was reported a while ago. Items with workarounds are very low priority in the fix queue.

grb · February 22, 2025, 4:34am

Yes, but it implied this was an issue only "with older IDE versions".

What, on GitHub?

Modifying the documentation to explicitly call for an IDE restart may be an easier "fix".

ptillisch · February 22, 2025, 10:19am

Thanks for your report @grb. I am able to reproduce the fault and have submitted a formal report to the Arduino IDE developers on your behalf:

github.com/arduino/arduino-ide

Board-specific menu content not populated if board is selected prior to platform installation

opened 10:15AM - 22 Feb 25 UTC

per1234

topic: code type: imperfection

### Describe the problem Some of the Arduino IDE menus contain items populated …according to data specific to the currently selected board. Arduino IDE has a helpful feature where the user can configure Arduino IDE's **Tools > Board** menu selection for a connected board by simply selecting the entry produced by the board's port from the "board selector" menu on the toolbar. For most official boards, this can be done even before the board's platform has been installed (the board's [identification properties](https://arduino.github.io/arduino-cli/dev/pluggable-discovery-specification/#board-identification) are sent to the "[Arduino Builder API](https://builder.arduino.cc/docs#!/boards95v3/boards_v3_byVidPid)"). Although the board can't actually be used until the platform is installed, this allows Arduino IDE to automatically offer the installation of the platform, supporting a natural user flow for the first use of a board. 🐛 The board-specific menu content is not populated after platform installation after completion of the platform installation if the user has already selected the board model prior to the platform installation: - **File > Examples** menu does not contain entries for ["platform bundled" libraries](https://arduino.github.io/arduino-cli/latest/platform-specification/#platform-bundled-libraries) - **Sketch > Include Library** does not contain entries for platform bundled libraries - **Tools** menu does not contain entries for any "[custom board options](https://arduino.github.io/arduino-cli/latest/platform-specification/#custom-board-options)" the board might have ### To reproduce #### Equipment - Any modern official Arduino board other than the [classic Nano](https://store.arduino.cc/products/arduino-nano) #### Steps 1. Select **File > Quit** from the Arduino IDE menus if it is running. All Arduino IDE windows will close. 1. Rename or delete the "user data" folder, which is located at the following path (this is done to effectively simulate the real world conditions of the first time use of a board): - **If you are using Windows**: ```text C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\arduino-ide\ ``` (where `<username>` is your Windows username) ❗ If looking for it with your file manager or command line, note that the `AppData` folder is hidden by default. On [Windows "**File Explorer**"](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/find-and-open-file-explorer-ef370130-1cca-9dc5-e0df-2f7416fe1cb1), you can make it visible by opening the "**View**" menu, then checking the box next to "**☐ Hidden items**". - **If you are using Linux**: ```text /home/<username>/.config/arduino-ide/ ``` (where `<username>` is your Linux username) ❗ The `.config` folder may be hidden by default in your file manager and terminal. - **If you are using macOS**: ```text /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/arduino-ide/ ``` (where `<username>` is your macOS username) ❗ The `Library` folder is hidden by default. You can make it visible by pressing the <kbd>**Command**</kbd>+<kbd>**Shift**</kbd>+<kbd>**.**</kbd> keyboard shortcut. ⚠ Please be very careful when deleting things from your computer. When in doubt, back up! 1. Start Arduino IDE. 1. If it is already installed, use **Boards Manager** to uninstall the platform of the board. 1. Connect the Arduino board to your computer. 1. Select the board from the board Selector menu on the Arduino IDE toolbar. A notification will appear: > **ⓘ** The \_\_\_ core has to be installed for the currently selected \_\_\_ board. Do you want to install it now? 1. Click the "**YES**" button on the notification. **ⓘ** This method of platform installation was chosen arbitrarily. The fault occurs no matter which method you use to install the platform. 1. Wait for the platform installation to finish. 1. Select **File > Examples** from the Arduino IDE menus. 🐛 The menu does not contain an "**Examples for \<board name\>**" section (which would normally have a submenu for each of the platform bundled libraries of the selected board). 1. Select **Sketch > Include Library** from the Arduino IDE menus. 🐛 The menu does not contain entries for the platform bundled libraries (e.g., "SPI", "Wire") 1. If the board has custom board options (e.g., "**Processor**" for Mega 2560, "**Target core**" for Portenta H7, "**Partition Scheme**" for Nano ESP32), select "**Tools**" from the Arduino IDE menus. 🐛 The menu does not contain entries for the custom board options. 1. Select any other board from Arduino IDE's **Tools > Board** menu. 1. Select the board you are using from Arduino IDE's **Tools > Board** menu. 1. Select **File > Examples** from the Arduino IDE menus. 🙂 The menu does contains an "**Examples for \<board name\>**" section with a submenu for each of the platform bundled libraries of the selected board. 1. Select **Sketch > Include Library** from the Arduino IDE menus. 🙂 The menu contains entries for the platform bundled libraries. 1. If the board has custom board options, select "**Tools**" from the Arduino IDE menus. 🐛 The menu contains entries for the custom board options. ### Expected behavior Menus are populated with board-specific data for the selected board. ### Arduino IDE version 2.3.4 ### Operating system Windows ### Operating system version 11 ### Additional context Originally reported at https://forum.arduino.cc/t/bug-or-incomplete-documentation-access-to-examples-for-uno-r4-wifi/1356636 <a name="workaround"></a> #### Workaround 1. Select any other board from Arduino IDE's **Tools > Board** menu. 1. Select the board you are using from Arduino IDE's **Tools > Board** menu. Alternatively, you can exit and then restart Arduino IDE. ### Issue checklist - [X] I searched for previous reports in [the issue tracker](https://github.com/arduino/arduino-ide/issues?q=) - [X] I verified the problem still occurs when using the latest [nightly build](https://www.arduino.cc/en/software#nightly-builds) - [X] My report contains all necessary details

If you have a GitHub account, you can subscribe to that thread to get notifications of any new developments related to this subject:

Please only comment on the GitHub issue thread if you have new technical information that will assist with the resolution. General discussion and support requests are always welcome here on the Arduino Forum.

grb · February 22, 2025, 1:40pm

@ptillisch Thank you!

I have a few follow-up questions, based on your GitHub report:

For most official boards, this can be done even before the board's platform has been installed (the board's identification properties are sent to the "Arduino Builder API").

Is there a preferred installation sequence, that allows the board platform to be installed prior to board selection in the IDE? The reason I ask, is that I am writing an installation guide that will be distributed to a group of about 100 trainees, and if there is a canonical method to get the board platform installed, I would like to include it in my instructions. Alternatively, I can just add a step in the instructions to restart the IDE after the board package has been installed.

Although the board can't actually be used until the platform is installed, this allows Arduino IDE to automatically offer the installation of the platform, supporting a natural user flow for the first use of a board.

When we did a dry-run with a handful of trainees yesterday, they were able to "use" the board, in the sense that it was possible to upload a new sketch (with no instructions), and this resulted in the factory-installed code (display of a heart frame on the LED matrix) to be replaced (the heart icon was no longer displayed on the board).

Is this consistent with your understanding of this bug?

ptillisch · February 22, 2025, 3:09pm

I wouldn't say "preferred", as the approach you took when you encountered the bug is perfectly reasonable and Arduino IDE is intended to work perfectly under those conditions.

However, there is an alternative approach which is also valid, and which is not affected by the bug. I'll provide instructions for that installation procedure:

Select Tools > Board > Boards Manager... from the Arduino IDE menus to open the "Boards Manager" view in the left side panel.
Scroll down through the list of boards platforms until you see the "Arduino UNO R4 Boards" entry.
Click the "INSTALL" button at the bottom of the entry.
Wait for the installation process to finish, as indicated by a notification at the bottom right corner of the Arduino IDE window:

Successfully installed platform ...

After installing the "Arduino UNO R4 Boards" platform by following the instructions above, when you select the Arduino UNO R4 WiFi board from the board selector on the Arduino IDE toolbar, you will see the examples under the File > Examples menu as expected.

Please let me know if you have any questions or problems while following those instructions.

Yes. The problem is that Arduino IDE populates the File > Examples menu with the library examples when you select a new board. But if you select the board before the Arduino UNO R4 Boards platform has been installed then it doesn't have the data it needs to populate the menu.

But, other than the missing menu items, everything else is perfectly functional once the platform is installed. It is only a problem in the GUI, not anything broken in the underlying functionality. And in fact if you used File > Open to open the examples, they would open and compile just fine even if not shown in the menu (but that is not very user friendly compared to selecting them from a menu so I'm not actually suggesting you do this).

sterretje · February 22, 2025, 3:24pm

Maybe a stupid question but how can one select a board for which the board package is not installed?

ptillisch · February 22, 2025, 4:21pm

The "board selector" menu on the Arduino IDE toolbar is a list of the "ports" discovered by the IDE. A board model may be associated with a port, and when there is such an association, the board model is selected in addition to the port when the user selects an item from the "board selector".

When Arduino IDE discovers a port, it checks to see if a board definition in any of the installed platforms has specified an association with the properties of that port. If so, it will use that board model for the board selected menu item for the port. In this case, selecting that menu item is functionally identical to selecting the board model from the Tools > Board menu and the port from the Tools > Port menu.

If Arduino IDE does not find an associated board definition for a port, it makes a request to the get /v3/boards/byVidPid/{vid}/{pid} endpoint of the "Arduino Builder API":

https://builder.arduino.cc/docs#!/boards95v3/boards_v3_byVidPid

For example, if the port was produced by an UNO R4 WiFi board, it will make this request:

https://builder.arduino.cc/v3/boards/byVidPid/0x2341/0x1002

(2341:1002 is the VID/PID pair of the UNO R4 WiFi)

which returns this response:

{
  "architecture": "renesas_uno",
  "fqbn": "arduino:renesas_uno:unor4wifi",
  "href": "/v3/boards/arduino:renesas_uno:unor4wifi",
  "id": "unor4wifi",
  "name": "Arduino UNO R4 WiFi",
  "package": "arduino",
  "plan": "create-free"
}

From this information, Arduino IDE is able to identify the port as an UNO R4 WiFi board.

The reason for doing this is so that Arduino IDE can automatically offer the installation of the required platform:

So in order to get set up to use a new board, the user only needs to connect the board to their computer, select the item for that board from the prominent menu on the Arduino IDE toolbar, and then click the "YES" button on the friendly notification that appears.

sterretje · February 22, 2025, 5:17pm

Thanks for that. I guess it's because I live in an AVR-only world that I have never seen that notification. And 99% of the time I use the tools → boards menu; it's only by accident that I use the selector.

ptillisch · February 23, 2025, 2:36am

Yeah. You would see the same behavior with one of the AVR boards that have a dedicated VID/PID pair when the "Arduino AVR Boards" platform is not installed. However, since that platform is bundled with Arduino IDE 1.x, and automatically installed on the first run by 2.x, it is unlikely that those conditions will ever exist during real world usage of the IDE.

Topic		Replies	Views
Where are WIFIS3 examples hiding? IDE 2.x	14	2180	April 13, 2024
Several example sketches fail Nano R4	8	200	March 1, 2026
IDE2 - Select Other Board IDE 2.x	11	149	December 21, 2025
Examples missing 2.2.1 GIGA R1 WiFi	9	818	October 15, 2023
Failed uploading: uploading error to UNO R4 Wifi board Uploading	6	164	January 4, 2026

Bug, or incomplete documentation (access to Examples for UNO R4 WiFi)

Related topics