if/whiles and buttons

Projects Programming
1

I am trying to write UI for an LCD screen to assign a 4digit code to a series of sensors (chara, charb, etc, to sensor a, sensor b, etc). When i enter an IF statement, i want the loop to be confined there so that the buttons that are called upon there are not double tasked elsewhere in the code. As it is now, if i want to reassign a button, it may impact a button press count from earlier or later in the code, throwing everything off. I thought i had a handle on it but it has fallen apart a bit.

Anyway, the way the program works is using the buttons on an AdaFruit RGB LCD shield, which has debouncing as part of the library. There is a 4 way panel plus a select button.

I think that i want to use a While() statement, but whenever i do the program monitor gets stuck just above the if statements for the buttons, evidenced by tests with the serial monitor.

the controller is an UNO

thanks

#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_MCP23017.h>
#include <Adafruit_RGBLCDShield.h>
Adafruit_RGBLCDShield lcd = Adafruit_RGBLCDShield();

#include <EEPROM.h>

#define RED 0x1
#define YELLOW 0x3
#define GREEN 0x2
#define TEAL 0x6
#define BLUE 0x4
#define VIOLET 0x5
#define WHITE 0x7

int butCnt = 0;


int chara1 = 0;
int chara2 = 0;
int chara3 = 0;
int chara4 = 0;
int charaUM = 55;
int charuct_b;
int charb1 = 0;
int charb2 = 0;
int charb3 = 0;
int charb4 = 0;
int charbUM = 55;

int cursCnt = 0;
int display1=0;
int butselect=0;
int chartot=0; //sets total number of charucts

void setup() {
  Serial.begin (115200);
  lcd.begin (16, 2);
  lcd.println("To begin, press ");
  lcd.setCursor(2, 1);
  lcd.println("SELECT or <-          ");
  uint8_t i = 0;
}
void charaset() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  uint8_t buttons = lcd.readButtons();
  if (buttons) {
	if (buttons & BUTTON_SELECT) {
		butselect++;
		delay(650);
		lcd.clear();
		lcd.print("charUCT:");
		lcd.setCursor(9, 1);
		lcd.print(chara1);
		lcd.setCursor(10, 1);
		lcd.print(chara2);
		lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
		lcd.print(chara3);
		lcd.setCursor(12, 1);
		lcd.print(chara4);
		Serial.print("button select");
		Serial.println(butselect);
		}
		}
		if (butselect==1) //start of charuct entry
	{
	if (buttons)
	{	
		if (buttons & BUTTON_RIGHT) {
			cursCnt++;
			delay(500);
			Serial.print("curscount");
			Serial.println(cursCnt);
			lcd.clear();
			lcd.print("charUCT:");
			lcd.setCursor(9, 1);
			lcd.print(chara1);
			lcd.setCursor(10, 1);
			lcd.print(chara2);
			lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
			lcd.print(chara3);
			lcd.setCursor(12, 1);
			lcd.print(chara4);
		}
		if (buttons & BUTTON_LEFT) {
			cursCnt--;
			delay(500);
			Serial.print("curs count");
			Serial.println(cursCnt);
			lcd.clear();
			lcd.print("charUCT:");
			lcd.setCursor(9, 1);
			lcd.print(chara1);
			lcd.setCursor(10, 1);
			lcd.print(chara2);
			lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
			lcd.print(chara3);
			lcd.setCursor(12, 1);
			lcd.print(chara4);
		}
		if (cursCnt == 0) {
			lcd.setCursor(9, 0);
			lcd.print("_");

			if (buttons & BUTTON_UP) {
			chara1++;
			Serial.print("chara1 cnt ");
			Serial.println(chara1);
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(9, 1);
			lcd.print(chara1);
			}
			if (buttons & BUTTON_DOWN) {
			chara1--;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(9, 1);
			lcd.print(chara1);
			}
		}								
		if (cursCnt == 1) {
			lcd.setCursor(10, 0);
			lcd.print("_");

			if (buttons & BUTTON_UP) {
			chara2++;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(10, 1);
			lcd.print(chara2);
			}
			if (buttons & BUTTON_DOWN) {
			chara2--;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(10, 1);
			lcd.print(chara2);
			}
		}
		if (cursCnt == 2) {
			lcd.setCursor(11, 0);
			lcd.print("_");

			if (buttons & BUTTON_UP) {
			chara3++;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
			lcd.print(chara3);
			}
			if (buttons & BUTTON_DOWN) {
			chara3--;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
			lcd.print(chara3);
			}
		}
		if (cursCnt == 3) {
			lcd.setCursor(12, 0);
			lcd.print("_");

			if (buttons & BUTTON_UP) {
			chara4++;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(12, 1);
			lcd.print(chara4);
			}
			if (buttons & BUTTON_DOWN) {
			chara4--;
			delay(500);
			lcd.setCursor(12, 1);
			lcd.print(chara4);
			}
		}
		if (cursCnt == 4) {
			lcd.clear();
			lcd.print("CONFIRM A: ");
			lcd.print (chara1);
			lcd.print (chara2);
			lcd.print (chara3);
			lcd.print (chara4);
			lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
			lcd.print("NO<- YES->");
			}
			//if no, then cursor moves left to numbers. this is not sophisticated, but it works. 		
		if (cursCnt==5){
		chartot++;
		lcd.clear();
		lcd.print("char1 wrtn EEPROM"); //write EEPROM code, this line will be written when everything else works. 
		delay(1500);
		lcd.clear();
		lcd.print("Add sensor?");
		lcd.setCursor(0,1);
		lcd.print("Yes-> Done(SEL)");
		if (buttons & BUTTON_SELECT) //at this point the select-button count falls apart, and it is not deducted or set= to whatever number i chose, since that button is used earlier
		{
		butselect--;
		butselect--;
		Serial.println("button select  ");
		Serial.println(butselect);
		}
		}	
					
  }
  }
  }
  void loop () {
   uint8_t buttons = lcd.readButtons();
  charaset();
  if (buttons)
  {  
    if ((buttons & BUTTON_LEFT) || (butselect %2==0)) {
	
    lcd.clear();
    lcd.print ("eeprom read");
    lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
    lcd.print("95%rem");
    lcd.setCursor(9, 1);
    lcd.print(chara1);
    lcd.setCursor(10, 1);
    lcd.print(chara2);
    lcd.setCursor(11, 1);
    lcd.print(chara3);
    lcd.setCursor(12, 1);
    lcd.print(chara4);
	delay(1500);
	lcd.clear();
	lcd.print("would show next");
	delay(500);
 
 }
 }
}
2

Look up 'finite state machine'.

3

Separate the code for reading the buttons, the code for making decisions and the code for updating the LCD into different functions. That will make it much easier to see errors in the decision logic. See the Thread planning and implementing a program.

...R