Once you've finished setting up your MatrixPortal S3 with CircuitPython, you can access the code, fonts, images and necessary libraries by downloading the Project Bundle.
To do this, click on the Download Project Bundle button in the window below. It will download as a zipped folder.
Text Editor
Adafruit recommends using the Mu editor for editing your CircuitPython code. You can get more info in this guide.
Alternatively, you can use any text editor that saves simple text files.
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 Melissa-LeBlanc-Williams for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2020 John Park for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
# Quote board matrix display
# uses AdafruitIO to serve up a quote text feed and color feed
# random messages are displayed, updates periodically to look for new messages
# avoids repeating the same quote twice in a row
import time
import random
from collections import deque
import board
from adafruit_matrixportal.matrix import Matrix
from adafruit_matrixportal.network import Network
from messageboard import MessageBoard
from messageboard.fontpool import FontPool
from messageboard.message import Message
WIDTH = 64
HEIGHT = 32
DEFAULT_COLOR = 0x0000FF
DEFAULT_MESSAGE = "Text Adafruit IO to update"
DEFAULT_FONT = "arial_sm"
MESSAGES_FEED = "text"
COLORS_FEED = "color"
UPDATE_DELAY = 50 # Seconds between updates
SCROLL_DURATION = 5 # Seconds to scroll entire message
RANDOMIZE_FONTS = True # Randomize fonts, make "False" to just use the default font
RANDOMIZE_COLORS = True # Randomise colors, make "False" to just use the default color
KEEP_LATEST_MESSAGE = True # Keep the last message in the Message Feed
# --- Display setup ---
matrix = Matrix(width=WIDTH, height=HEIGHT, bit_depth=5)
network = Network(status_neopixel=board.NEOPIXEL, debug=True)
messageboard = MessageBoard(matrix)
fontpool = FontPool()
fontpool.add_font("arial_sm", "fonts/Arial-10.pcf")
fontpool.add_font("arial_lg", "fonts/Arial-15.pcf")
fontpool.add_font("sofia", "fonts/Sofia-Regular-15.pcf")
system_message = Message(fontpool.find_font("arial_sm"))
message_fonts = ("sofia", "arial_lg")
message_queue = deque((), 10000) # Use a double-ended queue for messages
colors = []
def update_data():
print("Updating data from Adafruit IO")
# Only show connecting message if not connected
if not network.is_connected:
system_message.clear()
system_message.add_text("Connecting", color=0xFFFF00)
messageboard.animate(system_message, "Static", "show")
try:
color_data = network.get_io_data(COLORS_FEED)
colors.clear()
for json_data in color_data:
color = network.json_traverse(json_data, ["value"])
colors.append(int(color[1:], 16))
# pylint: disable=broad-except
except Exception as error:
print(error)
try:
messages_data = network.get_io_data(MESSAGES_FEED)
message_ids = []
messages = [] # Temporary place for messages
for json_data in messages_data:
message_ids.append(network.json_traverse(json_data, ["id"]))
messages.append(network.json_traverse(json_data, ["value"]))
# Results are returned in reverse order, so we reverse that and add to end of queue
messages.reverse()
for m in messages:
message_queue.append(m)
# Remove any messages that have been grabbed except the latest one if setting enabled
start_index = 1 if KEEP_LATEST_MESSAGE else 0
for index in range(start_index, len(message_ids)):
message_id = message_ids[index]
network.delete_io_data(MESSAGES_FEED, message_id)
# pylint: disable=broad-except
except Exception as error:
print(error)
messageboard.animate(system_message, "Static", "hide")
def get_new_rand_item(current_index, item_list):
if not item_list:
return None
if len(item_list) > 1 and current_index is not None:
new_index = current_index
while new_index == current_index:
new_index = random.randrange(0, len(item_list))
else:
new_index = random.randrange(0, len(item_list))
return new_index
update_data()
last_update = time.monotonic()
quote_index = None
color_index = None
font_index = None
message_text = None
while True:
if len(message_queue) >= 1:
message_text = message_queue.popleft()
if message_text is None:
message_text = DEFAULT_MESSAGE
# Choose a random color from colors
if RANDOMIZE_COLORS:
color_index = get_new_rand_item(color_index, colors)
if color_index is None:
message_color = DEFAULT_COLOR
else:
message_color = colors[color_index]
else:
message_color = DEFAULT_COLOR
# Choose a random font from message_fonts
if RANDOMIZE_FONTS:
font_index = get_new_rand_item(font_index, message_fonts)
if font_index is None:
message_font = DEFAULT_FONT
else:
message_font = message_fonts[font_index]
else:
message_font = DEFAULT_FONT
# Set the quote text and color
message = Message(fontpool.find_font(message_font))
message.add_text(message_text, color=message_color)
# Scroll the message
duration = SCROLL_DURATION
messageboard.animate(message, "Scroll", "right_to_left", duration=SCROLL_DURATION)
if time.monotonic() > last_update + UPDATE_DELAY:
update_data()
last_update = time.monotonic()
After downloading the Project Bundle, plug your MatrixPortal S3 into the computer's USB port. You should see a new flash drive appear in the computer's File Explorer or Finder (depending on your operating system) called CIRCUITPY. Unzip the folder and copy the following items to the MatrixPortal S3's CIRCUITPY drive.
- lib folder
- fonts folder
- images folder
- code.py
Your MatrixPortal S3 CIRCUITPY drive should look like this after copying the fonts, images, and lib folders and the code.py and demo.py files.
Customize your Code
Find the variables near the top. You can set up the matrix size, and preferences for how you want the board to work.
WIDTH = 64 HEIGHT = 32 DEFAULT_COLOR = 0x0000FF DEFAULT_MESSAGE = "Text Adafruit IO to update" DEFAULT_FONT = "arial_sm"
Width and height should match the number of total pixels in your Matrix Panel.
You can set your default colors and fonts here, as well as an intial message that plays the first time you turn on the panel.
Feed Settings
Next, set up the names of the feeds you set up on Adafruit IO - one for the messages, and one for your color repository.
MESSAGES_FEED = "text" COLORS_FEED = "color"
Finally, set up the behavior of your panel. If KEEP_LATEST_MESSAGE is set to True, then the last thing scrolling on your panel when you power it down will be remembered. If it's set to False, then the default message will play on startup.
UPDATE_DELAY = 80 # Seconds between updates SCROLL_DURATION = 10 # Seconds to scroll entire message RANDOMIZE_FONTS = True # Randomize fonts, make "False" to just use the default font RANDOMIZE_COLORS = True # Randomise colors, make "False" to just use the default color KEEP_LATEST_MESSAGE = True # Keep the last message in the Message Feed
Font Setup
The bundle includes a few fonts, but you're easily able to add more fonts or change them around.
To learn more about creating fonts for CircuitPython projects, check out this guide: Custom Fonts for CircuitPython Displays
Going Deeper
You can experiment with adding layers, images, and other scroll behaviors as well. There is a comprehensive guide about the myriad of features this code base offers.
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