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Enchanting

Enchanting v0.0.9 Is Up!


As of January 30, 2012, Enchanting 0.0.9.1 is up. It fixes some issues for Win 7 users, but other problems remain.

January 17, 2012: We have received several reports that Enchanting is not working for some people using Windows 7 and are looking into the issue.

November 26, 2011: Download sample projects(external link) here!

November 25, 2011: Enchanting 0.0.9.0 is up and online, and ready for testing. It now includes all the goodness of Build Your Own Blocks (a.k.a. Snap!)(external link), meaning:
  • You can now create your own functions.
  • You can now use lists
  • You can now store functions in variables and execute them. (This is surprisingly cool. You'll see.)

You can also now use colour sensors.

A big thanks goes to Jonathan Mullins and Monash University Faculty of Information Technology(external link) for supporting him, and to Jens Mönig and Brian Harvey for creating BYOB.

Go ahead and download(external link) the latest version, for Windows, Mac OS X, or, experimentally, Linux. Sample programs (and tutorial videos) are forthcoming.

If you find problems, please let us know on the mailing list or by writing up a bug. Lastly, if you wish to translate, we could really use help getting the translation template file straightened out and using an online system to avoid duplication of effort. (E-mail the mailing list for more details).

Enchanting Snapshot Builds Up


October 13, 2011. Enchanting 0.0.9 is in the works, but not ready. Some pre-release builds(external link) are ready for testing. Do not projects saved with the pre-release builds to work after release, as things are still in flux. Builds are available for the Mac OS X, Windows, and there is an experimental Linux build. Please report things that do or do not work on the mailing list.

What is new in these new builds? We've integrated in most of the features from Build Your Own Blocks(external link) — which means you can create blocks, use lists, and go from really basic to really advanced programming. Hopefully everything from BYOB should work — but we could sure use your help in testing it!

Also note that it is now easier before than ever to build enchanting from source!

Enchanting 0.0.8 is out and ready for translation.


July 6, 2011: Enchanting 0.0.8 was released this morning. It offers features of interest to translators. If you are interested, see How To Translate. (Most other users will not notice any changes from version 0.0.7.2, which fixed compilation errors when using the NXT Color Sensor, and thus do not need to upgrade.)

Enchanting 0.0.7 is out!


June 7, 2011: Enchanting 0.0.7 is out, and easier to use than ever.

Enchanting is an easy-to-use graphical programming tool for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT(external link) robots. It is based on Scratch(external link) from the MIT Media Lab, and powered by leJOS NXJ(external link) (Java for the NXT). Enchanting is free and open-source.



To install it on Windows XP+ and Mac OS X 10.4+:
  1. If you do not have LEGO's software for the NXT installed, download and install the Fantom driver(external link) from LEGO's website.
  2. Download Enchanting(external link) and
    • run the installer (Windows)
    • copy the Enchanting folder to Applications (Mac)

When you first run Enchanting, you will need to replace LEGO's firmware with the leJOS Firmware. Plug your NXT into your computer using a USB cable, turn it on, check that your batteries aren't just about dead, and choose "File -> Flash Firmware".

Now you are ready to program. Drag and drop blocks to make scripts and hit the green flag to try them out!

We hope you enjoy using Enchanting.

To see more on how to use Enchanting with Scratch, take a look at this video(external link).

When you want to go back to using your existing tools, you'll need to flash the firmware back. In "MINDSTORMS NXT" (also known as NXT-G), choose "Tools -> Update NXT Firmware...".

What's Next?

Enchanting still has a long ways to go. Priorities include:
  • adding command blocks to move a whole robot at once (like "drive forward 30 cm" and "turn left 90 degrees")
  • drawing sprites (tiny images) on the NXT screen
  • playing back sounds you've recorded
  • translating it into different languages
  • making it easy to install on Linux
See our Feature Blueprints.

I Want To Help?

We can use help. If you have ideas on how to make Enchanting better, have bugs to report, or if you want to help program, please Get Involved!