Hi,

1.
"Tools>Extensions & Updates" shows the downloaded version. The version in tools>options is an internal version of the api and can be ignored.

2.
If you want to open a serial port to monitor a non-arduino port then use View>Other windows>Serial Monitor. This option doesn't affect the selected upload port of the selected project.

3.
Click a project name in the solution explorer and set the upload port using the visual micro toolbar or menu. This sets the upload port for each project and is saved to each project.

4)
Right click a project in the solution explorer and click "set as startup project". This sets which project will upload when F5 or Start is clicked.

I hope this answers your questions.

Thanks

Hi Henk,

I can say this is area is under review but before we can discuss it further I think you need to understand my previous point about the "Startup Project". This is how VS normally works and you will see that only one of the two project names in the solution explorer is in bold. The startup project is the one that the toolbar and menu controls currently upload.

I have a solution with two arduino projects and I have two boards connected on two different COM ports. In the solution explorer I click each project and select a serial port from the toolbar. Then I can see the port automatically change to the correct selection when I click in the solution explorer and select a project. If I right click each projects and click "Debug>Start new instance" I see the correct project is uploaded to the correct com port.

There is some confusion with the default way that VS works. It's possible to select something in the solution explorer whilst some other code is open and active in the editor. So you need to think about this point and how you the Ide should work with these conflicting selections. Currently Vm does what Visual Studio does when two windows or c++ projects are open however it's not necessarily intuitive for newer users. Therefore I suggest switching on "Tools>Options>Projects and solutions>Track active item in solution explorer". This won't entirely make things work the way you want but will help remove some potential confusion.

As I said, if you can first understand the various options that exist then we can talk about what the Vm toolbars might do different to what the VS bars and menus do. I hope this makes sense.