Tips and Tricks
Many of these tips rely on changes in Preferences. This can be accessed through the Window > Preferences selection, or the Preferences button on the toolbar.
Useful Windows 10 Paths
Default Install Path: C:\SiliconLabs\SimplicityStudio
Downloaded location for kit resources: ~SimplicityStudio\v5\offline\hwtools\boards\<BRD part number>
Command line or direct GUI access to Simplicity Commander: ~SimplicityStudio\v5\developer\adapter_packs\commander
Bluetooth Mesh SDK location: ~SimplicityStudio\v5\developer\sdks\blemesh
Protocol SDK locations for Bluetooth, Flex, Zigbee, and Z-Wave: ~SimplicityStudio\v5\developer\sdks\gecko_sdk_suite\<GSDK version>\protocol
Useful MacOS Paths
Default Install Path: /Applications/SimplicityStudio.app/Contents/Eclipse (recommend changing to one word SimplicityStudio.app)
Downloaded location for kit resources: ~offline/hwtools/boards/<BRD part number>
Command line or direct GUI access to Simplicity Commander: ~developer/adapter_packs/commander
Bluetooth Mesh SDK location: ~developer/sdks/blemesh
Protocol SDK locations for Bluetooth, Flex, Zigbee, and Z-Wave: ~developer/sdks/gecko_sdk_suite/<GSDK version>/protocol
Default Project Locations
Default project locations in your Windows 10 workspace C:\Users\<user>\SimplicityStudio Ex: C:\Users\daseymou\SimplicityStudio
Default project locations in your Mac workspace /Users/<user>/SimplicityStudio Ex: /Users/mahallam/SimplicityStudio
Optionally Disable Automatic Updates
By default, SSv5 checks for updates when you first open it. You can manage update frequency through Preferences > Install/Update > Automatic Updates.
Either uncheck Automatically find new updates and notify me or change the Update Schedule selection to use a schedule such as once a week.
If you have turned automatic updates off, click Install on the toolbar to check for updates. Then click Manage Installed Packages and see if there are any updates on the Product Updates and SDKs tabs.
See About Update Frequency for details on the selections available.
Performance Enhancements
To improve SSv5 performance, try one or more of the following suggestions.
Disable SDKs Not Being Used
If you have installed many different versions of different SDKs and GSDKs over time, go to Preferences, type SDK in the filter field, and uncheck the ones not currently being used.
Disable Unused Targets or Toolchains
If you have installed multiple toolchains but are not using all of them, or are not using all of the targets, disable the unused ones. Go to Preferences and type toolchain or target in the filter field, and uncheck any unused items.
Use Different Workspaces for Different GSDK Versions or Compilers
Overloading a workspace with projects and different versions of SDKs can slow down SSv5 operations. Keep separate workspaces for specific project and/or SDK versions and/or toolchains. Note that this is necessary if you are using different versions of the IAR compiler to match different versions of the GSDK.
While you can use File > Switch Workspaces to change workspaces as described in Project Explorer View, if you will be working with different workspaces, you may wish to have SSv5 prompt you on startup about which workspace to use. Go to Preferences > General > Startup and Shutdown > Workspaces and check Prompt for workspace on startup.
Then on startup you can select a workspace or create a new workspace by clicking Browse and adding a directory.
Increase Heap Size
Close SSv5. Use a text editor to open following file within the Simplicity Studio root path, for example: C:\SiliconLabs\SimplicityStudio\v5\studio.ini
In the following figure, the line Xmx5g was added increase the maximum Java heap SSv5 will use to 5 GBytes. Choose larger or smaller depending on your system resources. Without that line SSv5 defaults to a maximum of one quarter of the system RAM. On a system with 8 GBytes of RAM that would be 2 GBytes and SSv5 might run out of Java Heap space on memory-intensive operations.
SDK Installation or Updates are not Working
The cause might be your IT department using proxy servers, and potentially also man-in-the-middle security monitoring. See the following knowledge base articles for more information on how to work around these situations:
Configuring Simplicity Studio to Work with Proxy Servers
Installing SSL Security Certificates for Simplicity Studio Updates
Speed Up Debug Session Startup
Go to Preferences > Run/Debug > Launching, and under General Options uncheck Build (if required) before launching.
This will interfere with your workflow if you are accustomed to making a change and clicking the Debug button to build the project before launching the project.
Speed Up Reading Large Source Files
Enable folding of #if/#ifdef’s and if/else, do/while, for, and switch statements in source code. Go to Preferences and type folding in the filter field, and check the three "Enable folding … " options.
Speed Up the Indexer
If the Indexer is taking a long time to run, close other projects. If still slow, in the Project Explorer view right-click the project directory and select Index > Rebuild.
Restore a Perspective Layout
To reset a perspective to its original layout, right-click the Perspective button in the toolbar and select Reset.
Find a Version
Go to Help > About Simplicity Studio for version information. The overall SSv5 version is at the top of the dialog. The Studio Version tab lists version information for all the components that make up SSv5. The Toolchains and SDKs tab lists version information for the installed SDKs and toolchains.
Report a Bug
Go to Help > Report bug .... The default selection generates a log file to the location you specify. This is useful if you need to attach a log to a case that's already created.
Select Submit bug at Silabs.com if you are creating a new ticket. This generates the log file and provides instructions on creating a ticket.
