.jpg)
STM32 Graphical User Interface
The STM32 family provides a comprehensive offer for Graphical User Interfaces (GUI), which enables developers to easily add a smartphone-like GUI to embedded devices, accelerating the "HMI of things" revolution.
You can now deliver a superior user experience while taking the full advantage of STM32 microcontrollers in terms of real time determinism, lower software complexity, faster boot time and longer battery life.
The STM32 Graphical User interface offer is structured around the following pillars:
- Industry’s broadest advanced graphics-enabled MCU offer
- State-of-the-art graphical development tools available for free
- Support and documentation center
- Reference designs and selected design partners
Software
TOUCHGFX
TouchGFX is an advanced GUI tool offering everything you need to create cutting-edge GUIs:
TouchGFX enables smartphone animations and features like:
- Swipe
- Scroll
- 3D effects
- Video playback
- Alpha-blending
- Touch gestures
- Anti-aliased fonts
- Low CPU load and optimum use of STM32 graphic hardware accelerations
- Optimized library footprints starting from 20 KB Flash and 10KB RAM requirements
- Partial frame buffering feature minimizing graphic buffer sizes and enabling graphic UI support from lowest cost STM32 options
- TouchGFX supports many languages, such as English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Arabic, and more.
- Left-to-right and right-to-left writing systems from the unicode basic multilingual plane are supported.
- For large fonts the application can load and install fonts at runtime.
- Runs on bare metal or choose any OS
- Runs on Cortex-M0+, M3, M4, M33 and M7 based STM32 MCUs
- Supports Keil, IAR and STM32CubeIDE
- TouchGFX enables unique GUIs with the ability to combine TouchGFX Designer generated code with user code.
- GUI written in C++.
- Create high performance and easy mantainable code on multiple platforms. The Model-View-Presenter pattern gives way for easy interfacing with other C/C++ application components.
- Create your own software elements with existing widgets.
- Design your own widgets.
- Run applications with 1, 2, 4, 6/8, 16, 24, or 32 bits per pixel color depth.
- Multiple framebuffer setups: partial, single, and double.
- Framebuffer placement Internal and/or external memory.
TouchGFX is a free GUI tool and an integreted part of the STM32 ecosystem, delivered as a X-CUBE-TOUCHGFX package which includes:
Configure and generate a TouchGFX project in CubeMX
Optimized and hardware accelerated graphic library
A drag-and-drop GUI builder
| Part Number | Manufacturer | Description |
| X-CUBE-TOUCHGFX | ST | TouchGFX advanced and free of charge graphic framework optimized for STM32 microcontrollers |
STEMWIN
STemWin is a simple graphics software framework optimized for STM32 microcontrollers.
STemWin is based on graphics library from SEGGER Microcontroller GmbH and is available in binary form, free of charge on STM32 MCUs.
This library is a professional graphics stack library, enabling the building up of Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) with any STM32, any LCD/TFT display and any LCD/TFT controller, taking advantage of STM32 hardware accelerations whenever possible.
STemWin Library is a comprehensive solution coming with a rich feature set such as JPG, GIF and PNG decoding, many widgets (checkboxes, buttons…) and a VNC server allowing remote display of a local display, as well as professional development tools such as GUIBuilder to create GUIs with simple drag and drop.
STemWin is distributed as part of STM32Cube software packages or in a standalone standard library-based version.
| Part Number | Manufacturer | Description |
| STemWin | ST | Professional graphical stack library enabling the building up of Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) (AN4323) |
HW Tools & Reference Designs
A choice of evaluation hardware tools and software examples and demos are made available with the STM32 graphical offer
Each evaluation hardware tool comes with a flashed demonstration and the code of each demo is made available in the associated STM32Cube software packages.
The TouchGFX designer also comes with a large list of application templates that you can use on a choice of STM32 evaluation hardware tools.
| Board name | STM32 MCU | Display resolution |
| 32F429IDISCOVERY | STM32F429 | QVGA (320x240) |
| STM32429I-EVAL | STM32F429 | WQVGA (272x480) |
| STM32439I-EVAL | STM32F439 | VGA (480x640) |
| 32F469IDISCOVERY | STM32F469 | WVGA (480x800) |
| 32F746GDISCOVERY | STM32F746 | WQVGA (272x480) |
| 32F769IDISCOVERY | STM32F769 | WVGA (480x800) |
| 32L496GDISCOVERY | STM32L496 | 240x240 |
| 32L4R9IDISCOVERY | STM32L4R9 | 390x390 round display |
| STM32L4R9I-EVAL | STM32L4R9 | 390x390 round display, WQVGA (272x480) |
| STM32H743I-EVAL | STM32H743 | VGA (480x640) |
| STM32H750B-DK | STM32H750XB | 480*272 |
| STM32H7B3I-DK | STM32H7B3LIH6QU | 480*272 |
| STM32H747I-DISCO | STM32H747XIH6 | 800*480 |
| STM32756G-EVAL | STM32F756NGH6 | 640*480 |
| STM32F7508-DK | STM32F750N8H6 | 480*272 |
| STM32F769I EVAL | STM32F769NI | 800*480 |
| 32F412GDISCOVERY | STM32F412ZGT6 | 240*240 |
| 32F469IDISCOVERY | STM32F469NIH6 | 800*480 |
| STM32L4P5G-DK | STM32F469NI | 800*480 |
| STM32H757I-EVAL | STM32H747X | 800*480 |
| X-NUCLEO-GFX01M1 | Extension to different STM32 Nucleo boards | QVGA (320x240) |
Key Products
Most STM32 microcontrollers can interface with parallel displays and support simple graphical user interface add-ons.
To enable superior user experiences, the STM32 family offers the industry’s broadest advanced graphics-enabled MCU portfolio with over 190 active part numbers, supporting different display interfaces and package options.
The STM32 advanced graphics-enabled MCUs embed different graphics features that allow developers to achieve the desired graphics performance and optimization trade-offs required for embedded devices:
- The Chrom-ART Accelerator™ offers memory efficient 2D graphics acceleration and enables fluid transition and transparency effects while offloading the main CPU resources
- The JPEG codec enables MJPEG video additions for branding and tutorials
- The Chrom-GRC™ offers 20% memory optimization when using a round display
- Support for large display interfaces with parallel interfaces, LCD-TFT, and MIPI-DSI embedded controllers
To help you identify the most suitable STM32 advanced graphics-enabled microcontroller for your needs, the STM32CubeMX tool offers a graphics selector and simulator features.
The graphics selector lists the recommended STM32 part numbers for a given display resolution, color depth and target interfaces. It also provides an estimation of the performance that can be achieved with each recommended part number. The graphics simulator supports tuning of the graphics architecture to be used by providing performance indications for different memory configurations.
 STM32 SERIES |
 FREQUENCY |
 HARDWARE ACCELERATION |
| STM32G0 (CM0+) | 64MHz | |
| STM32L4 (CM4) | 80 MHz | Chrom-ART™ |
| STM32L4+ (CM4) | 120 MHz | Chrom-ART™ Chrom-GRC™ |
| STM32F4 (CM4) | 180 MHz | Chrom-ART™ |
| STM32F7 (CM7) | 216 MHz | Chrom-ART™ MJPEG |
| STM32H7 (CM7) | 480 MHz | Chrom-ART™ MJPEG |
Resources
To assist you in your development, different articles and application notes are made available. In addition to ST online support channel, a graphic dedicated forum area is also made available. Periodic webinars are also organized to help you getting more familiar with our offer.
VIDEOS
TouchGFX Introduction (5:12)
4.17.0 now include a total User Interface redesign of the TouchGFX Designer tool. It now improves the user experience and make everyday use easier thanks to a more intuitive design.
TouchGFX 4.17 Designer Walk-through (8:51)
In this video you will get an introduction to TouchGFX Designer 4.17. This release is mainly focusing on improving the user experience and optimizing the usability of developing an embedded GUI.
TouchGFX Enabling high end graphic experience (04:14)
High end graphic experience with STM32F469 MCU's
TouchGFX - Advanced GUI on STM32 (6:54)
This a video prepared by our partner Draupner graphics. the video promotes combined STM32 Hardware and TouchGFX software solutions.
STM32 boosting the HMI-of-things (2:13)
More and more devices have complex graphical user interfaces - much like smartphones - and ST's range of STM32 microcontrollers has a host of features which can be leveraged on a huge range of devices. We are constantly innovating to give you the performance you need!
Advanced GUI on STM32F7 powered by Embedded Wizard graphic solution (2:31)
Embedded Wizard graphic demonstration on STM32F769 discovery kit
STM32-revolutionizing the HMI of things (3:11)
STM32: revolutionizing the HMI of things (ST at embedded world 2019)
TouchGFX HMI on STM32H750 Discovery Kit (2:14)
Watch our cutting-edge TouchGFX demo come to life on the STM32H750 Discovery kit and learn how easy it is to take your idea to a working UI application with TouchGFX and STM32.
TouchGFX on the STM32H750B Discovery Kit (5:19)
Experience the high-performance TouchGFX embedded GUI running on the STM32H750 Discovery kit. Watch features like full screen animations, alpha blending, MJPEG video, and much more unfold on the Cortex-M based STM32 microcontroller.
STM32 Graphics | Cost-effective GUI solution (2:07)
Discover the new X-NUCLEO-GFX01M1 SPI shield, supported in the latest TouchGFX software v4.15.0 - new features including support for low-cost non-memory-mapped SPI Flash ICs.
TOUCHGFX IMPLEMENTERS
Our dedicated and highly skilled TouchGFX Implementers help turn your ideas into market leading products. Their innovative approach as well as extensive knowledge about TouchGFX and STM32 microcontrollers make them your ideal sparring partner for your next embedded product. Find your implementer and go from idea to end-product fast and easy.
