How do i get a program on the NXT to a computer?

[hcgl]

I accidently closed a program without saving, i downloaded it onto the NXT first though. How do i get it back on the computer so i can edit/add more stuff to the program.

[GotRobot?]

Ouch. I've done that too. Unfortunately, you can't retrieve an NXT-G program once it's been compiled and downloaded to the brick controller.

[hcgl]

Argh! Well, how do i auto-start a new program after a program is finished then ?

[Dean Hystad]

Originally Posted by hcgl

Argh! Well, how do i auto-start a new program after a program is finished then ?

You can't. But you can make MyBlocks out of all your mission programs and call them from within a master program. A fancy master program can even support skipping and re-running missions.

[hcgl]

How ? Is there an tutorial for this or something

[Dean Hystad]

No tutorial for a master scheduler program. The NXT kit has plenty of documentation on how to make MyBlocks.

The very simplest master program is one that has a MyBlock for each mission with a wait for button press between each one. Start the program and it runs the first mission. When the mission is done it waits until you press a button and then the second mission runs, and so on.

Though that is very easy to program it is not very friendly. What if you want to re-run a mission? What if you need to stop the program? There is no easy way to recover. So teams write more complicated programs that might display a list of missions that they can select from using the arrow buttons. When they press the orange button it runs the MyBlock associated with the selected mission. A lot of teams will auto-increment the mission selection so all they have to do is press the orange button.

This kind of programming is much more sophisticated and difficult than the string of MOVE commands many teams pass off as programs. But with the difficulty comes great reward. You save a ton of time selecting missions. You have some real programming to show to the technical judges, and you learn a lot more than you do just writing missions.

[hcgl]

The thing is, how do i make a myblock out of something on the NXT ?

[CGMSC1]

Originally Posted by hcgl

The thing is, how do i make a myblock out of something on the NXT ?

You can't.

The program on the NXT is a lost cause. You can't add to it, link it to another program, back load it to a PC ...

Bite the bullet and re-write the program.

You've just learned the first lesson of programming. Save your work often.