Arduino library · Displays

TM1637TinyDisplay: text that scrolls on a TM1637 display

TM1637TinyDisplay by Jason Cox drives the same four-digit TM1637 module as the classic TM1637Display library, and adds the things people end up writing by hand. showString() spells words in seven-segment letters and scrolls anything longer than four characters. showNumber() takes floats as well as whole numbers. showLevel() draws a bar graph, and showAnimation() plays frames you design.

Open the example in the editor See the calls

Built in on Mokxi: #include <TM1637TinyDisplay.h> and it builds, with nothing to install. Free, and no account needed.

What TM1637TinyDisplay does

Most calls finish their work before they return: a long string scrolls to its end, one character every setScrolldelay() milliseconds, and only then does the next line of the sketch run. When the display must animate while loop() keeps reading sensors, use startStringScroll() or startAnimation() and call Animate() on each pass instead.

The common clock module has a colon and no decimal points, so a number with a fraction puts its point on the colon: showNumber(1.5) reads as 1:50. TM1637TinyDisplay6 handles the six-digit boards, which wire their digits in an odd order; Mokxi’s tm1637 part shows four digits, so six-digit output is best read from the sketch.

Library Manager name	TM1637TinyDisplay
Author	Jason Cox
Include	`#include <TM1637TinyDisplay.h>` `#include <TM1637TinyDisplay6.h>`
Boards	every board Mokxi compiles for
In the simulator	Simulated: it runs against the part the way it does on the bench.
Parts it drives	Four-digit display, TM1637

Install it

It builds on every board Mokxi compiles for.

In Mokxi it is built in: #include <TM1637TinyDisplay.h> and the sketch compiles, with no download, no zip and no Library Manager.

On a real board, install "TM1637TinyDisplay" by Jason Cox from the Arduino IDE’s Library Manager (Sketch, Include Library, Manage Libraries), or add TM1637TinyDisplay to lib_deps in PlatformIO. Mokxi follows the calls of release 1.12.2, so a sketch written here builds there too.

What to know in the simulator: A fraction’s decimal point is the colon, the module’s only point. The six-digit class sends its digits in those boards’ grid order (2, 1, 0, 5, 4, 3); the tm1637 part shows grids 0 to 3, so its frames are best read from the sketch.

The calls you will use

In the order a sketch meets them.

`TM1637TinyDisplay display(2, 3)`

The display with CLK on pin 2 and DIO on pin 3. Any two digital pins work; this is not I2C.

`display.begin()`

Sets the pins up and clears the display. Newer versions of the library want it before anything else.

`display.setBrightness(BRIGHT_HIGH)`

Brightness from BRIGHT_0 to BRIGHT_7, with BRIGHT_LOW and BRIGHT_HIGH as the two ends.

`display.showString("HELLO")`

Shows text; anything longer than four characters scrolls through and the call returns at the end.

`display.setScrolldelay(100)`

How long each scroll step lasts, in ms. Smaller numbers scroll faster.

`display.showNumber(1234)`

Shows a whole number or a float, right-aligned, with a minus sign when needed.

`display.showLevel(50, false)`

Draws a level from 0 to 100 as lit segments, across the digits by default, or as vertical bars when the second argument is false.

`display.startStringScroll("RUNNING")`

Begins a scroll that does not block. Call display.Animate() on every pass of loop() to move it on.

display.startStringScroll("RUNNING");
// in loop():
display.Animate();

Example: Scroll a word, then show a number

On the Arduino Uno R3. It runs in the browser exactly as printed.

sketch.ino · Arduino Uno R3

#include <TM1637TinyDisplay.h>

#define CLK 2
#define DIO 3

TM1637TinyDisplay display(CLK, DIO);

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  display.begin();
  display.setBrightness(BRIGHT_HIGH);
  display.setScrolldelay(100);
  display.showString("HELLO");
  display.showNumber(1234);
  Serial.println("shown");
}

void loop() {}

Wiring

Arduino Uno R3 2 to Four-digit display, TM1637 CLK
Arduino Uno R3 3 to Four-digit display, TM1637 DIO
Arduino Uno R3 5V to Four-digit display, TM1637 VCC
Arduino Uno R3 GND to Four-digit display, TM1637 GND

Open it in the editor, wired and ready to run

Common errors and how to fix them

`Buttons and sensors are ignored while text scrolls`

showString() blocks until the whole string has gone by. Use startStringScroll() and Animate() in loop() so the sketch keeps running during the scroll.

`showNumber(3.7) shows 3:70 instead of 3.7`

The common four-digit clock module has only the colon, so the library uses it as the point. For a real decimal point you need a module with points on each digit.

`Some letters look odd, like an M or a W`

Seven segments cannot draw every letter well. Pick words that read clearly in segment letters, or design the characters yourself with setSegments() and raw bit patterns.

Questions and answers

How is TM1637TinyDisplay different from TM1637Display?

It drives the same chip and adds scrolling text, float numbers, level bars and animations, plus a non-blocking way to run them.

Keep going

Learn

Parts

Four-digit display, TM1637

More displays libraries

Every built-in library · Open the editor

Try TM1637TinyDisplay without installing anything

Open the example, change the sketch, and keep your version in a free account.

Start building free

Open the editor