PuTTY is a serial console, a computer program that can listen for and display characters sent over a serial link.

This is used in the UART labs so the NEXYS4 and the lab computer can communicate with each other over USB serial communication.

First you must find out which COM port the USB Serial port is using on your lab computer. Complete the following to do this:

1. Open your computer's Device Manager.
   1. Open the Start menu, type in Device Manager to find it.
   2. When it says “You are logged on as a standard user…” click OK.
2. Find and open the “Ports (COM & LPT)” section.
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3. Read the COM number for the “USB Serial Port.” In this case it's COM5. Remember this number for later.
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1. Open PuTTY
   • There should be a shortcut for it on your desktop
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2. Open the “Serial” window under “Connection”
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   1. Set “Serial line to connect to” to the COM port from earlier in this tutorial (in this example it is COM5)
   2. Set “Speed (baud)” to “19200”
   3. Set “Data bits” to 8
   4. Set “Stop bits” to 1
   5. Set “Parity” to “Odd”
   6. Set Flow Control to “None”
3. Go to the “Session” window.
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   1. Select “Serial” under “Connection type”
   2. Your earlier saved values should now be visible.
4. Click Open