1. Select the 'Tools' menu, and click on 'Plugins'
2. In the MPLAB X IDE Plugins window, click the 'Available Plugins' tab
3. Select MPLAB Code Configurator and click 'Install'

The MPLAB Code Configurator Project Resource area displays all of the peripherals currently configured for your project. Selecting a peripheral here, and the peripheral is ready to be configured in the Composer area.

In the Project Resource area, the System module is always present. The System module simplifies the setting of configuration bits and configuring the system clock.

The system clock and configuration bits can be quickly configured in the Composer area. The system clock rate configured here will be used automatically by MCC to calculate timer periods, duty cycles and baud rates as required by other peripherals.

MCC generates custom standardized driver code based on the selections made in the Composer area. This is real code that is automatically added to your project. The code can be debugged, edited and reviewed, just like any other code. It can be modified manually or reconfigured in the MCC Composer window and regenerated.

Removing a peripheral is simple. Any device in the Project resource area can be removed from the project by clicking on the X to the right of the peripheral.

Code generated by MCC can be edited like any other code. The generated code is real code. If you choose to modify the code after it is generated you are free to do so. But what happens if you also change the configuration in MCC and generate the code again? No problem. MCC  detects your changes and displays a comparison window that allows you to select whether to keep your changes, or the newly generated code.

Your code is shown on the left, and the newly generated code is shown on the right. Navigation buttons at the top let you move to each difference found. An arrow along the center margin allows you to copy your changes into the generated code.

Port pins can be configured as GPIO pins simply by clicking on the Pin Manger. Every pin can be given a custom name. That name is then used in the Pin Manger display and in the generated code.

The direction of a pin, input or output, as well as the starting value, can be configured with a few clicks. For input pins. the Weak Pull-Up (WPUE) and the Interrupt On Change (IOC) can also be configured.

Easily change the order in which interrupt service routines are called in the Interrupt Manager. Select a peripheral interrupt and click on the up or down arrow to set the execution priority.

When a peripheral is added to the Project Resources area, the pins associated with the peripheral are displayed in the Pin Manager. Clicking on a pin in the Pin Manger locks that pin to the selected peripheral.

The Pin Manger includes a package view of the device showing the configuration of the pins. When pins are assigned custom names in MCC, the package view displays the custom name. The package view can be copied and printed for use in other documentation.

Specialized peripheral drivers focus on specific functions of a peripheral. For example the MSSP can be used for I2C or SPI. Both of these functions can be used as a Master or a Slave. MCC  provides specialized drivers to let you focus on the desired function of a peripheral instead of requiring you to configure the individual control registers.