There are at least two cases where you might need to flash the program to your microcontroller instead of debugging: 

1) When you only have the executable and you do not have the source code for debugging. In this class, you are regularly given a golden solution to a project without the source code. Here is how flashing works in this case: 

• • Save the .out file given to you on your computer. 

  • Click on the drop-down arrow next to the flash button (looks like a folder), click on 'Select Program to load', navigate to the path where the .out is saved and click on OK. (If the Select Program to Load is not active, click on any project in the project explorer window and repeat.)

• • This will program the selected .out file on the microcontroller and start executing the code immediately.

2) Another scenario where you may need flashing is when you make a small change to your program and you would like to immediately see the effect of the change without flashing. In this case, all you need to do is to click directly on the flash icon (folder with an arrow inside). This will flash the "Active" project.