Add ability to auto-upload VI Snippet to online image host.

[jordankuehn]

Many times when wanting to share a VI Snippet on a discussion forum to quickly demonstrate a suggestion, I find it tedious to save the snippet to a temporary location, then go to the webpage, navigate to the location and upload the image to add it to my reply.  I think it would be very helpful to have the ability to configure the VI Snippet to automatically upload to an online image host (imgur.com for example or even an NI solution) and put the link on the clipboard.  Then it's ready to paste into the reply.  Other desktop screenshot applications already have this functionality (see ShareX (formerly ZScreen) ).  The purpose of VI Snippets is largely to facilitate this exchange of small portions of code and this would simplify the process greatly.

[jcarmody]

Just as an aside, the Code Capture Tool saves a snippet to a temporay location (on your hard disk) and puts the link on the clipboard.  I love the CCT.

[tst]

Additional comments:

1. The CCT produces better snippets (the built-in ones have issues with locals and other things).
2. The CCT can automatically back-convert the snippet.
3. The CCT already has code for doing exactly what you want (using imgur, if memory serves). The code isn't enabled, but you can download the source code to see why and fix it yourself (or you can ask Ton there about why the code isn't enabled. He put it in and my only memory of it was that it didn't work for some reason).

Personally, I have to say that I don't like the use of external services for something like this. Some of them are blocked, the images aren't guaranteed to stay there, etc. The CCT in its current form doesn't automate the uploading, but it reduces the work you have to do to just a few clicks, so I would suggest just sticking with that.

[jcarmody]

I can't see imgur at work.

[jordankuehn]

This is not to be a discussion comparing the CCT vs. the VI Snippet, but rather a suggestion on how to improve the VI Snippet, an existing NI Solution.

3rd party image hosting services are an easy way to get things going.  Imgur is a suggestion, but many many others can be implemented and offer simple APIs.  Alternatively, NI could host them.  That would make more sense and could actually be useful down the road, but that isn't important regarding this suggestion.

[crelf]

"I think it would be very helpful to have the ability to configure the VI Snippet to automatically upload to an online image host (imgur.com for example or even an NI solution) and put the link on the clipboard"

I'm guessing you're a snagit user? 🙂

[jordankuehn]

I have used both SnagIt and ShareX(ZScreen).  This is the kind of smooth web 2.0 (I hate that term) integration I expect from this kind of product. It is especially useful when sending a quick example to a customer.

If someone wants to start an idea that the CCT replaces VI Snippet, I'll Kudo it right away, but I do think that we should support impoving existing NI products.  Isn't that the point of the idea exchange?

[tst]

> but I do think that we should support impoving existing NI products.  Isn't that the point of the idea exchange?

It is, but remember that NI has limited resources. NI's trend over the last few years (which seems to grow stronger) is to open up the platform to allow outside players to add useful capabilities to LV and to make it easy for users to install those capabilities. Once you have a tool which does a good but non-critical job, it seems more likely that NI would prefer to let that tool do the job than to invest resources in it.

I would love for NI to merge the CCT into LV, but I doubt that would happen, both for the reason I mentioned above and for legal reasons.

As for the feature itself - like I said, I don't like services like imgur, and I'm not sure how practical it would be to upload images to NI or LAVA.

[Darren]

Any idea that has received less than 2 kudos within 2 years after posting will be automatically declined. 

[tst]

For people who do want this, newer versions of the Code Capture Tool have a plugin system and I believe it installs an imgur plugin by default. Never used it myself and I still don't like services like imgur for sharing things publicly, but it is an option for people who want it.

[jordankuehn]

I developed the imgur plug-in for the CCT. I think it's the one still packaged.