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Alex.T

The default icons for newly created SubVIs aren't too helpful.

Status: Declined

Any idea that has received less than 5 kudos within 5 years after posting will be automatically declined.

It's important that when we've got a newly created SubVI, we document our code accordingly and draw an appropriate icon for it. This helps other users understand what types of functionality we've encapsulated within a particular VI.

 

This isn't always the case, though.

 

I think I understand that some people are pressed for time, or unaware of how to actually edit the icon of their VI, and that these shouldn't be reasons as to why their code should be harder to read by other users trying to support them because of that.

 

What's the big idea?

I believe what would be useful is for SubVI icons not to use the default smiling oscilloscope face, but to instead give an indication of two things:

  • It's a custom VI that we're dealing with. (So we're aware that if we're trying to debug some problematic functionality, it could be in one of these custom VIs.) This will also serve to prompt the programmer to manually change the icon used at a later date.
  • It performs a particular kind of functionality. If we're looking for a particular kind of problem, such as VISA related, we'll know to search this custom VI because it uses VISA functions.

 

unsee.png

 

 

So, how would it work?

 

create.png

 

 

custom.png

I think the way that it would work is that either it'd perform a summation of the most common palette used in the Block Diagram, or use icons based on a rating for how important they are to display; for example, there's plenty of errors that could get thrown when using DAQmx VIs, so if the SubVI contained some DAQmx VIs and a lot of basic maths, it'd be more useful to show that it relates to DAQmx than it does basic computation.

 

... Just an idea. Smiley Happy

Spoiler

 

 


Alex Thomas, University of Manchester School of EEE LabVIEW Ambassador (CLAD)

5 Comments
crossrulz
Knight of NI

I prefer the default not being helpful.  That forces somebody to make a concious effort to make a meaningful icon.  I guarantee that what LabVIEW picks for you will be totally off.  It is next to impossible to accurately guess what the user would want.


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rgvdh@rdf
Member
What if the default was a black-bordered white-filled square with text showing the name of the VI (or as much as will fit)? That would at least give something.
tst
Knight of NI Knight of NI
Knight of NI

A somewhat related idea - http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Quick-VI-icon-creation/idi-p/1108178


___________________
Try to take over the world!
Active Participant

Honestly, I'm just going to delete the default icon anyway so I can replace it with one that fits my particular code standards. The most helpful thing would be to provide a black border and a library/class banner alone. They already do the latter, and to my understanding the former isn't possible with the image (or picture?) tools that the icon editor API relies on: the border will always be filled with solid white.

Darren
Proven Zealot
Status changed to: Declined

Any idea that has received less than 5 kudos within 5 years after posting will be automatically declined.