LabVIEW Idea Exchange

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Often when I implement a .vi I start by implementing the main functionality, and there after handles error scenarios such as timeouts, overflow etc. Between implementing the main functionality and the error handling I write a 'todo' text so I remember to handle it later on. Wouldn't the world be a better place if I could have a window open that would list all these 'todo' items nicely sorted by Folder/.vi and when clicked on and item you would be brought right to the spot?

Here is an example of a C# project from VS2010 using ReSharper:

The window should simply search for text occurrences of the words 'todo', 'bug' and 'not implemented' etc. This is a nice tool I use a lot in VS2010 and it would be really nice to have similar functionality in LabVIEW so I won't have to do manual searches all the time, which by the way does not give the same overview as a separate auto-updating window would.

My idea is based in to schematic softwares, who allows place a connector in all wires types, to avoid wiring up long wires, which crossing the block diagram without connections.

Now this option is posible placing a indicator and local variables, but this option spends memory, and a long time to computation.

In addition this suggested way, allows connect wires a different VI's, without spend VI's connector, if the VI's compiled with option "Inline subVI into calling VIs"

Advantages:

- Connectors are more efficient than local varibles
- Block diagrama more clear and easy to understand.
- Faster way to program.

There are times when I will open a VI, make tweaks to it to test an idea. In some (most?) cases those ideas do not pan out so I just want to close the VI without saving it. However, the only choices I get are to defer or save it. If I defer it then when I close the whole project, where there may be some 80 vis that need to be updated, I have to step through manually to ensure that I don't accidentally save the changes to the VI that I don't want. A lot of times, I end up saving all and then I have to debug and remember the changes that I made to the VI to get it back to its original configuration.

My suggestion: When asking the programmer if they want to defer or save the VI, have an option to just close the VI without saving. Then upon closing the project, have a second pop-up that states that "These are VIs that were closed without saving you may:

"Close all without saving"

"Save All"

"Save specific VI(s)"

Thanks for listening,

Dan

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This is the current behaviour of LabVIEW: I develop a LabVIEW application and it is my fault to not completely figure out which connectors I do have to implement to perform a function by calling a subVI. It becomes later difficult to make a change on that. The process is, I have to add those inputs, which I forgot to the subVIs panel and to the connector pane. I choose save and close (STR+W) and continue with connecting the wire to the corresponding VI on the Main VI.This is difficult as one needs the right type of control on the subVIs pane. My way is to create a constant and copy it to the subVI, then choosing to make the constant a control.

My idea is, to finish those two actions (putting a control on the panel and wire it with connector pane) by a simple click to a "free" connector pane terminal. When the mouse covers the SubVI and the user has choosen the connect tool, the user presses a key and then the terminal of the subVI becomes visible. You only need to do one more click and the wire is connected appropriately. On the panel of the subVI the control was build without opening it.

Additional: By this method it should be also possible to connect to a terminal, which is currentrly not free but "is wired" to a control, and replace it with the new datatype of the current wire.

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Many of my VI's have lots of long wires that go from one end of the block diagram to the opposite end. It would be nice to create some kind of block, to which you can connect as many wires as you want, and a twin block that you can place where somewhere else, and get the wires out of it, this way, all the wires across the vi won't be seen, and everything will be more tidy.To distinguish different wire blocks, a solution could be to change the block color, or edit the icon as you can do with sub VI's

When you search in the window of explorer some element of labVIEW all time shows the generic icon of the type of file

For controls

For Vi’s

For libraries

Etc…

This functionality is correct to identify the type of file, but when you change the representation to medium or large icons, the icon don’t change and you can’t identify the particular element.

Mi idea is that, in short icons maintain the actual representation, and in the medium or large icons represent the icon of the element (which has been designed by the user in icon editor)

In the same way this function could be implemented in the project tree into LabVIEW editor, this idea can be found more easily some element when the project is big.

Often I have parts in the code which are duplicates but differ in types (representation) so that I am not able to use a VI. So there is the possibility to use a Code Snippet and but it to these locations. A nice feature would be the possibility to capsule the code snippet. This should give the possibility to edit the contents and to apply all changes to the places where the codesnippet is in use. This would make it comparable to a strict typedef and give the possibility to edit code on different locations although no vi is used. This feature is also comparable with an include statement in an text oriented language. This feature would also be helpful in maintaining a polymorphic vi because there only would be one place to do your changes.

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Life can be a real beach when working on a load of high-performance VIs which have a bug somewhere. First spend half an hour un-setting "Subroutine" on a tree of VIs, then find the bug, spend another half an hour re-enabling sub-routine execution and then spend a further half an hour finding the last subVI you forgot because you've noticed a problem when benchmarking......

How about setting a VI to conditional subrouting meaning that it retains its subroutine status until you place a probe or breakpoint in it (It would be nice if calling VIs adapted also of course). As soon as the breakpoint / probe are removed, return as normal to subroutine execution. Man would this save a lot of time.

Shane.

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LabVIEW Idea Exchange

Option to include handshaking bit in signal (fpga)

read clock rate from clock reference

Auto-updating 'to do' explorer

Connectors in the block diagram

Create a format painter

Close a VI without deferring or saving

Frame to group, comment and highlight parts of a blockdiagramm

Tricolor Single Boolean Indicator with Gray Default, Green Pass and Ref Fail

connect a wire by wiretool to free or wired terminal of sub-VIs

"Teleport wires"

Display true Icons of controls and VI’s

Including code snippets comparable to a strict typedef

Tunnel Concatenating ... only with array, doesn't work with string !

Make label color for wires match wire color!!!

Change the data content on a wire dynamically in the case of a breakpoint via a probe in order to continue to debug an application.

Large crosshair cursor in LabView

Quick-drop insert into correct wire segment

alphabetize controls in the Edit Event Case dialog

Checkbox & RadioButton should have default Boolean Text = Invisible

Adaptable Subroutine setting