Drop down panels?

[tadders]

Hi all,

Can you make drop-down panels in X Controls with LabView 8.5.1?

We are creating a X Control panel for a limited screen size application.  The user wants a 'more' type button that shows additional features.

The X Control will be placed in a tab panel and the drop-down panel would need to extend beyond the boundary of the enclosing tab panel.

I guess another alternative would be to place the controls in a pop up non-modal dialog.

I'd be very grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction.

Best regards

Phill

[tst]

I'm fairly sure an XControl can't grow beyond the bounds of its container.

Something you can try, though, is having the XControl itself call the popup VI. If you search the LAVA forums for "popup menu" or "context menu" you should find an implementation (by PJM LabVIEW) of nested context menus which uses VIs.

[TCPlomp]

I agree with tst, I can't think of a possibility that the XControls outgrows it's owning tab.

If you do it vary carefully the more-button could trigger the XControl to load a floating window that shows the 'more' options.
This should be seperatly closed before going to the other tab page (which is most likely acceptable).

Ton

[tadders]

Thanks for your ideas!

I think I'll go with the floating panel.

BTW can LabView have floating toolbar type panels that allow the main window to retain focus?

Regards

Phill

[TCPlomp]

Yes, LabVIEW can have such windows (the LabVIEW project for instance).
Use a floating window that is non-modal (in the VI-properties)

Ton

[tst]

The floating style does not let the caller maintain focus. It allows you to use both windows at the same time (which I assume is what you actually want), but when you go to one it maintains the focus.