LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange

Summary:

Display more struct member information during source editing and during debug.

Description:

While editing source code, CVI only displays the struct members, but no information regarding the type of the member (or declaration information, line file and line).

Add a tooltip to the right of the pop-up displaying the struct members in the source editor to display this information. Similar to this picture:

Also add support for displaying nested structs and even display the member values while debugging, in form of a tree, when execution is suspended (CVI currently only displays the memory address of that struct variable).

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I have had severe problems in development, due to a high synergy between my lack of attention and CVI behavior in search/replace dialogs.

I am talking about the fact that Find/Replace parameters [namely search directories] are stored at REGISTRY level, so that they remain the same across different workspaces.

Having to work with different version of the same software product, I have found myself looking into the wrong sources, or even doing mass updates, due to the fact that different projects have identically named sources and includes, just in different directory trees, and rapidly switching from one workspace

to the next I didn't "mind the step"

My suggestion, thus, is to store find/replace parameters at workspace or project level, so as to avoid the aforementioned inconvenience

Summary:

Improve the Breakpoints Window, so that breakpoints can be more easily managed.

Description:

1. Change the Breakpoints Window, from a modal dialog to a dockable window (similar to the Watch Window). Debugging can be more easy this way.

2. Allow breakpoints to be grouped, disabled/enabled and edited in user defined categories. This allows users to easily collectively manage several breakpoints at a time. It also helps the user to logically group breakpoints, depending on various issues issues that he might be working on.

3. Breakpoints could also be sorted from a pop-up menu by filename, line, hit count, etc.

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When operating graphs in Labview, it is easy to change the scale of an axis of a graph (at runtime): to change e.g. the maximum value, you select the current maximum value with your mouse, type in the maximum number you want and hit enter. To achieve the same in Labwindows, you have to use a numeric control and a button, which is a bit cumbersome. The same applies for zooming: In Labview, you can click a small button attached to the graph and select the way you want to zoom, and then just use the mouse. In Labwindows, you have to know that zooming is done using the ctrl button, ctrl+space restores the previous setting, etc. It would also be nice to be able to enable autoscale by right-clicking on an axis and having a popup menu which allows to do so (just like in Labview). And if the user changes e.g. the maximum value while autoscale is enabled, it would be nice to automatically disable autoscale (unlike in Labview).

So in general, it would be nice to have more comfort in operating graph controls.

Thanks.

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Currently, there is no way to access the historical data on a stripchart. The only way to manage this data is to maintain a separate buffer and update it whenever you add data to the strip chart, which is inefficient and tedious. Accessing data is possible for graph controls using the data attribute:

GetPlotAttribute (panel, PANEL_GRAPH, plotHandle, ATTR_PLOT_XDATA, &data);

Something similar should be implemented for the strip chart, either as an attribute in the getTraceAttribute function, or as a standalone function (getTraceData, etc.)

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I am feeling that LabWindows/CVI lacks a feature that leads to confusion and to minor lack of productivity. When opening the Project File from Windows Explorer or another manager, CVI will start and open that particular project. However, if an instance of CVI is currently running, it will close the project that’s opened and open up the new project. This doesn’t seem right. Let’s say your’re working on a project and you want to open a reference project or an example from ‚Samples’ in order to find some information. Your project automatically closes and you must open it again. You have to search the project on the disk and wait for it to load each time you want to look for something in another project. But you only want to take a look at that example (or reference project), you don’t want to work on it! A workaround exists: open up an instance of LabWindows/CVI and then open your second project. And you must do that for each supplementary project you want to open, while not losing you project of interest.

The feature I think should be implemented would allow the following behavior: when opening a project, LabWindows/CVI will check to see if that project is opened in one of its running instances. If it is, that particular instance is brought into view. If it isn’t, a new instance of LabWindows/CVI will be started and the project will be opened. That way you reduce waiting times (especially when a big project is involved in this switch) and increase productivity.

Over the years the look of CVI's control elements got closer to native Windows controls, e.g. by the direct use of native Windows controls such as the File Select Popup, which I would consider a welcome visual improvement.

What still is not available is a control element providing a Windows-like status bar, e.g. like the one of CVI's IDE.

I imagine a status bar which is similar to use as a menu bar, i.e. with a LoadStatusBar command, similar editing capabilities and the possibility to define the number and type of elements (text, image,...). Also the lower right part should resemble the typical Windows 'triangle', see figure below.

Thanks!

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Hello,

searching through the C code for specific controls first and foremost requires the knowledge of the control's name... If there are some hundred it may get difficult to remember and thus I typically have to check the UI for the constant name. Clicking on the control shows its name in the status bar, a welcome feature, but unfortunately I cannot directly use this text for searching...

What I suggest is allow copying this status bar field using CTRL+C; then it's possible to switch to the C code, press CTRL+F and CTRL+V... (The property browser is not really useful here because it only lists 'NUMERIC_7' and misses the associated panel)

Another, even more powerful feature would be to add a right click popup menu either to this status bar field ('Search C code for this constant') or to the control popup itself: Besides 'Generate control callback' etc. I'd like to see another entry 'Find control in C code'

Thanks!

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Hello,

I would consider it quite convenient having a simple CVI function, similar to GetPanelDisplayBitmap, providing a true screenshot image of a CVI panel.

As discussed here, the CVI function GetPanelDisplayBitmap does not provide a screenshot image of the panel, i.e. the bitmap lacks all OS-specific features (color theme etc.).

For backward compatibility reasons, NI should provide a new function, returning a bitmap that looks the same as if I would have pressed Alt+Prt Sc

Thanks!

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LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange

More predefined command buttons

Display More Information About Struct Members

Save as development distribution

Find / Replace parameters and lost time

Improve Breakpoints Window

Improve comfort when working with graphs

Improved DirSelectPopup function

Add a Method to Access Strip Chart Data

Launch proper CVI version upon double clicking a CWS (or PRJ)

change TUI file format to xml (or create a new xui...)

Add an attribute to set the point size of the selected point style

GetCVIVersionEx

lines of code, ...

Opening Multiple Instances When Launching Different Project (.prj) Files

status bar control

configure batchbuilt; only compile certain projects...

Enhancements to auto "intellisense" feature just like visual studio

UI editor: Find controls in C code and Allow copy & paste from status bar

Provide a function GetPanelDisplayScreenshot

Build Output: Prefer Errors over Warnings