9/18 UGM follow-up notes

[Darren]

Thanks to Eric and Eli for presenting today. There were a few things I wanted to mention during the presentations, but didn't get a chance because of the time crunch. Here they are:

History Probes

I wrote some custom probes for displaying a history of the data that has passed through a wire. I first posted them probably about 10 years ago, and I still use them regularly. Download them here: History Probes

Location of Custom Probes

There was a question about where exactly custom probe VIs are located. Here are the locations that LabVIEW will search for custom probe VIs:

• [LabVIEW Data]\Probes - This is where custom probes are saved that are created from the wizard that Eric showed in his presentation. Probes located here are available across all LabVIEW installations on your system, so make sure the probe VIs are saved in the earliest LabVIEW version you want to use. To find out where the [LabVIEW Data] folder is on your system, you can use the Default Data Directory VI.
• [LabVIEW 20xx]\user.lib\_probes - Custom probes installed by 3rd party add-ons (like the SAPHIR probes that Fabiola was mentioning in the presentation) get installed here. I believe this is the default location that VIPM will install custom probes. Probe VIs here are only available in this particular LabVIEW 20xx installation.
• [LabVIEW 20xx]\vi.lib\_probes - Custom probes installed by NI products. Probe VIs here are only available in this particular LabVIEW 20xx installation.

Bookmark Manager Scope

One of the coolest things about the Bookmark Manager that often gets overlooked is its ability to parse your entire LabVIEW Project (.lvproj) file for bookmarks, without requiring VIs to be in memory. This is particularly helpful for plugin-based applications, where it is usually cumbersome to try to get all VIs in memory for Find operations. With the Bookmark Manager, as long as everything is in your project (and saved in LabVIEW 2013), it will be checked for bookmarks by the Bookmark Manager.

Example Scrub

This was in Eli's presentation slides, but he didn't get a chance to talk about it because we ran out of time. In LabVIEW 2013, the shipping examples (in the 'examples' folder) have been completely overhauled. Take a look and let me know what you think...hopefully now, when you're learning a new concept (or showing an example to someone else), you don't have to pre-emptively cringe before opening up the example VI! We scrubbed most of the products in the LabVIEW Platform, including LabVIEW Core, RT Module, FPGA Module, and many others.

[FabiolaDelaCueva]

Thanks Eric and Eli for presenting.

Thanks Darren for sharing your notes.

Here is the link to the probes toolkit I mentioned: http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/209756 you can also find it by searching in VIPM for probes.

I discovered one of my favorite debugging tips during CLA Summit 2011 I believe, and the guys at Sixclear (a company here in town) did a cool video explaining it: http://blog.sixclear.com/post/4262272653/labview-suspend-when-called  I was blown away when I figured out that I could skip running the VI and change the outputs on that VI.

I hope I get to see you all the next LabVIEW Architects Forum Meeting on October 24 at 6:30.

Regards,

Fab

[DrewPierce]

Echoing the gratitude yet again, Eric/Eli, thank you guys both so much.

It was a great/informative/interactive mtg & I really personally appreciate everyone's attendance & participation (awesome turn-out!).

And Darren/Fabiola, your posts are exactly the kind of high value content I was hoping to see shared here.    Unlike my post right now haha...

Although I will post Eli's "What's New in LV2013" slides in just a sec, so maybe a little redemption for this purely kudos blurb.  But who can complain, right?  I'm a huge fan of positive psychology...

Eric, could you please share a quick bulleted list of the debugging/custom probe tips you covered?  Just wanna capture the key points/takeaways from your demo for those who couldn't attend today.

Finally, I urge all of you to weigh-in on this thread regarding our next topics for Thurs Nov 21.  Please share any new ideas or endorse those already proposed.  Open to all suggestions, including format.

Speaking of, we're thinking about a panel-style discussion to hear some fresh/new voices, explore multiple methods, & gain broader perspective.  More from Mark on that soon...  -drew