Editing VI Documentation with Icon Editor (for LV12)

[shb]

With this modified and new VIs, the VI documentation can be edited in a separate tab page in the Icon Editor. I hope this will motivate writing documentation for your VIs.

Known limitations

• Undo and Redo leave out the documentation elements
  • At least it does this consequently

Installation

• open the LabVIEW directory "%Program%/National Instruments/LabVIEW 2012/resources/plugins"
• (optional) backup the original file "lv_icon.lvlibp" by moving it into a new directory ("lv_icon_orig/"):
• extract the file in the zip file "lv_icon packed *.zip" in the directory
• The modified Icon Editor should pop up now when you edit a VI in LabVIEW 2012

If this does not work do the Installation for Development (see below)

Installation for Development

• Install the source of the Icon Editor as described here: Icon Editor Source Code for LabVIEW 2012
• open the LabVIEW directory "%Program%/National Instruments/LabVIEW 2012"
• (optional) backup the original files by moving this files into a new directory ("lv_icon_orig/"): 
  • "lv_icon.vi", "lv_icon.lvproj", "NIIconEditor/Controls/References Cluster.ctl",  "NIIconEditor/Miscellaneous/Menubar/ShowLayersPalette.vi"
• extract the files in this zip file in the LabVIEW directory ("%Program%/National Instruments/LabVIEW 2012") 
  • This wil place some files in "resources/plugins/".
  • only the files mentioned to backup are overwritten
• The LabVIEW Project containing the Icon Editor VIs is this one: "resources/plugins/lv_icon.lvproj"

Links

Initial discussion and discussing development: Suggestion: Edit Documentation form Icon Editor

Original Idea in LabVIEW Idea Exchange: Icon Editor with VI Documentation

[shb]

How this looks:

[StephenKM]

Hey shb,

I am the orignal poster for the idea exchange idea. I am excited someone else is intersted in this. I looked at doing this myself but didn't have any time to work no it currently. I did try downloading you code but it seems like "lv_doc_edit.lvlib" is missing from the zip. I would also like to help you make a compiled version of the icon editor for easier installation.

Let me know when you get that file added to the zip.

Thanks,

Stephen

[shb]

Right...

The lv_doc_edit.lvlib is included now.

As the best method for distributing I see a VIPM package. But I do not known how to build one which replaces NI VIs. (And undoes this changes when being removed.)

Greetings,

shb

[shb]

Changes in V2:

Correct tab page is shown or hidden

Instruction for normal installation is corrected,

  packed version for normal installation will follow when I know how to append a 2nd document

changed source files:

added changed file "ShowLayersPalette.vi"

[Bob_Schor]

Has this (very useful) idea been incorporated into more recent versions of the Icon Editor?  I notice that there are Source Distributions for Icon Editor 2013, 2014, and 2015 (and, soon, 2016?) -- have these incorporated the Documentation Edit feature?  If not, how difficult would it be to "port forward"?  [I fear to examine the code too closely ...]

Bob Schor

[StephenKM]

This feature has not been added to any current versions of LabVIEW as of

2015. I do believe this could be added to any of them but I have not tried

recently as we are using a different documentation tool now.

Stephen