Add LV version info to Help

[Darin.K]

As a service to trivia buffs everywhere, as well as helping us help people with different LV vintages, I would really appreciate it if the LV help detailed the required version for the various functions and VIs in the palettes.  A simple indication in the 'Requires' field would suffice.  The more the better, but at least start with recent/new additions and work back.  "When was that added?" is a quite common theme.

[altenbach]

Things are probably a bit more complicated because sometimes a function retained the name, but actually changed in connectors and detailed functionality (e.g. file dialog, and anything else that has a red obs on the icon or the word "obsolete" in the context help. etc.). Should these mutations also be mentioned?

This information is useful when downconverting and we might lose functionality. Sometimes there is equivalent code substitution (e.g. "in place element structure" downconversion) but sometimes a subVI will simply be missing once downconverted.

[Darin.K]

I should never mention the minimal set I would be happy with since that becomes the de facto bar.  Nonetheless, I think if you hit the really low-hanging fruit (those functions that have been around since the dawn of time or recently added new functionality), plus make it a point to have this information in all future additions then you have a good start.

I used Add as a simple example, but for example I would like to be reminded when the output configuration was added.  (Not even a mention of the capability in the help now BTW).

As to the obsolete functions like you mention, I think that the help for the old function should reference the new one, but the new one does not have to point back.  Would be a nice footnote to the help, kind of a revision history, but I'll take it as a bonus.  Take a recent example.  Draw Rect.vi became Draw Rectangle.vi in a recent version.  The old version has a red X in the icon and the context help tells you what to use now, but the detailed help for Draw Rect.vi points to the new function.  I would prefer the detailed help still point to the old version with info about when and why the function was deprecated.  Plus a pointer to the replacement would be nice.

A more active area, and also important is the addition of properties and methods.  So many times we see 'Use Property X'.  'I don't see Property X in the list'  'Oops, what version of LV are you using?'. 

[Mr.Mike]

This suggestion would be a lot easier if we kept track of when each node was added.  Yes, it's in source control, but it'd require a lot of digging for most nodes.

[johnsold]

Mr. Mike,

As an interim method, I suggest starting with any changes in Help. Create the fields. Populate them anytime the help for a particular function is modified, upgraded, etc. Where it might take more time than can be justified to verify that a feature was added in LV3, for example, but the person doing the update can document that the feature was present in LV 5, then just mark it <= LV 5.

Lynn

[Sergey_Kolbunov]

In addition to altenbach's comment, many basic structures like For and While loops was added with new features resently, while they have been around since the dawn of time.

It would be good to have required LabVIEW version for use of such functional enhancements described in help.

[Darin.K]

This information could help me figure out what the heck this means:

[TimVargo]

I came here to submit this very suggestion, only to find it here already! For my particular use case today, I did not need to determine in which LV version a specific FUNCTION was first introduced, but rather when a specific FEATURE was first introduced. But both are discussed in the help text, so this suggestion (idea) should work well for either kind. Today I wished to learn in which LV version did the "Breakpoint Manager" make its debut. Alas, just like the screenshot provided by the OP Darin.K, the help screen does indicate that "Base Development System" is required, but it lacks what minimum LV version is needed. This is the perfect place to show it!