Include LabVIEW Version Number in Application Icon

[Darren]

When you develop with multiple LabVIEW versions, it is sometimes difficult to identify which version you're using or launching based on the icon of the LabVIEW EXE:

Here's my Windows 7 taskbar with, among other things, LabVIEW 8.0, 8.5, 8.6, and 2009 icons.  Which one is which?  There are ways to tell, but it sure would be easiest if the version number were overlayed on the icon.  Note the Visual Studio 9.0 icon in the taskbar...I think we should do something very similar with the application icons of future LabVIEW releases.

NOTE: The icon should also reflect differences between the 32-bit version of LabVIEW and the 64-bit version of LabVIEW

[blawson]

It's a bit of a hack, but I have figured out how to accomplish this by creating your own icon and modifying your labview.exe to replace the default icon with your custom one.

details in this thread:

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/How-To-Setup-your-LV-Icons-so-you-can-tell-versions-apart/m-p/125285...

[jwdz]

LabVIEW 8.6,LabVIEW 2009,LabVIEW 2010 at My Mac_Dock.

[Bob_Schor]

Here's a screen shot of my Win7 system (sadly, a similar WinXP view is not so pretty ...)

I did this by making stand-alone Icon (.ico) files using an "Icon Editor".  I started by "borrowing" the standard LabVIEW icon (probably from LabVIEW 8.6), editing out the little "+" in the middle, and putting in a number.  I then created a shortcut to my desktop and used the standard Windows editing of shortcut properties (right-click shortcut, choose Properties) and changed the icon to my custom icon.  Now when I start LabVIEW by double-clicking the (labeled) appropriate icon on my desktop, the icon also appears in the taskbar.  I have an Icon folder that I keep in C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments that has all of the icons I've created for LabVIEW versions (at present, they include 7.0, 7.1, 8.0, 8.2, 8.5, 8.6, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Beta, plus a blank icon for future versions).

I'm happy to provide the folder -- can I just attach it as a Zip to a comment here?

Bob Schor

[AristosQueue (NI)]

> can I just attach it as a Zip to a comment here?

 No. You have to post in the regular forums and then post the link to that message here.

[sth]

Fix LV so it supports the dock badge functionality.  Only LV 8.2 did this and it broke in some later version or OS.  Marc can fix it!!

[Jeff-P]

Checking this with 2011 and 2012, and hovering over the icon does give the full version now (instead of just LabVIEW (32-bit))

[AristosQueue (NI)]

Jeff-P -- Tip strips do not count -- tip strips don't affect all the open window icons in Windows. And even if they did, they still aren't as usable as badges. I'm with the masses here -- we want the icons to be different!

[Jeff-P]

I agree with that. I have three versions of LabVIEW pinned and there is no visual distinction between them, I have to pin them in a specific order and remember it. I was just pointing out that there has at least been a slight improvement since this was first proposed.

Jeff Peacock 

Product Support Engineer | LabVIEW R&D | National Instruments 

[lhb5883]

oh bob did a great job!