fix select signals VI

[cuthbert]

I have two identical VI that take DAQmx signals and put them into a waveform and then use two different methods to select the signals for display in charts on the display. One VI uses the split and merge VIs while the other VI uses the select signals express VIs. They both work the same; however, the split and merge VIs obviously select the signals based on the output index which supplies the signals implicatly, while the express select signals VIs rely on a popup menu to show the signals configured in MAX in a list where the user can then select the needed signals. The idea is great except the VI does not do this all the time!  When the properties dialog box is displayed the first time that the sub VI is used the popup list shows a sort of default list of signals: signal 0 thru signal 7. This is amazing since the input waveform comes from MAX with 11 channels in MAX! The channels in MAX are named in MAX as voltage_0 thru voltage_10 and this should be what pops up in the dialog box!  Looking at the interior code of the select signal VI gave me the impression that the list in the display needs to to stored internally into a local variable and that until this VI is run at least once the pop up display would not populate the list of MAX channels so I went and ran the VI containing the select signals VI once to populate the list from MAX.  The first time I did this some of the select signals VI (there are 6 in the VI) did show  up with the list populated as configured in MAX but not all of the select signals VIs did! And when I exit out of the project and come back the next day and do this all over again the list always start up with the default list and even when I run the VI to populate the lists the default list still shows up!  If I go back into the tool menu and select the same select signals express VI and install it on the block diagram the list always gets populated once the code is run one time!  I think that NI has some work to be done on getting this VI to work correctly

[altenbach]

Sorry, your idea is very hard to read, because it is not segmented into paragraphs. (This might be due to a forum bug, sometimes seen when posting with certain browsers or OS).

Many express VIs, once run, show actually much more and most of the information is not available at edit time. They sometimes even include real data, which is not available until the VI has been run at least once anyway.

If I understand you right, you basically want this express VIs to dynamically reconfigure at edit time whenever the inputs are wired differently. That seems dangerous. For example should all existing selections disappear when you remove the input wire?

(I almost never use express VIs and dynamic data, so it would not make a difference for me... ;))

[cuthbert]

First, the VIs are being run at least once, sometimes many more times than once and the property box still does not show the channels out of MAX!  And I am not trying to see these properties at run time, only at edit time when I am nosing around the block diagram. As a matter of  fact the VI that I have that uses these express VIs does not always shows the signals that I originally selected. Sometime when I drop anew instance of the select signals VI onto the block diagram I know that the list of channels is not populated since the VI has not been run, but after running the VI containing these express VI I would think that the list should now be populated, but it isn't.  The VI is not working!!

[altenbach]

So this is more a bug report than idea? As i said, i am not familiar with express vis.

[cuthbert]

Yeah, it is more a bug report than an idea, but I could not see any links to NI to reprot a bug!

[Darren]

Any idea that has not received any kudos within a year after posting will be automatically declined.