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LabVIEW Idea Exchange

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When I build, I like to test each step. That means that I make a bunch of "debugging" indicators. Some might prefer probes and breakpoints, but I like the "build as you go" and "don't use too many tools". The challenge here is that about 80% of indicators that I make, I have to delete.

I wish there were a version of "diagram disable" that is specified in the block diagram, that worked for the front pane, and left me some tiny asterisk instead of the indicator, that didn't hit program execution times, and that when I configure execution the asterisks can be made to disappear.

This would allow me to revisit my code, to access all of my debugging methods very quickly and intuitively, and to not necessarily change the final layout of the front panel after my debug is done.

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Recently I have been coding for some general apps that do not include any instrumentation. I've become frustrated by the Time Stamp control's resulting dialog when the Time/Date Browse button's is clicked. (I don't caret to use Microsoft .net controls) I do want the user's entry limited to the format that is displayed in the control. I don't want to confuse the user's by displaying a certain format in the control then imposing, or allowing, another format in the resultant dialog even if it isn't displayed that way in the control after the dialog is closed.

Also, the dialog itself could use some aesthetic improvements. If the control is a 'Silver' control then popup a dialog containing 'Silver' controls, et al.

Illustrative examples:

If the Time Stamp control's Display Format is set as 24-hour time, have the time field in the dialog display 24-hour time.

If the Time Stamp control's Display Format does not define any decimal precision of seconds, do not display decimal precision of seconds in the time field in the dialog display.

If the Time Stamp control's Display Format does not define any seconds, do not display seconds in the time field of the 'Set Time/Date' dialog.

If the Time Stamp control's Display Format does not define any time format, do not display any time field in the dialog. I suggest a default value of '00:00:00' for the time component of the time stamp when no time is defined in the Display Format.

If the Time Stamp control's Display Format does not define any date format, do not display the calendar/month/year in the dialog. I suggest a default date of 1/1/1904 for the date component of the time stamp when no date is defined in the Display Format.

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It would be nice if I could simultaneously edit all cases of a case structure. There are times when I need to edit all cases of a case structure in the same way, e.g. adding a constant to an output or pulling shift register wires from one side to the other. Right now I need to step through each of the cases and perform this task. It would be great if I could select a "punch through" option on the case structure context menu at which point my block diagram changes are applied to all cases in the structure.

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Often I need to grab a VI that's part of a class or just a loaded VI from the project explorer. In normal cases I have about 10 - 30 windows open and thus it takes some time to find the project explorer of the active VI, especially when I don't remember the name or there are dozens with the same name thanks to OOP. Luckily there is the option to find it through the menu Window >> Show Project. However.

As I'm already a heavy user of the keyboard with all the shortcuts in LabVIEW, it would be nice to have a shortcut combination to switch quickly to the project explorer of the active VI. Which combination is not important for me, as anything could memorized.

Excel has been around forever, and that means it is optimized for a mix of demographics. Something qualitatively similar can be said for most tools that have been around for a while, but what differentiates end user group includes the "canonical use case for the feature", and market/economics. (I am convinced that if NI could make a sustainable/defensible few billion per year with a spreadsheet, then it would make a spreadsheet product. It is business 101.)

One of the tools that Excel, Open/Libre office, MatLab, R, and Python have that LabVIEW doesn't really have (MathScript has it, but not integrated) is a variation on "Goal Seek" [1, 2, 3a/3b, 4, 5 ]. It is trivially easy to say "make the output of my function this, by changing this input" in all of those. It can be done in LabVIEW, but it is not a "one-liner", and that comes from the UI being engineered around software creation, but not around data exploration.

I recommend a tool that can work on the front panel of a VI that allows me to attempt to set an output to a particular value by varying an input. It can work with fzero, fsolve, or any number of optimization.

The demographic here is different than the conventional LabVIEW market in that it is the data-explorer. This is for folks who want to understand something new, not seek to wrap an understanding they already have into a package. Instead of capturing data in LabVIEW and processing it in another tool, why not start moving the line so more is done in LabVIEW? The greater return of value for the same price means continuous growth of market share. That isn't a bad thing.

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I often have a Case structure, where I have all the cases created, but they are empty. I start to work on a case, and to speed up the work, I would like to copy the same content to another case, for further modification. I know I can just use the "Duplicate Case" option, but in this way I have more extra steps to do: either typing in or copy/pasting in the selector label of the target case, plus I need to delete the original case (since in this way I will end up two cases with same selector labels).

If we had an option via right click: "Copy diagram to case", this would make all this just much faster and easier!

I have been using Perforce with Labview for a while, and I am very happy with the SCC integration in LabView.

What is annoying though, is that moving vi's withing the project using 'Rename' is actually copying to a new location, and deleting, which thus looses the changes history within Perforce. All moved files are considered 'new'.

There is a 'move on disk' option within the Labview Project. This however, also copies and deletes. Nevertheless, there is a move option in Perforce. (And supposedly also in the other supported SCC solutions) It would be really great if the Labview project used that move functionality when available.

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Is it possible that the contents within the instr.lib to be defaulted to read-only every time LabVIEW launches? VIs that is drag-drop from the pallet onto block diagram is currently modifiable and may cause unintentional code modifications, especially due to the 'save all' function and hasty/improper shutdown. The extend of the damage may be inherited over time.

Also propose to default modified instr.lib VIs saves to be in active project folder instead of the instr.lib.

Hope to see these features in future versions.

This is a half-baked idea, so i'm testing the grounds here.

It shouldn't happen, but sometimes stuff is hidden under other code, like overlapping functions, something outside a case structure or under (and outside) a case. This could be through font size changes (an Unbundle growing) someone resizing a case without Autosize or similar.

What if such items could be seen through in a faded fashion, such as a Case structure had 80% opacity? Ofcourse this wouldn't affect the different cases within a case structure, but only to items outside it. The same with other structures.

This ties back to another idea on this forum about being able to select some items and choose Disable, with this in addition you could create one Disable around all, the the non chosen parts can still be seen, though in a faded fashion.

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When I have a VI with several inputs and outputs on the connector pane, I occasionally have to re-organise the connector pane to follow a standard or even just to simplify the block diagram appearance. When this is needed, I have to reset the required status of the controls in their new position.

The idea is to allow a control to have its connection type defined, rather than the connector pane.

This gives the following benefits:

If a control is set as 'Required' but does not appear in the connector pane, we can get an error.
If we move a control in the connector pane, the required setting moves with it.
Copying a control from one VI to another could take this property with it.
The context help could potentially show if the connector is required/recommended or optional,

The connector would perhaps need 4 type setting: required, recommended, optional, connector pane.

The final setting means that the value from the connector pane is adopted.

Setting any other value, overides the connector pane setting.

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Using single-frame-sequences is one (beside other) possibility to keep the code well structured and good readable:
- clustering code in logical groups
- defined place of description by using sub-diagram label
- frame- and background colors
- exclude from diagram cleanup option
- moving the frame will move the code inside, too

But there is also two disadvantages:
- clustering the code in sequences changes the execution order. Especially on high optimized and parallel code this can lead to unwanted performance loss
- only code which follows the data flow can be placed within one frame

An alternative is the frame decoration element. But this is not grouping the code, it is just floating over the code. This has several disadvantages:
- during diagram cleanup the frame will be moved to somewhere
- moving the frame will not move the code
- documentation ability
- no background color

My idea / request:

The frame-decoration-element shall be extended by a visual code-clustering ability so that it has the same usability like a sequence but without an influence to the execution order. Additinally it shall be possible to place code inside, even if this does not follow the data flow.

The two images are showing the current situation - first with a decoration frame, second with a sequence.

Remark: I'm using LV2015SP1

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I would like to propose the idea to have a way to save your labview development environment settings from one version of labview to the next. I find it a bit tiresome to have to configure labview the way I like it everytime I get the updates (twice a year if you have a service subscription). Having to toggle to grid snaps and changing the front panel controls icons. I find its hard to remeber which settings you changed. I would be nice if those preferences could be exported to a file then imported into the latest version so that you can more seamlessly update your development environment.

Allow a multi-line Format String, with Format Into String treating new lines as though \n was in Format String. Here's an example, where the output appears as three separate lines (and the Format String also looks like three separate lines, shown on the left, with the "correct" and only "legal" way to do this shown on the right).

Not realizing this would be a problem, I just created an 11-line "content" for an INI-like file, not expecting it would "reformat" itself as a line containing 198 characters ... Oops.

Bob Schor

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Indicate when a wire is passing under an item, as opposed to when it is wired to the item. I had an error wire passing under the error conections for a object. I thought it was connected but it was not. I saw someone posted an idea for arrows, a bit too big. In a reply some else posted a note that there is a small gap shown in the wire. I could not see the gap, nor do I think it exists in LV2015SP1. I would suggest a clear gap or a thicker border at the point of connection to indicate the connection.

When clicking the Show Error from the Error list dialog it (attempts to) highlights the error, but this can be difficult to see sometimes as the position is not constant (sometimes top left corner, sometimes bottom right, middle etc.). If there was an option to auto pan the block diagram/front panel so that the error always appeared in the centre of the window it would make it much easier/consistent to find (IMO).

Normally it does an okay job, it's just something that could be improved

Hidden by tool palette:

http://i.imgur.com/Q8JeKZo.gifv

Bonus broken one:

http://i.imgur.com/BzZpivS.gifv

I've also had instances where the highlighed error is very small and hard to spot.

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LabVIEW Idea Exchange

Diagram disable on indicators makes them invisible

Page scroll/navigation with middle click

More Quick drop shortcut keys

Synch the display of the Time Stamp Control's 'Set Time and Date' dialog to the defined 'Display Format..' at runtime

"Punch-through editing" on case structures

Add shortcut for switching to Project Explorer

Built for explorers, not just constructors -- Goal Seeking

Copy diagram to case (extra option next to the "Swap Diagram With Case")

Use SCC 'move' functionality for 'move vi on disk'

Control or Indicator terminal > Change to Local Variable

New additions in instr.lib folder to be defaulted to read-only

Hidden items and window opacity

Change size and position of the cursor legend via property node

Required or recommended connection could be linked to control rather than connector pane

block diagram decoration frame element with clustering ability

LabVIEW preferences import/export function

Allow Multi-line Format Strings in Format Into String function

Call a reentrant VI Front Panle asynchronously from the caller

Arrow when wire goes under object

Show the highlighted error in the centre of the window