Scenario
Suppose that we want to start coding my Real-Time application, but the hardware hasn't arrived yet.
We can't Discover the chassis + modules, so we need to add modules manually.
Current editor
To add N modules, we need to launch this dialog N times:
- Right-click on Chassis in the Project Explorer
- Hover over "New"
- Click "C Series Modules…"
- Click "New target or device"
- Click "C Series Module"
- Click "OK"
- Wait for LabVIEW to fetch module list (wait ~1 second)
- Select Type (2 clicks)
- Select Location (2 clicks)
- Click "OK"
- Go to #1 to add a new module
How tedious!
Proposed Editor
Wouldn't it be nice if we could set up all the modules in 1 dialog?
Features
- Table auto-fills itself with modules already in the project
- Number of rows is determined by the chassis model. No need to select Location
- Ability to leave rows/slots empty
- Editable Name field (with default name) appears upon selecting Type
- Description appears upon selecting Type
Feel the difference
Adding N modules (using default names) requires...
- Current dialog: 10N clicks, N hovers, waiting N seconds
- Proposed dialog*: (6+2N) clicks, 1 hover, waiting 1 second
So, adding 8 modules requires...
- Current dialog: 80 clicks, 8 hovers, waiting 8 seconds
- Proposed dialog*: 22 clicks, 1 hover, waiting 1 second
*Assuming that steps 1-7 and 10 need to be performed once
This idea is no longer in development. I'm moving the idea back to the 'New' status to be considered for a future LabVIEW 20xx release.