Bug with context help on tabs?

[SULLutions]

Yesterday I was exploring an unfamiliar VI and turned on the context sensitive help to try to learn more about it. I was puzzled when I hovered over what appeared to be Boolean buttons on a Tab control and the help window indicated "No description available" (not surprising), but on an I32! Reordering the controls didn't help. With some experimentation, I discovered that controls with no description on a Tab that also has no description show as I32s in the help window. The Tab also shows as a generic I32, rather than a Tab. If the Tab has a description, even a single space character, then it and undocumented controls on it show as Tab controls. Any control with even a single space character in its description is identified properly.

Looks like a bug to Yair and me. Any comments?

[Dennis_Knutson]

What version of LabVIEW are you using. I don't see this behavior in either 8.5 or 8.6. Can you post an example?

[johnsold]

I see this in 8.5 on the Mac.  It is somewhat subtle, but after some experimentation I do see it.

It almost looks as though the help is not tracking the mouse position in the control or lagging behind in updating.

Lynn 

[SULLutions]

I see it in 7.0 and 8.6 on Windows and Mac. In 7.0, the I32 indication doesn't show but the Tab's label will show and you can see its help window has precedence over the control's if only the Tab has a description and that neither is active if neither has a description.

I don't readily see how to post an example, but just start a new blank VI, drop a Tab on it, and drop a Boolean (or any other control) on that. Place a different control type (an Enum, for instance) directly on the front panel. Turn on context sensitive help.  

When the mouse is on the panel but outside all controls, the help window maintains its last display. If you move over the control that is directly on the panel, its label and "No description available" will appear. If you move anywhere on the panel, over the Tab, or over the control on the Tab, the help display does not change. Add even a blank to the description of the Tab and the help window will change to show the Tab's label when over it. Add anything to the description of the control on the Tab and it will become visible to the help window. Delete either of the descriptions and that control becomes invisible to the help window again.

Note that the (Enum) directly on the panel is always visible to the help window whether or not it has a description. 

[Dennis_Knutson]

Sorry, I thought your original post was referring to the Description and Tip display and not the Context Help. I'm not sure if it's a but or not. I don't except anything to be shown in context help if I don't create anything in the Description and Text entry.

[SULLutions]

But should the behavior be different on and off a Tab?

[BCho]

Hey SULLutions,

The behavior of the context help is certainly unexpected. It appears as though the context helps does not differentiate between object in the tab control and the tab control itself. You will notice that as you move your mouse from around your tab control and then over your particular item, the context help does not change. What should likely be listed in the context help is data type information like you see if you bring the item out of the tab control and then mouse over it. CAR # 154260 has been created to address this particular issue with the context help and items on a tab control.

A possible work around for this could be dragging your item off the tab control and then mousing over it to see the context help. However, for items such as a Boolean control, the context help only describes the data type. This of course unless you added some custom documentation for a particular item by right clicking and going to Properties»Documentation and adding a Description. If you do this, you will actually see your custom description and the data type. So, this could be another work around. Add a custom description of your item and you will be able to see it in the context help along with the expected data type information.

Hope this helps,

Ben

Applications Engineering

National Instruments

[SULLutions]

Thanks, Ben. The upside of this bug is that it emphasizes the need to fill in the description for every control! A good lesson for us all.

[Jon_S.]

Hello Everyone,

CAR 154260 has been fixed in LabVIEW 2011.  You can find it in the LabVIEW 2011 Bug Fixes.