Custom Color Settings

[JShaffer]

How can you select "Custom Colors" in the tools->options dialog and actually have custom colors used? If I uncheck the "Use default colors" box, press OK, then go back into the colors option the check is back on. This happens with versions 7.1 and 8.0.

[Elsa Fung]

the check will come back on if you dont' change any of the colors.  Try changing one of the color, then press ok (of course you have to uncheck the box).  Then close the VIs you have opened, and reopen them, the setting should be changed.

See-Ming

[JShaffer]

Thanks, now I see how those default colors work. Now I'm trying to figure out how the custom colors work. There are colors associated with names like "Indicator Background." If I change the color for that name the background of an indicator is still the basic grey. Do you have to set a property on the indicator get it to take on that color?

I have vi's with indicators on the front panel that have white backgrounds. I've added new indicators, but they stand out because they have grey backgrounds. Trying to figure out how they did that...

John 🙂 

[Elsa Fung]

Hmm.. I don't think the custom colors in Tools->Options let you set the color of the indcators.  I think it's just setting names for custom colors.  To change the colors of the indicators, you can use the tool palette's color tool: View->Tool Palette, that will bring up the tool palette tool box.

Click on the lower square in the Set Color button (bottom button with two squares and a paint brush), choose the color you want to change to, then click on the indicators you want to change color of. 

If you want the color to match up the color you had in your other indicators already, click on the Get Color button (right above the Set Color button on the right), and click on the indicator you want to get the color from, then click on the Set Color button and finally click on the indicators you want to change color of.

To get out from the get/set color tool, click on the Position/Size/Select button (cursor button), then the click on Automatic Tool Selection button (top button)

Hope this helps

See-Ming

[JShaffer]

Thanks See-Ming, no wonder I was having such a hard time finding the tools palette. It doesn't always pull down from the Window menu (you have click to get the full pulldown menu list), and having to shift-right-mouse is something you just have to know about. Now I seem to remember being shown this in class, but it was for adding documentation to the block diagrams.

So, now I have matching white backgrounds in the indicators...