How to make only one LabVIEW window active amongst other applications' windows

[bmihura]

For example, I have a Word doc open on one monitor and a LabVIEW front panel window on the other. Both apps have lots of other windows open in the background, on both monitors.

When I click the Word doc, Word doesn't bring all of its other docs to the front thus obscuring my LabVIEW Window.

But LabVIEW does! When I click the LabVIEW window, it insists on covering up all other applications' windows with all other LabVIEW windows. Grr. Is there some way to make LabVIEW not do this?

[NIJanell]

Hello bmihura,

When you click on a VI (either front panel or block diagram) and other windows are associated with that VI, those other windows will come to the front.  For example, if you click on a block diagram where you have context help and the functions palette visible, all three windows will always come to the front as they are a part of the block diagram.  This is expected behavior.  Is this the behavior you are experiencing?

By chance, did you select the Dialog Box option under Windows Options in VI Setup?  If so, unchecking that option may solve the issue.

Have a great weekend!

Janell R | applications engineer

[bmihura]

I'll describe this as if you have two monitors, but of course the same would apply to a different places on a single monitor.

I'm talking about two unrelated VIs. Suppose you have three windows:

Front Panel 1.vi
Front Panel 2.vi
A Word doc

Put the two VIs in separate monitors, then cover one VI with the Word doc. When you click the uncovered VI, the covered VI obscures the Word doc, even though the two VIs are not related in anyway, as in your description.

[Dennis_Knutson]

But all of the VIs are related. What you are seeing is normal behavior. Each VI (front panel, block diagram) is a window but it's not a "Microsoft Windows" window like the separte word windows are. The windows are maintained by the LabVIEW development environment and the reason, I believe, goes back to when LabVIEW was a mac only platform and why LabVIEW looks the same on ms windows, mac, linux, and all of the other platforms that it runs on.

Since it's, imho, really mostly a minor problem in the development mode you'll probably just have to get used to it. With a dual monitor setup, you have twice as many as I do and I hardly ever notice.

[bmihura]

I was hoping there was a workaround, but I'll have to live with it.

thx

[Marc_A]

This is something I've often wished I could disable. If I have 10 or so VI windows open along with a Word document, it's quite annoying to alt+tab between one VI window and the Word doc. It also causes problems when I want to see one small VI and something in another application behind it. I have to close or minimize all the other VIs I have open to see the background window.

I've gotten used to it, but it would be nice have an option to change this behavior. Ctrl+tab works to switch between LV windows, so there's no reason to bring all of them to the front when I select one window.

[bmihura]

What Marc A said.

The Alt-Tab thing is even more annoying than the window-covering-up thing. It would be a great option to have!