LabVIEW
Is it possible to make a collapsible front panel object?
Solved!
Hi all,
Below is a picture of my front panel.
The right panel ('Haptic STM Controller') shows important information and controls that I want to be visible at all times. The left panel ('Addons'), however, doesn't really need to be seen more than once on startup. I was wondering if there was some way to collapse/expand the 'Addon' section on a button press? Scrolling to it works fine, but either means the section is cut off (adding clutter) or not immediately visible.
It's most definitely a first-world problem, but I was just wondering if it's possible since I couldn't find anything about it online. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
First of all, a functional, efficient front panel should be a design goal, so your request is not unreasonable. Have you considered making it a subVI to be called with its front panel visible during initialization (and whenever else you feel like calling it)?
Check this out. I've never gotten a chance to use this, it's just a "LabVIEW Useful Snippit" from an old coworker.
@Bob_Schor wrote:
Echoing Billko, and noting you said your Front Panel Object is there during initialization time (when, presumably, you are not yet using the other right-hand panel), have you thought of making your Initialization routine (and its Front Panel) a Modal VI? This, by design, means that it "pops up" in front of other Windows (I usually set the Screen Position for my Modal Initialization VIs to be Centered), and disappears when you push its "OK" (or "Abort", or whatever Buttons you are using to say "I'm done with you, now exit and pass out the Information you gathered"). You can find the Modal button on the right side of the Window Properties (if my memory serves) for your Initialization VI.
Bob Schor
I think this approach is much cleaner, simpler, and "expected behavior".
@billko wrote:
@Bob_Schor wrote:
Echoing Billko, and noting you said your Front Panel Object is there during initialization time (when, presumably, you are not yet using the other right-hand panel), have you thought of making your Initialization routine (and its Front Panel) a Modal VI? This, by design, means that it "pops up" in front of other Windows (I usually set the Screen Position for my Modal Initialization VIs to be Centered), and disappears when you push its "OK" (or "Abort", or whatever Buttons you are using to say "I'm done with you, now exit and pass out the Information you gathered"). You can find the Modal button on the right side of the Window Properties (if my memory serves) for your Initialization VI.
Bob Schor
I think this approach is much cleaner, simpler, and "expected behavior".
My posts sometimes tend to be terse to the point where there are maybe not quite enough words to convey the intent of the post. What I meant to say is that the method that Bob and I are suggesting (open a subVI with the front panel shown, and modal, close when done) is cleaner, simpler (no fancy front panel manipulations) and "expected behavior" - meaning that usually when someone wants to configure a setting, a dialog pops up that shows configurable items. The LabVIEW "Options" dialog is a good example.
