Large, Pixelated Cursor in LabVIEW 2018 SP1 on Windows 10

[cfield]

Greetings,

I have encountered a weird problem with LabVIEW 2018 SP1 (18.0.1f2) and the cursor in the development environment. The cursor is excessively large and pixelated. I believe it is being rendered at a lower resolution, and this is related to my high DPI screen. Please see the attached screenshots for examples of the problem. I acknowledge the fonts will be fuzzy and pixelated with a high DPI monitor.

Interestingly, this does not occur in LabVIEW 2015 SP1, which I also have installed. Please see the attached screenshots.

Summarized system information:

• Surface Pro 6
• Intel Core i7-8650U CPU @ 1.90 GHz 2.11 GHz
• 16.0 GB Memory
• 64-bit Windows 10 Pro
• Windows 10.0.17763 Build 17763
• 512 GB SSD
• Intel UHD Graphics 620
• Display Settings: 200% scale (Recommended), 2736 x 1824 (Recommended)

I am not running in tablet mode. I am not connected to any external monitors. I have read and tried the instructions in the "All the Main Application Windows in LabVIEW are Tiny" and the "Inconsistent LabVIEW UI Behavior with Multiple Monitors on Windows 10" knowledge base papers. If I disable scaling for LabVIEW, then the cursor is correct, but the front panel and block diagrams are tiny and nearly unreadable. I will mention, disabling the high DPI scaling fixed an issue I had with NI MAX.

I have seen the "LabVIEW and display 4K (3840x2160)" post as well. I tried halving the resolution and scaling, but then I get vertical or horizontal black bars on the screen. I also tried playing with the scaling and resolution, but regardless of the changes either the cursor looks good and the rest of LabVIEW is unreadable/unusable or the cursor looks bad and the rest of LabVIEW is readable/usable. I also think this is a different issue than the 4K monitor because only the cursor appears to be affected and I only have the problem in LabVIEW 2018 SPI.

Additionally, the cursor only appears to be large and pixelated within the block diagram and front panel. As soon as I move it to the menus or any context/pop-up menus/dialogs, the cursor changes to the system cursor and looks fine. Has anyone else experienced this issue? I am open to suggestions for potential workarounds.

Thanks,

Chris

[cfield]

Small update. I downloaded and installed LabVIEW 2017 SP1 32-bit (v17.0.1.f3). I do not experience the large, pixelated cursor on the front panel or block diagram. Everything looks fine with LabVIEW 2017 and 2015. It appears only LabVIEW 2018 has the problem.

[LDowning]

Hello! 

The reason you are only seeing this in 2018 SP1 is because it was actually an update applied to that version. You can find more information about it here:

Small Cursor with 4K Monitor on Front Panel and Block Diagram
https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z000000P9PBSA0&l=en-US

Beyond the workarounds mentioned in that article, there isn't a specific way to change the size of the cursor in LabVIEW.

[cfield]

Levi,

Thank you for the information and response. I have read the Small Cursor with 4K Monitor on Front Panel and Block Diagram article. This appears to be similar, or at least related to, the issue I am seeing with LabVIEW 2018 SP1, but my cursor is large not small.

If I set the scaling to 100% (it is currently at 200%, which is recommended by Windows), then the cursor is indeed the correct size with LabVIEW, but everything else, including LabVIEW and the cursor outside of the Block Diagram and Front Panel areas, is extremely small. I have attached a screenshot for reference. This scaling also messes with other applications.

The second workaround mentioned in the article is to use a second, low resolution monitor. This is certainly a viable solution for a desktop computer, or workstation-level laptop with a docking station, but it is not really a viable solution for a portable device specifically meant to be used for interfacing and debugging deployed NI-based applications and hardware in the field.

A third workaround that is not mentioned in the article, and probably specific to me, is to use an older version of LabVIEW that does not have the CAR 677536 fix applied. For example, maybe just use LabVIEW 2017? This is obviously less than ideal, but it is a workable solution. Similarly, I can just use LabVIEW 2018 SP1 and live with the enlarged cursor. It is not affecting functionality (just programming efficiency and UX). My fear is that since the CAR 677536 has been applied that this issue with Windows 10, 4K monitors, and LabVIEW will be internally considered as "resolved", but it appears some additional attention and/or testing is needed. Unfortunately, I do not have any other 4K or HDPI monitors to check if it is something specific to the Surface Pro or not.

With time and schedule permitting, I will try NXG and see if I experience a similar problem.

Thank you,

Chris

[RavensFan]

What if you set the resolution of the monitor to a more reasonable 1920 x 1080 or something like that.  Don't set it for a super-high resolution display.  Then you shouldn't need a 200% scaling.

[cfield]

I set the scaling to 100% and tried the made the following observations for three different resolutions in the "1920" family:

1. 1920x1440, 100% scaling: Vertical black bars on the left and right of screen. The cursor appeared to be proportionally sized with the rest of the UI, but the entire UI was small. The overall LabVIEW UI and fonts were smooth, sharp, and clear, respectively.
2. 1920x1200, 100% scaling: Horizontal black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The cursor appeared to be proportionally sized with the rest of the UI. The entire UI was slightly larger than the 1920x1440 resolution (Test 1), and similarly the LabVIEW UI and fonts were smooth, sharp, and clear, respectively.
3. 1920x1080, 100% scaling: Horizontal blank bars at the top and bottom of the screen, but much bigger than with the 1920x1200 resolution (Test 2), i.e. screen appeared narrower. The cursor appeared to be proportionally sized with the rest of the UI. The entire UI was similar in size to the 1920x1200 resolution at 100% scaling, but I would note that it is still a little small for my taste. The LabVIEW UI and fonts were smooth, sharp, and clear, respectively.

I made sure to logout and sign back in after each resolution change to ensure the resolution and settings were appropriately applied and restarted LabVIEW 2018 SP1 each time.

Reducing the resolution and changing the scaling to 100% appears to ensure the cursor is rendered to match the LabVIEW UI and the look and feel is sharp, but this configuration ultimately leads to reduce screen real estate (important for graphical programming) with the black bars in either the vertical or horizontal directions to match the screen's aspect ratio as needed, and the size of icons, font, and UI is on the edge of readable for my preference. However, the 1920x1200, 100% scaling (Test 2) could be a viable workaround if needed.

[BoKnows]

If I had to guess, the fix used to address the smaller cursors ensured they scale up to the expected size.  But, doesn't check to see if it should scale down if you're using any scaling above 100%.

This should probably be a CAR to get looked at to see if that's what's causing the behavior.  I'd argue it's a new CAR and not the prior one.  I'd expect the old one to be left alone and the new one to be looked at to see how plausible that fix is.

[cfield]

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@BoKnows wrote:

If I had to guess, the fix used to address the smaller cursors ensured they scale up to the expected size.  But, doesn't check to see if it should scale down if you're using any scaling above 100%.

This should probably be a CAR to get looked at to see if that's what's causing the behavior.  I'd argue it's a new CAR and not the prior one.  I'd expect the old one to be left alone and the new one to be looked at to see how plausible that fix is.

---

This would be my guess as well given my observations and tests.

[Electro_gab]

Ni published a CAR (corrective action report) on this in September: https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z000000P9PBSA0&l=fr-CA

On High resolution screens, while programming, the cursor tools get enlarged and pixelated, both on diagrams or front panel. This is the case in LV 2018 and 2019. 2012 didn't have the problem.

The problem with the large cursor is pretty annoying especially when wiring small diagram items.

Even more annoying is NI solution for now is "put your resolution to lower settings"! I ran labview on two 4k monitors at 150% scalling and it is great for the space, but I had to give up on LV 2019 because of this problem.I hope they come out with something quick, 4k monitors are there since what 4-5Years? It is pretty dumb that I need to change my resolution each time I want to run Labview...

Happily, I discovered that if you start Labview in HD mode and then go back to 4k, the cursor stays small and start scaling correctly. This is a temporary fix though still irritating...