Scale all objects with panel does not work correctly in LV8.0

[RAB123]

I have activated "scale all objects on front panel as the window resizes" from VI properties.  My front panel buttons do not keep their relative position to one another and also proportions of the each button changes dramatically to cause things to overlap.   It seems to be much better behaved if I only click the maximize window button and restore down button.   But if I grab the edge of the window and stretch it either horizontally or vertically or diagonally then every thing on the panel becomes distorted.

I have set minimum panel size to include all the buttons on the window so that the user can not resize the panel too small which I know can cause problems, but that does not seem to help the situation. 

[Krunal_K_Patel]

Thanks for the thread rabbit.

I am also experiencing the similar problem in LV8.6.

If i set window size as windows current size and scale all objects on front panel when window resizes.

and after that if i run the code and then if I strech the front panel window horizontaly or vertically, the controls size change that is, it does not remain of consistent size if we maximize the window after various grab and stretch window operations.

[RAB123]

Sorry,  I click the solution button.  But obviously it's not solved.  How do I unclick the solution button?

Never mind I found it in the options pull down.

Message Edited by rabbit on 02-13-2009 04:09 PM

[RAB123]

Can anyone from NI support, comment on whether or not this is expected behaviour and if there is a work around.  Or if this is a problem that needs to corrected?

Roger

[CWolf]

Hello all,

The problem youare experiencing is a known issue with LabVIEW.  R&D has been notified and is working on resolving it.  The corrective action request number associated with this bug is 40433.  In the readme for each new release of LabVIEW it will list the corrective action request numbers that are fixed in this release.  So, you can search for this number in the readme to see if this was fixed. 

The only workaround that I have been able to find is to not size the window too small.  It sounds like you have already tried this and it did not prevent the problem.  On my computer, maximizing and minimizing the window did not appear to have different results than manually resizing it.  Perhaps you could post screenshots of your front panel that show the problem you are having so I can try to replicate the issue. 

Thanks,

-Christina

[RAB123]

See attached Word document for screen shot images.

Does RD have any time frame on when this might be corrected? 

Roger

[rolfk]

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rabbit wrote:

Can anyone from NI support, comment on whether or not this is expected behaviour and if there is a work around.  Or if this is a problem that needs to corrected?

Roger

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It is expected behaviour. This feature never has worked great and in defense of the LabVIEW programmers it is an almost impossible task to make that really work right. There are a few very conflicting requirements in resizing an entire front panel with all its controls that simply can't be solved right without a lot more prgrammer input as to when resize what in which way in relation to just about anything else on the front panel. Adding this programmer input would need to add an editor interface to add a contstraints, options, and relations of all objects, something nobody would want to bother with. If it would be for me I would have removed that option long ago from the VI options.

What will work is having one single element on the front panel and make that size to the window but leave everything else the same. This reduces the problem for LabVIEW to move other controls relative to that control but avoids the impossible task of resizing every single control but keep the exact layout at all times correct.

Micheal Avoliatis from www.lavag.org has made a presentation during the last day of NI Week 2008 where he shows how to actually do completely resizable front panels right. However it is by far not as easy as clicking a check box in some dialog. You need to use front panel panes, dividing the front panel into different sections, with each section containing a group of controls. By setting the right attributes and aligning the controls corretly in their respective pane, you can get a nicely resizable user interface. It does look good but it is quite a bit of work even for not so complicated user interfaces.

Rolf Kalbermatter

[CWolf]

Rabbit,

Thanks for posting those screenshots.  I was able to duplicate your issue in LabVIEW 8.0.  In versions after 8.0 (I tried it in 8.2 and 8.6), some of the problems with scaling have been fixed.  The front panel objects no longer move with respect to each other, and the scaling appears to work properly as long as the window is not sized too small.  As I said before, a bug report has been filed for the continuing problems, but unfortunately the time scale for when it will get fixed is not information that is available. 

I hope this helps,

Christina

Applications Engineer