VI Analyzer Front Panel Size and Postion Test fails

[danny_t]

Hi

We make a lot of use of the VI Analyser and I have been playing with the configuration settings to try and make it only fail the tests that matter to us and I have one test I do not understand correctly.

From the LabVIEW help

• Panel Size and Position—Checks that a front panel completely resides within the bounds of the screen. The test also checks whether the front panel is larger than the maximum specified width and height. If you are using a multi-monitor system, the test fails if the panel does not reside entirely within the bounds of the primary monitor. This test works only on standard, control, and global VIs.

I would like to apply this test, a simple check developers are not creating huge VI, it sounds simple enough, but I cannot seem to get this test to pass.

I am working with two monitors and this test fails when my VI is on either monitor with the message  "This VI's front panel does not reside entirely within the specified bounds (1280 x 1024)" my current screen resolutionis 1280 x 1024, so I assume as long as my VI front panel fits within one screen it should be a pass.

I can clearly see my that VI front panel (and block diagram for that matter) fits within the screen of either monitor. If I look at the VI properties of my VI the Window Size is 474 x 513, could anybody please suggest when why this might be failing.

cheers 

Dannyt

[Norbert_B]

Danny,

the test fails if the panel does not reside entirely within the bounds of the primary monitor.

So i would expect the test to fail if the VIs front panel is placed in the secondary monitor. If the VI is smaller than the resolution and placed on the primary monitor, the test should pass.

Please check the settings for your monitor(s) in Windows. Maybe you got an offset within your monitor-coordinates. The primary monitor should start at {0,0} in the left top corner and "go to the bottom right corner, in your case {1280, 1024} (at least this is what i know). The secondary monitor has its coordinates to the negative and that's the reason why the VI analyzer will fail. Negative coordinates will not display on single monitor systems and therefore the front panel would not be accessable.......

hope this helps,

Norbert 

[danny_t · Accepted solution]

Hi Norbert,

Thanks for the prompt reply, my asking the question and your reply has made me play with this a little deeper and I have managed to solve my problem.

In case anyone else has a similar problem here are the details.

When you have two monitors and look at the Windows properites you see one monitor is identified as 1 and the other as 2, thses identities are based on the graphics card and the which monitor is plugged into which ouptput connector. You can then chose which monitor you wish to act as your primary monitor. You would suspect it would not matter once you have selected your primary monitor BUT IT DOES.

My inital set-up   

Left Hand Monitor    - idenity 2 selected to be primary monitor

Right Hand Monitor - identiy 1 

With this set-up everything looks and acts as I expect it to task bar, icons etc on my primarry monitor.  However if you run the VI Analyser it will fail Panel Size and Position on BOTH the left and right hand monitors.

I crawlled under my desk and swapped the monitors cables round so now the set-up is

Left Hand Monitor    - idenity 1 selected to be primary monitor

Right Hand Monitor - identiy 2

Now the VI Analysers Panel Size & Position Tests will pass on the left hand monitor but fail on the right hand monitor, just as would expect.

It appears that LabVIEW is looking not only at the windows "Primary Monitor" setting but also the identies, this does not seem the behaviour I would expect nor the correct behaviour.

cheers 

Dannyt

[Darren]

Hi Dannyt,

I just looked at the code for the Panel Size and Position test, and you're right...we use monitor #1, whether or not it happens to be your primary monitor.  I have filed a product suggestion against the VI Analyzer that we try to make it smarter about which monitor bounds are used in the test...I think there may be a few ways I can determine the true primary monitor being used.

[danny_t]

I always meant to ask if a CAR was raised for this is it an accepted bug or not ?

Dannyt

[magicbean]

It is still the same problem running under LabVIEW 2013f2 three and a half years later. I can't believe this isn't easy to fix but it's really annoying. I'm sure a lot of other developers add a secondary display to make a laptop more useable - by definition this is going to be bigger than the 'primary' display. I might file a bug report and see if this makes a difference.

[johnsold]

It is clear from this discussion that the documentation does not match the performance. That constitutes a bug. And it is one which is easily fixed.  Let the documentation show that the current test compares to monitor 1, not the designated primary monitor.

Future versions of the test should compare to primary monitor, regardless of monitor identity. Also nice would be tests which verify that the VI is within some monitor, or possibly a specific monitor chosen by the user by monitor identity or by logical designation.

Lynn

[johnsold]

Edit: Duplicate post due to WiFi difficulties at my motel.

Lynn

[JÞB]

I would assume this will be resolved forthwith (I think we know a certain developer who will suddenly appreciate sinsterdexerity)

It shouldn't take long- he codes FAST!

[magicbean]

Lynn,

I checked the documentation in the VI Analyzer - to be fair it does say that the VI must sit entirely within the bounds of the primary monitor (I didn't notice that before) .... however I think this caveat indicates an unfinished job rarther than a feature: it doesn't check size, it checks position.

The 'use the current monitor size' doesn't recognise the display the VI is on at all - it uses the primary display. 

Size would be more useful than posiiton for most purposes and easier for a quick fix (I imagine).

I think most laptop users with a secondary display would require this to work better than it does. Personally I'm not worried about which display is the primary one and which isn't, I just want to make sure that my VI front panel fits on some size that I specify - having it use the 'current monitor', the primary or secondary display might be a bonus but it doesn't affect me.

I filed a bug report to see if we could move it on a bit. I suggested that size and positon should be two separately enabled checks.

See you back here in 2017!

Steve