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VIs Made From Express VIs, Place as Icon

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I have two simple VIs that I made, using the "Prompt User for Input" as a starting point. When I place them, though, they don't place as icons but instead have the same look of the Express VIs, see picture. Of course I can RC and turn these into icons after I drop them, but I'd rather not do that or make my coworkers do that (these are packaged).

 

Is there a way to make them place normally, without remaking them?

 

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FireFistRedhawk_0-1633964119607.png

(I did RC and make the VI names visible)

Redhawk
Test Engineer at Moog Inc.

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Most (all?) Express VIs you can right-click and choose "View as Icon", which gives you a standard size Icon with the Error Line In/Out on the bottom corners (where they belong).  There may be a Caption (or "label") on the top of the Icon, but you can banish that by another right-click, choose Visible Items, and uncheck "Caption".

 

Bob Schor

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Yeah, I know I can do that. What I'm saying is, I'd like the VI to place as an icon automatically when I drop it from the palettes, like any other SubVI.

 

I guess there is some flag in this VI indicating that it was once an Express VI, and that is why it places that way even after I modified it?

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FireFistRedhawk_0-1633966248682.png

 

 

Redhawk
Test Engineer at Moog Inc.

Saying "Thanks that fixed it" or "Thanks that answers my question" and not giving a Kudo or Marked Solution, is like telling your waiter they did a great job and not leaving a tip. Please, tip your waiters.

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@Bob_Schor wrote:

Most (all?) Express VIs you can right-click and choose "View as Icon"


It is actually all VI calls have the "View as Icon" option.  Express VIs just tend to default with that option off.


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I do thing it's a flag, but it might not be accessible though the normal properties, maybe the flags property or some other scripting property.

 

The quickest (and least satisfying I guess) way is to make a new VI and copy the content in it.

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@FireFist-Redhawk wrote:

What I'm saying is, I'd like the VI to place as an icon automatically when I drop it from the palettes, like any other SubVI.

 

Basically no not automatically. Frankly you should not be using Express IV's for anything besides the simple tutorials that use them. I know they make it look like Express VI's are how you program LabVIEW, but it's not.

 

IMHO: The Express VI's are very ridged in their operation and as your programs become more complex you will find that they create more work and confusion then they save.

========================
=== Engineer Ambiguously ===
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@RTSLVU wrote:

@FireFist-Redhawk wrote:

What I'm saying is, I'd like the VI to place as an icon automatically when I drop it from the palettes, like any other SubVI.

 

Basically no not automatically. Frankly you should not be using Express IV's for anything besides the simple tutorials that use them. I know they make it look like Express VI's are how you program LabVIEW, but it's not.

 

IMHO: The Express VI's are very ridged in their operation and as your programs become more complex you will find that they create more work and confusion then they save.


I appreciate the feedback. These VIs in question though are not Express VIs, they are custom VIs made using an Express VI as a starting point. Guess that's probably bad practice too though... I do agree with you about not using Express VIs except in the simplest of situations.

Redhawk
Test Engineer at Moog Inc.

Saying "Thanks that fixed it" or "Thanks that answers my question" and not giving a Kudo or Marked Solution, is like telling your waiter they did a great job and not leaving a tip. Please, tip your waiters.

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@crossrulz wrote:

@Bob_Schor wrote:

Most (all?) Express VIs you can right-click and choose "View as Icon"


It is actually all VI calls have the "View as Icon" option.  Express VIs just tend to default with that option off.


But where does it say an express VI is an express VI? Is there a way to convert an express VI to a normal VI and vice versa?


EDIT: flags2 ("bit 25: 1 vi2DefaultGrownView: VI should be grown by default when dropped") is probably the difference, but is there a way to change it?

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After a while of searching myself, I found the flag I needed to turn off:  VI.Expand When Dropped As SubVI. So not quite as buried as I thought it would be. Still, as far as I can tell it's another one of those VI properties that can only be changed by dropping a property node, running with a value written to it, and then deleting it. Don't you love those lol 😆

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FireFistRedhawk_0-1634039435970.png

 

Redhawk
Test Engineer at Moog Inc.

Saying "Thanks that fixed it" or "Thanks that answers my question" and not giving a Kudo or Marked Solution, is like telling your waiter they did a great job and not leaving a tip. Please, tip your waiters.

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You could edit the associated configuration VI so it sets the SubVi to “View as Icon”.

"If you weren't supposed to push it, it wouldn't be a button."
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