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What is this feature on the front panel?

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I am new LabVIEW user troubleshooting an existing set of LabVIEW 2017 codes, written by someone else, that contains vi's with the same name in different subdirectories. To see if they are actually different, I used Tools > Compare > Compare VI's which showed a difference in Front Panel > Array > current indices. The number circled in green differs in the screenshots below.

  1. The circled number is the index to the first element in the array, right?
  2. This is a real difference that will affect how these vi's work, right? There is no other difference listed between the two programs, except for...
  3. Vi Attribute > Miscellaneous > VI Icon (B/W). Could this produce two different results in running the two vi's? This post says that it can result in 2 vi's being flagged as different, but doesn't mention it affecting how they run.

 

colorimeter_0-1614356367336.png

colorimeter_1-1614356467830.png

 

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That is the index of the first element DISPLAYED. It does not change the size of the array. It does not change the value of any element of the array

"Should be" isn't "Is" -Jay
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1- Yes

2- No, it's just displaying the "scroll position" of the array. Manually type in some numbers and click the little up/down buttons, you'll see the numbers move up and down the display. This will be more apparent if you fill up the array with some numbers, then grab the handle at the bottom and make the whole thing shorter. The scroll bar and the up/down arrows will change which subset of the array is shown on-screen.

3- I'm not sure specifically what the "(B/W)" part means, but generally speaking no, the VI's icon has no influence on the functionality of a VI.

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@BertMcMahan wrote:

 

3- I'm not sure specifically what the "(B/W)" part means, but generally speaking no, the VI's icon has no influence on the functionality of a VI.


I believe the B/W icon is a version of the VI's icon that is strictly black and white and would be useful if you were printing your block diagram on a black and white printers.  Any subVI's on that diagram would display their B/W icon if one exists.  Honestly, I'm not even sure where to find that anymore.  I've never used it or set it.

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@RavensFan wrote:

@BertMcMahan wrote:

 

3- I'm not sure specifically what the "(B/W)" part means, but generally speaking no, the VI's icon has no influence on the functionality of a VI.


I believe the B/W icon is a version of the VI's icon that is strictly black and white and would be useful if you were printing your block diagram on a black and white printers.  Any subVI's on that diagram would display their B/W icon if one exists.  Honestly, I'm not even sure where to find that anymore.  I've never used it or set it.


OK I was trying to avoid that part.  The strict technical answer is  yes!  In very specific cases a subvi output will change if the Black and White icon changes.

 

To get a change like that you would have to call the Print VI method either, from an explicit Invoke node or,  by setting VI Properties to print at completion.  You would have to configure the method to enclude the icon and select the option to print black and white.  The output to the print queue is the only output that would change by changing that icon.

 

All that being said,  hell will more likely freeze over before you run into anyone who has done that.  Unless, of course I post that "contortionist code trick" to the Forums.  Now somebody is going to say, "Hey, I used to do that all the time in the 1980s!"


"Should be" isn't "Is" -Jay
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I think after 16 years of LV programming, I've gone and printed out a block diagram only a few times.  And that is only if there are simple and high level in the project that shows the overall modularity of the program.

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RF no, not printing out a block Diagram. Actually USING that vi property option to print vi at completion. With a mere 16 years of LabVIEW experience 😲 you probably have never looked twice at the feature.

In actuality, it was an accepted form of test reporting in the 1980s since vi inputs and outputs as well as the diagram just showed up on a hard copy that would then be saved to file in a folder. Oh, for you younger people. Back then a file folder hung in a drawer in a metal cabinet and was made from processed wood pulp. And NOBODY had a color printer so, the vi icons have a black and white icon selection that got hidden by the "NEW" icon editor about 12 years ago.


"Should be" isn't "Is" -Jay
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