how does the elapsed time function work?

[tsantos]

Hi, I'm new to labview, and I cannot get the elapsed time function to work.  My very simple test VI is attached, and I simply want it to display to elapsed seconds and switch the boolean when the 10s target is reached, but the timer does not seem to start.  Please have a quick look.  Much thanks.

[Jarrod_S.]

If you're new to LabVIEW, you should really consider checking out one of the Getting Started tutorials. These will be well worth your time. This page should be a decent starting point for you.

Basically, your LabVIEW programming is doing exactly what you're telling it to do. You are telling computer to do the following things in parallel:
1. Get the elapsed time once.
2. Wait 15 seconds.

What you want to tell the computer to do is probably more like:
1. Do the following until TimeElapsed=True
    a. Check the elapsed time to see if it's more than 10 seconds.
    b. Wait about 100ms before trying again.

This involves using a loop (what is missing from your program). So take a look at some of the Getting Started tutorials, which walk you through creating a basic first program. From there, you'll be better equipped to write your program and to understand the answers to the questions you can post to this forum. Hope this helps!

[pallen]

Hello Tsantos,

Just a quickie I put togther here using the State Machine Template.