Make Update VI Calls Tool Work on Type Palettes

[Josh_W]

The Update VI Calls tool only works on sequence files right now.  I'd like it to also work on Step Types in type palettes.

Here's the situation where it would be useful for me: I'm working on a set of custom step types for a customer, which use VIs as Edit-Substeps and Post-Substeps. Some of these VIs are shared between multiple step types.

The issue that I'm having is that if a customer requests a change to one of these shared VIs (for instance, to add another input or output), then I have to go through and manually update all of the substeps in all of the referencing step types. I've already had a situation where I missed an update of an edit substep. This didn't show up in our automated testing, because it is only run at edit time, but caused an error for the customer which they didn't know how to interpret. Our testing process now has to include manual opening of every single edit substep to make sure they all still work before every release.

As part of my validation before a release to the customer, I run the Update VI Calls tool to make sure that there are no broken VIs in the sequence files I'm shipping. The Update VI calls tool already makes sure that I've updated any step modules, but it doesn't catch if I've forgotten to update a Step Type's substeps.

And yes, I know, I could write my own tool to traverse a type palette and do the updating myself, but I'd like to see this integrated into the existing tool.

[Jervin Justin]

Hi Josh,

Out of curiosity, on the testing side, I think the Sequence Analyzer actually catches this when you run it on a sequence that uses the custom step, or on the type palette itself. See screenshots below. I realize that this doesn't automatically update the VI calls, which would be step 2 I suppose.

[Jervin Justin]

Here is the full description of the error from the Sequence Analyzer:
Module for Step 'MyCustomStep' not Loadable. Failed to load VI 'C:\Users\J J\Desktop\temp\Custom Step\EditSubStep.vi' in the 'LabVIEW Development System' version '10.0'.

The prototype of VI 'C:\Users\J J\Desktop\temp\Bose Custom Step\EditSubStep.vi' changed.
The prototype needs to be updated before executing the VI.
To update the prototype, use the Sequence Editor.

[Josh_W]

Ah. The Sequence Analyzer! It's so much more wonderful than I realized. 

The problem is that the customer has chosen version 4.2.1 and isn't willing to upgrade, so I don't have access to it.

I was really looking for a tool to check to make sure that my step type substeps were loadable, which is exactly what the Sequence Analyzer does. So this suggestion is redundant to existing functionality. Sorry.

[warren_scott]

I want to put my 2cents in on this one -- I do NOT think that this suggestion is redundant to existing functionality.  The update VI calls tool was created because it is horribly difficult to go through and refresh the VI module linkage on 100's of steps in a sequence when all you did was make a trivial change that TS can automatically relink the VI for.  And it does a great job at this.

If you are using custom step types with prestep/poststep steps that call LV modules, you have the same problem -- except that updating them is even WORSE than updating the steps in the sequence.  For updating the steps in the sequence, at least you could just click each step, and it would stay on the module tab, and you could click the refresh prototype button and go on to the next one (1 click and click next).  For step types it's rightclick >> Properties, substeps tab, select item in list, specify module, refresh prototype.  That's 6 clicks and click to next (more if you need to unlock the step type, but at least that can be done in bulk).

I really think that update VI calls tool should be expanded to work on types palettes as well as sequence files.

[mperss]

This would be a great addition!

[WireWeaver]

I'm declining this idea due to limited support from the community.