BreakPoint
Asking for VIs instead of jpg's lights a fuse that will blow-up our work with time
You also have the issue of older versions of LabVIEW trying to open new VIs. I use the Code Capture Tool to create snippets and post those. As Ben stated, at least you can go by the picture if nothing else. And snippets can easily turn into code as well. So it is definately better than posting an actual VI for solutions.
I seriously doubt that there will be another massive LabVIEW overhaul that will make current versions unreadable in future versions.
@crossrulz wrote:
[...]use the Code Capture Tool to create snippets and post those. [...]
I do the same, and set it to save the snippet to an older version to help even more!
I'll Chime in!
<Wow, its been awhile since I posted that phrase I usually means I'm going to offer an opinion rather than state fact>
Historically, attachments were prefered over inline images. This has been obsoleted by improvements to network infrastructure. Yup, PERIOD! a few 3rd world areas may still have problems with the amount of data presented in a Disscussion Forum Thread but - Not many. So let me expose my arguments in favor of inline code captures!
- Readability! I don't need to jump to a link to see what the poster is talking about (And why is "open link on the same page" still default????? ARGGGH! now I need three more clicks to view both the subject and the thoughts of the poster! Yes you can target the link to open in a new tab but...THE OP doesn't know about that!) Inlining a code capture presents the ideas and the problem in context.
- I can't view vi's via mobile. (Those of you with strong "Google-Fu" can look up that excellant idea over on the exchange) Wose, muti-tab browsing is a pain on mobile devices. Yup, I may be away from a computer when my cell phone notifies me that a "Hot Topic" has a response. I CAN view an inlined code capture and continue to seek a soloution for the OP.
- Spoilerthis code was open and meaninless but illustrated my point
- That was easy! Crtl+A Ctrl+/. Yes I retargeted Ctrl+/ to "Create Snippet from seletcion" I Hate side by side windows anyhow- I have two monitors! its a crying shame that I can't create a custom menu short-cut to launch a "Tool" menu option like LAVA>> Code Capture!
in summary, Its easy to inline a snippet, somewhat better to inline a Code Captue and BOTH improve readability. Bonus! the OP can POOF your code into life with the bugfix. <It appears to be even easier than marking a thread "Solved">(Jing is free- if you need to demo how to poof code from a png)
End rant!
@Ben wrote:
Asking for VIs instead of jpg's
Jpgs are definitely out. With any level of compression, they don't deal well with line drawings (LabVIEW code) and such. PNGs are highly preferred, and we can even create snippets.
Even snippets don't work that well unless we are on a computer that has a suitable LabVIEW version. On a phone, we cannot tell what's in the other cases of a case or event structure, for example. Users often fail to set controls values to reasonable default, so testing a snippet is difficult unless we know what kind of inputs the code typically gets.
Snippets are OK for simple code, but fail miserably in certain scenarios, e.g. a snippet of a subVI loses the execution setting, icon, and connector assignment, so they are really only usable for flat, single-VI code.
(Creating snippets is often difficult for me, because I occasionally use non-public LabVIEW versions.)
With a bit of effort, it is much more illustrative to (1) attach the code and (2) create a combination image that summarizes and illustrates the gist of the propsed solution. It also makes the posts be more memorable and more easy to find later. (example).
