Feedback on NI Community
Attach vis in defined version
Thomas,
I don't think it is feasible to force users to post in a certain version, simply because they're such a diverse crowd. If a newbie has a simple problem just after starting to use LabVIEW 7.1, we cannot expect him/her to know how to save in a previous version. Also remember that many posts originate from the newsgroups, outside the control of the developers exchange. It is something that cannot be enforced.
I tend to reply with examples in the same version as the posted problem VI of the original question. Maybe the online profile should have a field for preferred LabVIEW version.
For simple code problems, I recommend attaching an image of the relevant code fragment (preferably GIF or PNG. (BMP or JPG are not recommended: BMP gives huge files and JPG is not very suitable for cartoon like images with sharp lines)). Key nodes should be set to "show label" to avoid confusion. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between e.g. "Insert into array" and "replace array subset" just by looking at the icon. These two do very different things yet look similar to the untrained eye ;).
The real solution has to come from NI and I think many prerequisites are already present. For example:
Wouldn't it be nice if an attached VI could be opened directly in the web browser with an online "LabVIEW vewer/player" of always the newest version similar to the current 7.1 online evaluation? This could be built directly into the forum functionality, e.g. with a button [view online]. (Just guessing, I have not tried the online evaluation). It is in the best interest of NI that all users keep their version up-to-date. This would be one way to expose users to the newest version to continually wet their appetite. 😉
It would also act as incentive to use the NI site instead of a newsreader. (Of course there will be logistic problems, e.g. missing subVIs, drivers, zipped bunch of VIs vs. LLBs, etc...)
Another possibility would be that the forum automatically creates a scaled inline preview image of any attached VI.
I don't think it is feasible to force users to post in a certain version, simply because they're such a diverse crowd. If a newbie has a simple problem just after starting to use LabVIEW 7.1, we cannot expect him/her to know how to save in a previous version. Also remember that many posts originate from the newsgroups, outside the control of the developers exchange. It is something that cannot be enforced.
I tend to reply with examples in the same version as the posted problem VI of the original question. Maybe the online profile should have a field for preferred LabVIEW version.
For simple code problems, I recommend attaching an image of the relevant code fragment (preferably GIF or PNG. (BMP or JPG are not recommended: BMP gives huge files and JPG is not very suitable for cartoon like images with sharp lines)). Key nodes should be set to "show label" to avoid confusion. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between e.g. "Insert into array" and "replace array subset" just by looking at the icon. These two do very different things yet look similar to the untrained eye ;).
The real solution has to come from NI and I think many prerequisites are already present. For example:
Wouldn't it be nice if an attached VI could be opened directly in the web browser with an online "LabVIEW vewer/player" of always the newest version similar to the current 7.1 online evaluation? This could be built directly into the forum functionality, e.g. with a button [view online]. (Just guessing, I have not tried the online evaluation). It is in the best interest of NI that all users keep their version up-to-date. This would be one way to expose users to the newest version to continually wet their appetite. 😉
It would also act as incentive to use the NI site instead of a newsreader. (Of course there will be logistic problems, e.g. missing subVIs, drivers, zipped bunch of VIs vs. LLBs, etc...)
Another possibility would be that the forum automatically creates a scaled inline preview image of any attached VI.
