Ability to link a free text label or comment box to a BD node

[dsangree]

I propose either a new type of "linked comment block" that could be connected to a node (or nodes) and thus kept next to it when using the diagram cleanup.
My guess is that it would something like this:

This would allow LabVIEW developers who use the diagram cleanup functionality to well document their code without having to rely on containing their subsections of code in some sort of structure.

[JackDunaway]

Have you ever tried to bring up the context menu on a node and select "Visible Items >> Label"? This feature already exists for most nodes.

[dsangree]

The problem with that is that it actually changes the name of the object. This is probably acceptable for nodes that do not interact with the front panel, but when you change the label of say a control or indicator then the name on the front panel changes. Also, I often want to describe a section of code, not just a single VI.

[Intaris]

Regarding changing labels and front-panels.... This is what captions are for.  You can rename the object on the BD and the caption ont he FP stays the same.  The caption can also be changed at run-time whereas the name is fixed at run-time.

[dsangree]

"Regarding changing labels and front-panels.... This is what captions are for.  You can rename the object on the BD and the caption ont he FP stays the same.  The caption can also be changed at run-time whereas the name is fixed at run-time."

Say I have a VI that configures a register in hardware. I would want an cluster control that takes in the settings and translates that to register writes. The front panel would simply have a cluster control with a basic label (something like "DAC Settings"). However, say that on the BD I want the cluster labeled with comments as to the register map. Or what if I wanted to display a timing diagram next to a subsection of the code. What would I currently do? Well, it is possible to create free text fields or insert pictures at this time, but with the advent of the block diagram cleanup, when I hit cleanup, those fields/labels can end up on opposite sides of the diagram from their corresponding code.

What I am asking for is not necessarily a new object, but maybe just a capability of a free text label to be tied to a node with relation to diagram cleanup.

[Darin.K]

How about Grouping BD Objects?  Assuming of course that the BDCT treats groups as a single object.  You could then group the label and the node.

[RoyA]

This is a roundabout way, but did you know that the new 'sticky' wire labels in 2010 are multi-line?  Create a label for one of the wires and place your comments there.  It will stay with the wire after cleanup.  Not perfect, but would work in most situations.

[Darren]

Duplicate of this idea, implemented in LabVIEW 2013: http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Advanced-Code-Commenting-Functionality/idi-p/1452396