Improve the control editor (especially for making custom buttons)

[jlokanis]

I find that there are WAY too many steps to setting up a custom button with up, down and hover graphics.  And there is too little documentation on this subject as well.  Here are the steps I have to use to build a simple button from 3 basic png files (for the 3 states):

• Drop System button on front panel

• Right click menu > Advanced > Customize button.

• From control editor, choose customize mode.

• From the right click menu on the button:

1. Import from File
2. Select normal button image.
3. Copy to Clipboard
4. Select third picture item
5. Import Picture From Clipboard.
6. Select second picture item
7. Import from File
8. Select ‘down’ button image.
9. Copy to Clipboard
10. Select fourth picture item
11. Import Picture From Clipboard.
12. Select sixth picture item
13. Import Picture From Clipboard.
14. Select fifth picture item
15. Import from File
16. Select ‘hover’ button image.

• Change back to edit mode.

• Save control.

There has to be a better way! 

[StevenM]

Not to thread-jack, but regarding insufficient documentation for this task-- were you able to find the following topic of the LabVIEW Help when searching for documentation?

http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361E-01/lvhowto/impt_graph_in_bool_contrl/

Would you suggest any additions to the topic?

Thanks,

Steve

LabVIEW Documentation

Message Edited by StevenM on 07-15-2009 08:57 AM

[jlokanis]

Yes, I have seen that page.  Ok, so that covers the modern and classic button controls.  But the system control does not have 4 states, it has 6.  Two of these seem to be the 'up' state, 3 of them seem to be the 'down' state and one is the 'hover' state.  Where is the documentation that describes these 6 states and what their function is?

Still my main point is this is not well designed.  I should be able to pick an image and then pick multiple states to apply that image to all at once.  The 16 steps to do this could be cut down to 6 or less if that was done right. 

Message Edited by jlokanis on 07-15-2009 12:47 PM

[StevenM]

Fair enough. Thank you for your feedback, and we'll look at improving this topic in a future release. In the meantime, kudos! I also found this to be a rather work-intensive task.

Steve

[Matthew_Kelton]

Just for clarification (don't know if these are in the right order), but the states are:

False

False to True Transition

True

True to False Transition

False Hover

True Hover

[francois-normandin]

VI Server accessibility would go a long way to help us create tools for all sorts of controls.

I'd say that "Booleans" are a priority since it would allow to create a collection of latching booleans with hover effect from a library of PNG's.

[Mads]

I considered posting this as a separate idea, but it is really just some additions to this one:

The different control components and their functionality should be identified / identifiable in the editor. Right now you might see multiple transparent items / layers in a control and there is no way to know what each of them actually do without trial and error. Which of the many layers/items trigger the pull-down menu of a ring control e.g.?

How could this be achieved? Well, the simplest would be to at least have tip strips or viewable labels on the items...It would be nice to have a list in the editor that showed each item and its name and function, and if you clicke don the item there it was selected in the editor...Dragging items up/down on the list could change their level etc.

Ideally we would be able to add additional items too with suitable functionality...but that would obviously increase the complexity a *lot*...merging control edititing with XControl-like functionality 🎉