LabVIEW Idea Exchange
Hello all,
I'd like to suggest some improvements to the run-time menu editor dialog: (This is found under Edit->Run-Time Menu...)
1. Allow the window to be resizable. (Scroll bars are no fun)
2. When using source control (Perforce in my case), prompt the user to check out the .rtm file upon the first edit. (Same behavior as when editing VIs) At present, if I forget to check out the menu file I get a very ugly dialog followed by an "Emergency Backup Destination" prompt. [insert muttering of naughty words]
I'm then faced with two choices: Either I can save an "emergency backup," as the prompt refers to it, or lose all of my changes and edit my menu all over again.
3. The manner in which the tree manipulation works seems kind of wonky to me. I've been using it for a long time, but I'm getting to the point where I stop and ask, "Why does it do that?" For instance:
Let's say I select the root node of my "Edit" menu which has several items under it, and I've got that menu open. If I press the yellow, down arrow, the whole Edit menu relocates itself under my File menu. The file menu is above the Edit menu! Why does pressing "down" move the menu up? Intuitively, I'd expect the entire Edit menu to move as a unit and appear after my View menu, exactly as it would if the whole "Edit" subtree was closed. (This is hard to explain and I understand if my explanation is likely confusing.)
4. When dragging and dropping tree nodes, there's no visual cue as to where the item will land. You start dragging the node, mouse over the general area and cross your fingers. Alternatively, you can eschew dragging and dropping altogether and opt for the yellow arrows of wonkiness. Okay, in fairness the arrows are usually alright.
5. I would really like to see Edit->Undo and Edit-Redo on this editor dialog. Having to revert entirely and reopen the file can be frustrating. Mistakes happen often, especially when dragging and dropping.
6. This is less important to me than the other suggestions, but... is there any reason why the menu files couldn't be encoded in XML? Right now they're not very text editor friendly.
Of course, as I offer these suggestions I intend no disrespect toward whomever developed the dialog - I'm simply perceiving room for improvement.
Thanks very much,
Jim
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