Available in LabVIEW 2020 and later. Quick Drop now inserts binary functions with the top input wired instead of the bottom input.
When you use Quick Drop to insert a division operation onto a wire: you almost always want the numerator to be automatically wired, and the divisor to be unwired. Yet, Quick Drop always wires up the denominator.
With the right-click Insert menu, we use the relative position of the mouse as a guide -- if the mouse is below the wire, we insert the node deflected down, so (on Divide) the numerator gets wired; if the mouse is above the wire, the denominator gets wired. With QuickDrop, there's no guidance about which is preferable, so nodes generally connect as they would if the mouse were above the wire. I doubt we would add special coding for any specific node without some severe use case driving it.
When you use Quick Drop to insert a division operation onto a wire: you almost always want the numerator to be automatically wired, and the divisor to be unwired. Yet, Quick Drop always wires up the denominator.
@D*, for now, don't forget about the <CTRL> + Click action to swap input wires (once they are both connected).
>@D*, for now, don't forget about the <CTRL> + Click action to swap input wires (once they are both connected).
I always get the urge to post an idea to make this work even when only one input is connected... It feels weird that I need to wire the 2nd input wrong, making it worse, before I can make it right.
@wiebe, do it! I agree with you, you should be able to move one wire to the other terminal using the same mechanism. On the same token, handling more than two terminals would be nice (albeit much more complex). If you post an idea I'll add some input.
Seems like the opposite (below wire) implementation would be a preferred default. I would think that the majority of us think about the numerator of division or the menuend of subtraction first. Whether using infix, postfix, or prefix for math everything's noted on the page with the numerator or menuend first.
Instead of trying to gain consensus on the preferred insert location of certain binary functions, LabVIEW R&D feels that the best way to address this issue would be to allow the switcheroo tool to work on binary functions with only one input wired. That idea is already posted here.
>What about holding a modifier (like the shift or alt key) to adjust what terminal the insertion occurs?
The QD already uses modifiers to switch functionality, shift+I is already in use.
Also, some functions have more then two inputs. And some have more then one output... So even if it would help a little in some situations, it won't help us very consistently. IMHO...
There is already special coding for specific nodes (In Range and Coerce, Replace Array Subset), so there isn't a strict standard. (And such a standard wouldn't make life easier anyway).
Going further, some nodes do insert well (Replace Array Subset) yet there are other nodes in the same family (Insert into Array, Delete from Array), that wire up index instead of the array terminal. Nobody wants that, and switcharoo won't help.
The string family also has "modifying" functions:Replace Substring, Search and Replace String, Match Pattern, Search/Split String. These should insert on the "string" terminal because you're modifying the string.
As for consensus, I think there is a clear preferred terminal to insert upon for many operators. This list would include the above and: division, subtraction, quotient/remainder, greater?, less?, greater or equal?, less or equal?. If not, I'd love to hear an argument why you think most people want it the other way.
Available in LabVIEW 2020 and later. Quick Drop now inserts binary functions with the top input wired instead of the bottom input.