LabVIEW Idea Exchange

I think it would enhance the usability of XControls if it is possible to define events that an XControl can generate and that can be statically linked to just like other control type-specific events.

Earlier discussions on this topic has been done on LAVA and LAVA.

Ton

Since very early LabVIEW versions, we always had the small sizing tip strip at the bottom that showed the current size in pixels when resizing an object on the front panel or diagram.

This is maybe OK for simple decorations, but for most other objects it is very inadequate and not helpful at all. For example if I resize an "index array" node to show more outputs, the node size in pixels is probably the least interesting information! It would be much more useful to indicate the number of outputs instead.

Now if we resize an "index array" node for 8 outputs, we simply resize until the tip strip shows [8 outputs]. Without this, we need to guess the size, count, resize again, etc. A slow, tedious, and error prone process, especially for larger sizes.

Of course the "resize tip strip" should adapt depending on the object that is being resized to always show the most useful values(s). Here are some possible examples:

Resizing action                      example of tip strip

Resize a 1D array:                  [5 elements visible]

Resize a 2D array:                  [6 rows x 5 columns]

Resize "built array" node:          [7 inputs]

Resize "index array" node:          [5 outputs] 

Resize "initialize array" node:     [3 dimensions]

Resize "replace array subset" node: [8 elements/subarrays]

Resize "compound arithmetic" node:  [4 inputs]

...

It should of course apply equally for front panel and diagram objects. For example the suggestion for the arrays would apply to an array control, array indicator, or array diagram constants. 

Of course there are many more possible objects, each with it's on set of useful size parameters. This is just a small collection. Please go over the palettes and make other suggestions!