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Reorder Probes

Wouldn't it be nice if Probes window had a drag'n'drop reorder functionality, maybe even a Sort?

Often you (I) place a couple of probes, maybe add some in another VI and then go back and add one earlier in a block diagram.

Is this a problem? Well, it's not breaking, but i'd like probe 1 to be the earliest executed probe and so on. Often execution order can easily be something like 13, 19, 3 and drag'n'drop #3 below the #19 would the shift them as 3, 13, 19. (Similar to how Reorder Case works)

It'd be nice if you could drag this probe in the probe window and it'd change numbers accordingly (switch/reorder within the VI).

Maybe even have Sort button that simply renumbers all as they're shown in the probe window.

It's somewhat similar, but different, to Altenbachs switcheroo idea: https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Probe-switcheroo/idi-p/3126138

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I would like to introduce a little shorthand for creating numeric constants with non-decimal radix. New constants should be able to autoadapt for radix, much like they do for type: Drop a constant, enter '0x20' or 'x20' to get a constant with Hex radix (visible!), and the proper value.

In addition, it would be nice if automatic conversions would take place if radix specifiers are entered into (non-hex) constants (or controls). For example, entering '0x20' into a numeric control with decimal radix should result in a value of 32 being entered (auto conversion). Hex is an exception, obviously, because b and d are already valid. The other radices have no such problem.

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I like to collapse long string and path constants to consolidate diagrams. Showing the string or path value in the tip strip is useful but tedious to update.

I suggest an appearance property that would automatically display the current value in a tip strip for string and path constants.

This property would be most useful if the Block Diagram Options page was also modified to allow a global setting.

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Key focus Event

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I tend to use malleable VIs more often than half of the items in the "New" context menu list when you right-click within a project, however, it's not an option:

Instead, I either need to:

- Create a new VI and then make several property modifications, and save it as a ".vim".

- Create it through the file menu and then remember that I need to move it to the appropriate place in my project, because it gets created at the top-level.

Why not include this in the context menu? (Bonus points if Polymorphic VIs get added too!)

vi properties window name

I'm developing code, and like most people I know, I have multiple VI's open at once.

If I then go and open the VI properties dialog, I lose track of what VI the properties are for, especially if I get an interruption. I know I can just close the properties window and open it again for whichever VI I wanted (or go to the parent category to see the name), but this could be solved by simply adding the name of the VI to the window title of the Properties dialog.

like this:

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Boolean case improvement

So, i just changed a case from a string input to a boolean input. Ofcourse it gets broken with a red "1" in the case selector. That's logical.

Now i need to select the case selector and write False, then switch to the other and write True ...

Once both cases are correct i can r-click and switch them with a "Make this case False".

Improvement suggestion:

If having a boolean input, the Make this case True/False should be active for all cases always.

Even if you have multiple cases (it'll still be broken and you'll have to clear the extra cases)

Add Control Anchors to Labview

.net and many other languages have an intuitive and simple way to allow you to define how a window behaves when you resize it: anchors. Anchors allow you to define the distance between an edge of a child control and the edge of a parent control regardless of the size of the window. The size of the control itself stays constent unless it violates the rules of the defined anchors in which case it changes sizes to meet those rules. For example a front panel with the following anchors:

Would be resized into:

The idea is simple: if the label ends in a number (i.e. consecutive string of numeric characters), increment that number:

It seems like it only works if there is a space character. If there is a good reason for doing it that way, help me understand what it is.

I linked some similar ideas below. I like these discussions for the most part, but they tend to have broader scopes than what I'm suggesting.

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Smart-er-automatic-label-names-on-copy/idi-p/1873663

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Auto-increment-number-in-middle-of-control-name/idi-p/977710

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Don-t-skip-quot-1-quot-during-automatic-naming-of-copies/idi-p/977300#A2089

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Right now, if you happen to use the right colors, LabVIEW will change the text color on a Boolean. But, if you don't pick the right colors, LabVIEW keeps a single text color.

This would probably be fine IF LabVIEW allowed you to have multiple text colors, but you can only choose one:

But, as you can see, LV only supports one text color. I propose that LV support two text colors (ON and OFF). Obviously LabVIEW has the ability to change the color already since it will do it in the right circumstances, but it would be nice if LV gave us control over it.

In my use case at the moment, I am trying to make a custom illuminated button which the text on the button should be grey went off, and yellow when on.

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display captions in arrays

The web format wars are over, and the plug-ins have lost. Microsoft has relented and will support HTML5 and SVG in IE9, and has admitted that Silverlight's role will change to that of a Windows phone development platform. Silverlight support on iPhone/iPad/Andoid/Chrome OS will likely never be fully formed, and will wither on the vine.

New javascript/ecmascript engines that are much faster, and make use of multicore environments have arrived and work well. The addiition of WebSockets means your browser can now open a tcp/ip socket. I have done this, as I am sure others have, as well. Drop an old-fashioned tcp/ip listener into your diagram, return the WebSocket handshake, and presto: you can now stream data directly to/from your browser. WebSockets provides an "onmessage" event handler function which you can define. Combine this with the SVG DOM, and you can transform SVG elements until your heart is content. Two-way streaming of data between your browser and plain-old tcp/ip? Goodbye web services, we knew you well. Good riddance, plugins.

I have built my own SVG UI objects using Inkscape (free), and wrote a script (notepad/Inkscape script editor, also free) to handle WebSockets communication without a gateway. I have a simple LV class built on the TCP/IP functions that will stream data to/from a browser which is pointing to an SVG "webpanel" that I also built using Inkscape. So far I have a simple waveform graph, buttons, LED's, progress bars, etc. I have tested my Inkscape webpanels in Firefox 4.0 Beta and Google Chrome 9 and it works like a champ, and is very fast. The old-fashioned LV webserver will serve up SVG files with the addition of a mime type.

An alternative to SVG is the HTML5 <canvas> tag, which allows the rendering of graphics drawn using java/ecma script. There is a free-for-personal-use script library called RGraph Library that you can download with lots of example code. Here is RGraph/LabVIEW in action in Chrome 9:

So what is my idea?

0. Ditch Silverlight.

1. Convert all of the nice-looking UI panel objects in the Web UI Builder from Microsoft XAML to SVG and distribute them with the LabVIEW professional development license. I am programmer first, and I admit my web panel objects don't look too good.

2. Design a script library for handling WebSockets communcation (or add native support for WebSockets to the Shared Variable Engine) and manipulating/updating the SVG UI objects from streamed WebSockets data. Make this library open source.

3. Create a standard open protocol for streaming LabVIEW data that sits on top of WebSockets and is free and open.

4. Publish documentation for the SVG UI elements so users and thrid parties can create new UI objects. Make use of the creativity of the community at large!

5. Modernize the Web Publishing Tool so that it will optionally output an HTML5 and/or SVG document that accepts streaming I/O from WebSockets. The user could choose from compatible SVG elements to use in place of front panel elements on the VI being published.

6. Create a Web UI SVG element exchange for registered NI users to upload/download elements for free.

7. Work toward the long term goal of adding SVG Import/Export to the control editor (with better editing tools), or make the CTL format of custom controls SVG/XML.

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LabVIEW Idea Exchange

Enter Equation In Numeric

Reorder Probes

Flush Event Queue Should Return the Data!!

Autoadapt numeric constant radix plus automatic radix conversions

Control all the 4 [6] colors of Booleans from their Properties page

APSK support for RFmx DeMod, RFmx Waveform Creator, and modulation toolkit

Automatically Display Value in Tip Strip for String and Path Constants

String control/indicator/constant with line number display.

Key focus Event

The default front panel Alignment Grid Size should be 10 pixels (instead of 12)

Option to add malleable VIs directly into project

vi properties window name

Boolean case improvement

Add Control Anchors to Labview

Increment label ending in numeral when copying control

Support Multiple Boolean Text Colors

Change CLUSTER SIZE to a Wired Input

Add Explicit Decoration References to LabVIEW

display captions in arrays

Support for HTML5 and SVG in Web Publishing Tool