LabVIEW Idea Exchange

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To improve the built in documentation of the code, and to make selecting the right frame easier, I suggest that we should be able to name frames in a stacked sequence:

Preemptive defense of stacked sequence structures: A stacked sequence structure takes up less room on the block diagram than a while loop and a case structure. They serve a very specific function that tells code readers that there's not going to be any funny buisness in jumping around from frame to frame. You can't accidentally write an inifinte loop, skip frames, etc. Don't let the abusers obstruct the legitimate use of these structures.

Alright, I have another suggestion:

Sometimes it would be helpful to me to be able to optionally view a VI's path when examining it via context help.

If the path is too long, it could somehow be truncated so as to present a subset of it.

As a source control user, most of the time I don't worry too much about cross linking files. Sometimes, though, when I'm moving VIs from one codebase to another, for instance, this feature would be handy. Otherwise I have to keep opening VI properties repeatedly to determine that the correct instance is being linked. (Is there a better way? I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I haven't found one.)

Now, I also understand that some may have reservations about adding more information to the context help window, and this is understandable. This is why I suggest making this a checkbox under the LabVIEW options dialog.

Maybe this is a personal problem but I do this all the time and It frustrates me every time.

Edit an icon go to hit OK a little too fast and catch the cancel by mistake, all my hard work GONE. Yes this is only a loss of a few minutes but time is money. Do this 1 out of 50 times I edit an icon, ant it happens a few times a week.

Can we move the cancel button away from the OK or can we add an optional confirm on unsaved changes to the icon so I dont loose my work every time I make this mistake.

I know that I am fresh on these forums, and have only used LabView professionally the last half year, but nothing like this came up when searching, so perhaps it is is an idea worth mentioning:

Currently in labview: If we want to create a control from the terminal of a subvi or function we now have to left click -> create -> control. This action in itself require several seconds and very often a misclick produces an indicator or constant instead. (move mouse, select it, delete it, back to the terminal, left click, create, control)

My idea: Double clicking a terminal has today no useful action linked to it - so my idea is that when double clicking an input terminal a linked control will be created, and when double clicking an output terminal a linked indicator will be created.

Crtl + double click could create a constant: linked when clicking on a input, floating when clicking an output.

Ctrl+double click could also create a floating constant when used on wires 😉

Error Ring Error in

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XControl Font changes

As far as I can tell, a placed XControl does not respond to attempted font changes, including Ctrl-Plus, Ctrl-Minus, or selections from the Font Selection menu. The label will change, but not any text inside the XControl itself. It also appears that no events are generated on the XControl for these actions.

I would like an XControl to know about these changes in fonts, either automatically applying them (with corresponding height resizing), or generating events with this information.

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Many Real-Time Testing (RTT) systems require a mechanism to store data in one central location that can be accessed by the different parts of the application. The Buffered Variable Table (BVT) is a set of LabVIEW VIs that developers use to store and retrieve data asynchronously from different parts of an application.

Normally, when I program applications in RTT, I need store data in one central location that can be accessed by the different parts of the application, for this, I usually use "queue operations" with a fixed size.

But sometimes, I need to insert an element at the beginning of the queue, but if it is full, it is necessary to dequeue and queue again.

To solve this problem, I could use a code similar to the image, but the applications could become unstable.

For this reason, my proposal is that labview provides the function of "Lossy Enqueue Element At Opposite End".

Attributes for Queues/Notifiers

For Variants and Waveforms attributes are available. It would be a nice addition if Queues and Notifiers would support attributes as well.

For instance when publishing measurement data over queues/notifiers we could have the signal name, unit, calibration, and measurement properties stored in attributes. The consumers could access the relevant parameters by just reading the attributes.

Since these parameters usually don't change for each sample it doesn't make a lot of sense to add them to the data. Also, attributes can be added/deleted while the queue/notifier data type is fixed. So currently we need to store that additional information separated from the data.

It would be convenient if we could register an event for attribute changes. This is related to the idea here: http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Expand-Event-structure-functionality-Register-new-types-of/idi-p/918087

Floating ruler on Front Panel

I would love to be able to show a ruler on the front panel....when turned on it should float above the objects on the panel...not unlike a cursor with lines in both planes if the panel was a graph. Unlike the grid this would make it simple to align e.g. columns when you have multiple tables underneath eachother. You could of course have this on the diagram as well, but the main use for such accuracy is on the front panel.

There are thirds party tools that do this, but it seems more natural to have it available in LV when we already have a grid that only solves a part of the alignment challenge.

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NI flavor of Linux

A lot of engineers prefer Linux over Windows and would use it on there test machines if at all possible. Instead of attempting to support a wide variety of flavors, wouldn't it be better if NI would derive it's own flavor from an existing distribution and committed to having full support for all NI software and hardware for this new flavor. This would give Linux aficionados the OS they crave and NI the power to control the direction of the OS such that it makes hardware and software compatibility easier.

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LabVIEW toolkit for Arduino

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Often when I edit several files in a project, I end up affecting some files that I did not realize. Sometimes this is due to edit made to common files even before I opened the project. In any case, I need to save the newly recompiled VIs. But, since I did not directly edit them, they were not automaticlaly checked out. So, when I try to close the calling VIs, I get this dialog:

The problem is, since these were not checked out, they are still read only and I cannot save them. There is no simple way to check this files out of SCC either. So, I am stuck trying to find them in the hirarchy and then check them out before I can close the VIs.

All I want is some way to either check these out or find them quickly in my project so I can check them out from there.

application builder

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As discussed here and here, it is annoying that a Value Property Node of a typedef is not typed properly (*).

Related or not, as discussed here, it is annoying that when you try to create a typedef constant for a typedef control, you have to actually do that from the Terminal. And the problem is compounded byt the fact that you cannot access the terminal from a Property Node! It is grayed out. A specificity of typedefs. All other Controls/Indicators terminals can be access by right-clicking any of their property nodes.

Thanks for reading.

Tested in LV 2011

(*) definitely not new in LV 2011

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LabVIEW Idea Exchange

Named Frames in Stacked Sequence Structure

Optionally show VI path in context help?

Optional "confirm" on icon editor cancel

Double clicking a terminal will add the control or indicator

Error Ring Error in

Rename 'Disabled and Grayed Out' item to simply 'Grayed Out'

Tunnel Mode Conditional .... output condition

XControl Font changes

Lossy Enqueue Element At Opposite End

Attributes for Queues/Notifiers

Floating ruler on Front Panel

NI flavor of Linux

LabVIEW toolkit for Arduino

Save Changes dialog should allow you to checkout files from SCC

LabView should provide more options during installation

application builder

Change the numeric representation of iteration terminals in Loops in LabVIEW 64-bit to 64bit integers.

Random number function with option of including/excluding the endpoints

Remove MY from application and installer

Typedef "Value" Property Node issues to fix, please!