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15 Kudos
Jim_Kring

Need a way to get TDMS File Size from a TDMS File Reference

Status: New Submitted by Trusted Enthusiast Trusted Enthusiast on 02-14-2024 12:56 PM Comment

Currently, the TDMS File api does not offer a way to get the TDMS file size.

 

Our use case is that we'd like to limit the size of the TDMS files and span them accross multiple individual files (and I've posted an idea suggestion for adding that as a native feature, too).  To do this, we need to be able to monitor the TDMS file size, so that we can save/close the current file and then create the next file in the span for continued use (until we hit the size limit again).

 

 

Jim_Kring_0-1707938415587.png

 

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18 Kudos
d.w.b

Indicate that array constant contains more elements than currently visible with scroll bar

Status: New Submitted by Member on 12-20-2023 02:42 PM 14 Comment

Scroll bar should be disabled if all elements are visible! Kudo here to get a big bang for the buck sooner than the 2nd in TOP KUDOED IDEAS from 2013 with 600+ kudos (https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Indicate-that-array-constant-contains-more-elements-than/idi-p/2299860). It points out that the scroll bars are not a viable method because it looks the same when all elements are visible. That is EASY to fix; disable the scroll bar if ALL elements are visible! Currently it is disabled only if an empty element is visible. Perhaps the behavior was originally by design like block diagram scroll bars as mentioned in the reason that the following was Declined, '...without this "boundary", it is impossible to create more space...' but constants can easily be stretched by border handles to create more elements (https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Make-window-scroll-bars-reflect-actual-contents-of-window/idi-p/1844127).

 

dwb_0-1703104642443.png

 

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168 Kudos
Darren

Add QControls to LabVIEW Core

Status: New Submitted by Proven Zealot on 03-27-2019 12:07 PM 17 Comment

The QControl Toolkit is a fantastic library of tools for developing reusable UI components. I think they are a great alternative to XControls. Not only does the QControl Toolkit provide me the framework for developing my own QControls, but it also ships with some fully functional QControls, my favorite probably being the tree with checkboxes.

 

I think QControls are useful enough for all LabVIEW users that they should be part of the LabVIEW core product instead of an add-on toolkit.

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312 Kudos
ouadji

"Build Path" should be growable

Status: New Submitted by Trusted Enthusiast on 01-30-2016 05:36 AM 10 Comment

 

                                            "Build Path" should be Growable

 

                              something like this,

 

 

toto.png

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40 Kudos
another-roohcifer

Include foolproof shortcut to stop all running VIs and report which VIs were shut down

Status: New Submitted by Member on 12-13-2022 08:21 AM 3 Comment

It's not uncommon to accidentally leave a process hanging and to have a really hard time tracking it down.  Different folks seem to have made different "kill all VI" tools, but this should be a native LabVIEW feature supported by NI.  The tool should just work.  "Ctrl+." doesn't always work.  You should be able to push some shortcut that works even if you have a frozen modal dialog or whatever, and all running VIs are stopped, and log of which ones were stopped prints to the screen.

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8 Kudos
_carl

Drill-down debug capabilities for class overrides

Status: New Submitted by Member on 06-28-2024 12:16 PM 4 Comment

If I have a standard VI that's hung, I can highlight execution, and then drill into the hung VI (reentrant or not) to see what's going on:

_carl_0-1719594144175.png

_carl_8-1719594621558.png

 

But...if it's a class override method, I can't do this:

_carl_5-1719594530350.png

_carl_6-1719594541579.png

_carl_7-1719594559755.png

 

(There is technically an exception: If the override is not reentrant, and you guess the correct override in the popup, then you can debug it.)

 

This experience would be so much better if I could drill into the overrides seamlessly, without being prompted for which override to look at, and with the correct runtime instance of the override popping up.  This is the kind of thing where, on complex projects, this improved debugging could literally save me hours on some bugs.

 

 

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617 Kudos
JackDunaway

Smaller Event Ref Constants

Status: New Submitted by Trusted Enthusiast on 08-17-2010 04:22 PM 29 Comment

The smaller footprint of the Local Variables in 2010 has increased usability of the IDE and readability of the LabVIEW language. Another node that could benefit from a smaller footprint is the User Event Ref Constant.

 

Below is some conceptual artwork on what a smaller footprint might look like. Feel free to post more concepts!

 

21658iE20B431D386A4E45

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11 Kudos
Ryan_Wright_

Include files pinned in LabVIEW start dialog in front panel and block diagram Recent Projects and Recent Files menu item lists.

Status: New Submitted by Member on 04-12-2024 10:01 AM 1 Comment

You can currently pin LabVIEW projects, VIs, and other files to the file lists in the LabVIEW start dialog as shown in the pictures below:

 

Ryan_Wright__2-1712932470451.png

Ryan_Wright__3-1712932507143.png

Ryan_Wright__4-1712932555995.png

 

It would be really nice if the Recent Projects and Recent Files menus in front panels and block diagrams automatically included the same files at the top of the menu item lists (and in the same order) as illustrated in the pictures below:

 

Ryan_Wright__5-1712933140673.png

Ryan_Wright__7-1712933697562.png

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90 Kudos
mrk_ramesh

Implicit consideration for Index in In Place Element Structure

Status: New Submitted by Member on 02-18-2021 04:31 AM 7 Comment

Please implicitly consider array index during index / replace elements in In Place Elements Structure if I am starting from Index 0

 

Present method:
image.png

 

Expected method:
image (1).png

 

[admin edit 2021-02-24]: placed images in-line with text and removed them as attachments

4 Kudos
usrfrnly

Make "New" mean something

Status: New Submitted by Member on 10-09-2024 10:56 AM 2 Comment

 I believe the number and age of "New" ideas on this exchange renders the word meaningless. I just Kudoed an idea that was 13 years old and marked as "Status: New". This idea would be in middle school; that doesn't sound particularly new. Inaction on an idea after some amount of time should automatically trigger some other status. 

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566 Kudos
altenbach

Font size standardization

Status: New Submitted by Knight of NI Knight of NI on 01-05-2011 07:37 PM 20 Comment

Once in a while I complain about font issues in general (here, here, or here), but one of the really weird things are the font sizes as used in LabVIEW.

 

The font dialog lists them as units of pt, but for some reason they are quite different in size from the same sizes in any other applications (browser, word, etc.). LabVIEW also shows other problems, for example tahoma 14, 15 all look exactly the same... why??

 

Here is a side-by-side comparison of a wordpad document and a LabVIEW panel. Each line is configured for the indicated font size.

 

As you can easily see, LabVIEW is the exception. Any other applications I tried agrees with the left panel.

 

Idea -->LabVIEW should also standardize here!

 

 

 

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18 Kudos
Ryan_Wright_

Double-clicking column header separators in tables, trees, and multicolumn listboxes should automatically resize the columns based on their contents.

Status: New Submitted by Member on 11-09-2023 09:40 AM Comment

It would be really nice if double-clicking column header separators in tables, trees, and multicolumn listboxes automatically resized the columns based on their contents (like Microsoft Excel). This would be useful in these types of controls and indicators at both edit and run time. It would also be useful to have this capability interactively (initiated by the developer or user) and programmatically (through properties or methods).

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71 Kudos
Taggart

LVCompare for Classes and Libraries

Status: New Submitted by Trusted Enthusiast Trusted Enthusiast on 09-09-2021 02:46 PM 1 Comment

The title says it all.

In 2021 there was excitement about improvements to LVCompare and LVMerge, however there is still no way to compare classes or libraries.

I'm ok with not merging. I know that is a minefield. But at least show me what methods were added, what library or class settings were changed, which VIs moved from private to public and for classes, diff the private data and maybe show changes to the class heirarchy?

21 Kudos
Mr._Jim

Detailed Error Info at a Glance in Context Help

Status: New Submitted by Active Participant on 09-11-2023 12:12 PM 4 Comment

Many times a day I need to look at the full text of an error cluster's "source" string.

The workflow for this has always been awkward.

Additionally, "Explain Error" also requires some extra clicks.

 

What if we combined all of that functionality into the context help so that, when the user mouses over a populated error cluster with context help enabled, the user can see all the relevant information quickly?

 

ContextHelpErrors.png

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6 Kudos
fefepeto_kb

Overhaul the LabVIEW Style Checklist inside LabVIEW help

Status: New Submitted by Member on 08-07-2024 06:57 AM 11 Comment

The help page, that is supposed to provide a starting point for the developers on creating readable, high quality code in LabVIEW seems to be unchanged for quite some time: LabVIEW Style Checklist - NI.

At different workplaces (including NI) and different teams I have seen different implementations of such guides, many of which included extra "rules".

One such example is the file naming convention:

  • Using spaces for separating words.
  • Using Libraries to namespace VIs instead of including the noun in every related VI.

These are the most prominent examples I can come up with from the top of my head, but I'm sure that there are more.

 

I'm curious if an updated version exists somewhere that could be used to replace the above refenced help page?

If there is not, then I think could we collect some ideas here for updating this document.

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12 Kudos
_carl

Enable "Replace with..." when dependency not found in project.

Status: New Submitted by Member on 03-06-2024 08:02 PM 3 Comment

When refactoring code, I often find myself in a situation where I've broken dependencies. Maybe it's a name change, or a library path change. This is precisely when I'm most in need of the ability to just replace the missing file (be it a VI, control, class, or PPL).  Yet this is when LabVIEW decides that nope, it can't be that easy:

 

_carl_1-1709776637528.png

 

Instead you have to track down every instance and manually swap them out.

 

The request: allow us to replace missing files using the "Replace with..." option.

 

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11 Kudos
Petru_Tarabuta

New keyboard shortcut: Alt + double-click to open Properties in Project Explorer (similar to Windows File Explorer gesture)

Status: New Submitted by Active Participant on 03-29-2024 03:59 PM 3 Comment

In Windows File Explorer, Alt + double-click on a file or folder pops up that item's Properties page. It is equivalent to right-clicking and selecting Properties. This is a useful, time-saving keyboard shortcut/gesture.

 

The same keyboard shortcut/gesture should work in the Project Explorer. Executing the shortcut would pop up the Properties window of whichever item was double-clicked on.

 

The shortcut should work for lvclass and lvlib items, VIs, and CTLs (and possibly other item types too). For lvclass and lvlib items the Properties window would appear. For VIs and CTLs the VI Properties window would appear (equivalent to Ctrl + I).

 

Screenshot 1

1 (edited).png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screenshot 2

2 (edited).png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks

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535 Kudos
inversion

Abort all VIs Button in Taskbar (Modal Windows Problem)

Status: New Submitted by Member on 03-03-2011 04:23 AM 23 Comment

There are times when I leave a VI with modal properties open and then I run the main application that also calls this VI if opened in the development environment. This locks all running windows due to the modal VI. I propose a button in the taskbar that aborts all running VIs OR perhaps a list is opened on right-click of all running VIs 🙂

 

abort_all_running_vi.png

 

 

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28 Kudos
fabric

Project should support links (like bookmarks) to main VI

Status: New Submitted by Active Participant on 04-06-2023 01:58 AM 10 Comment

In a simple project, the main entry point into an application is usually easy to find:

simple.png

 

However, for more complex projects (particularly those utilising libraries/classes) it may not be obvious where to begin:

complex.png

 

Proposal:

LabVIEW should provide a mechanism for tagging one or more VIs such that they are easily accessible to someone unfamiliar with the project. 

 

One possible implementation:

links.png

  • Display tagged items as links at the top-level of the project.
  • Links would be pinned to the top row
  • Link names would be editable and need not correspond to the name of the item they link to. (e.g. The link "main" may point to "WidgetTester.lvlib:GUI.lvclass:launcher.vi")
  • For minimal confusion, developers should be encouraged to name the first link "main" (or similar)
  • In principle links could point to anything interesting, not just the main VI.
  • Double-clicking a link should open (or navigate to?) the target item

 

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3 Kudos
TiTou

Treat WSL like a RT Target

Status: New Submitted by Trusted Enthusiast on 10-31-2024 11:41 AM 3 Comment

One thing I love with LabVIEW is to be able to execute the same source code on multiple targets (Win, Linux, NI Linux RT, etc)

 

I use Linux more and more to deploy my LabVIEW built apps and now instead of VM I use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows 11, in very few steps I can create an Ubuntu instance, add a desktop and xrdp and then remote desktop into it.

 

What would be fantastic is to not event need a desktop and xrdp but just install LabVIEW in the WSL instance via terminal and then run LabVIEW on Windows and select the WSL instance as execution target as I would do for an RT target.

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