Creating User Interface in front panel

[analog]

If I have four tests (Test A, Test B, Test C, and Test D). I want to have the user select which tests they want to do, hit ok, then the front panel will display the appropriate controls for the tests that they select. What would be a good way to do this? I need it to display multiple tests at a time, not just one. For example, if tests A and D are selected, the VI will display the controls for these tests. I have tried using the tab control, but that only displays one test at a time. I need to be able to switch between the tests until the user hit OK. Thanks 🙂

[DD]

If the tests have common controls, you could use a control's visible
property to control its visibility. If the tests are independent, you could
launch separate sub-vi's for each test.

"analog" wrote in message
news:5065000000080000008CAB0000-1066448259000@exchange.ni.com...
> If I have four tests (Test A, Test B, Test C, and Test D). I want to
> have the user select which tests they want to do, hit ok, then the
> front panel will display the appropriate controls for the tests that
> they select. What would be a good way to do this? I need it to
> display multiple tests at a time, not just one. For example, if tests
> A and D are selected, the VI will display the controls for these
> tests. I have tried using the tab control, but that only displays one

> test at a time. I need to be able to switch between the tests until
> the user hit OK. Thanks 🙂

[analog]

The tests are independent, and they all have separate controls. I dont want to launch separate sub-vi's, is there any way to use something like tab so that the front panel will look neat, and the user can modify at least two different control at a time?
Thanks

[DD]

If you don't want to set the visibility of each individual control, you
could put controls in clusters and use "test" buttons to select which
clusters will be made visible. One drawback to this approach is that
controls and indicators have to be in separate clusters, so you would have
eight clusters for four tests.
If you want to only grey out and disable the controls, you can do this too
using the Disabled property.

"analog" wrote in message
news:5065000000050000007B340100-1066448259000@exchange.ni.com...
> The tests are independent, and they all have separate controls. I
> dont want to launch separate sub-vi's, is there any way to use
> something like tab so that the front panel will look neat, and the
> user can modify at least two dif
ferent control at a time?
> Thanks

[analog]

But I want only one cluster to appear at a time, I do not want all 4 control cluster to appear at one time when I select all 4 tests, it'a bit to crowded, is there anyway I can have only one cluster to pop up at a time, and I can go back and forth to control each cluster until a button DONE is pushed? This is the reason I tried to use tab control, but that doesnt work well either.

[DD]

I'm not sure why a tab control doesn't work for the situation you described
below, where only one control group is to appear at one time and the user
switches between control groups. For the situation your first message
described, where you want to show at least two control groups if that what
the user selects, use the property nodes to control cluster or individual
control visibility. Note that you can also position controls, including
clusters, programmatically with property nodes, which can help you deal
with the limitations of the display area.

I know you stated a desire to not use sub-vi's, but your application seems
like it would benefit from using the VI Server to dynamically call
individual test panels. Your main applicatio
n front panel could control
which test front panels are opened, and even which one is on top and where
it's positioned. When you hit DONE on the main application, it could close
any open test panels. This architecture would also provide you with some
modularity, which could be an advantage if you need to upgrade or change the
tests in the future. Just a thought.

"analog" wrote in message
news:50650000000500000083340100-1066448259000@exchange.ni.com...
> But I want only one cluster to appear at a time, I do not want all 4
> control cluster to appear at one time when I select all 4 tests, it'a
> bit to crowded, is there anyway I can have only one cluster to pop up
> at a time, and I can go back and forth to control each cluster until a
> button DONE is pushed? This is the reason I tried to use tab control,
> but that doesnt work well either.

[DD]

Regarding your problems with the tab control, is your user not able to
change the tab page by clicking on the tab? If so, is your tab an
indicator? Try making it a control and use a local variable to
programmatically change the page.