Universal Dialog Box

[Bob_Schor]

One of the (many) things I've "been meaning to do" (in my copious "spare time") is to make "packages" of my own utilities and "install" them for myself so I don't have to keep a copy of the source code and worry I may "mess it up" somehow.  As I recall, the "Professional" version of VIPM allows you to "make installers" and to do other useful things, like populating Palettes (which I think can include "dir.mnu").  For example, I have OpenG installed, there's an OpenG Tab in the right-click drop-down on the Block Diagram, and it has sub-entries that group the OpenG functions ("OpenG File", "OpenG String", etc.).  Other packages stick their stuff in "AddOns", but it is still folder-organized.

Would that take some of the burden of distribution and installation out of the equation?

Bob Schor

[billko]

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@Bob_Schor wrote:

One of the (many) things I've "been meaning to do" (in my copious "spare time") is to make "packages" of my own utilities and "install" them for myself so I don't have to keep a copy of the source code and worry I may "mess it up" somehow.  As I recall, the "Professional" version of VIPM allows you to "make installers" and to do other useful things, like populating Palettes (which I think can include "dir.mnu").  For example, I have OpenG installed, there's an OpenG Tab in the right-click drop-down on the Block Diagram, and it has sub-entries that group the OpenG functions ("OpenG File", "OpenG String", etc.).  Other packages stick their stuff in "AddOns", but it is still folder-organized.

Would that take some of the burden of distribution and installation out of the equation?

Bob Schor

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I think all the stuff you mentioned are in the Free version as well.  The only things I can think of that it doesn't support is like when you right-click on something and the palette shows up.  With free, you have to go to "All Palettes" or something like that.  Some things to do with license management and advanced tools for multiple developers are absent as well.

Edit:

Oops, I think you're right about the "addons" thing.  But there is a Community Edition now that is supposed to be a lot more "Pro-ish" in that it makes it a lot easier for you to distribute to the outside world.  I haven't checked it out yet.

[paul_cardinale]

I decided to stop chasing the bug re adding the UDB to the palette during install.  You'll have to do that manually.

Unzip.

Read the Read Me.

Run the installer.

[paul_cardinale]

I just noticed a glaring flaw in the design: There's an option for paths to be either:

• Absolute (ok that's fine)

or

• Relative to  ...  a specific absolute path.  That makes no sense.  I think it should be relative to the owning VI.

[BertMcMahan]

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@billko wrote:

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@Bob_Schor wrote:

One of the (many) things I've "been meaning to do" (in my copious "spare time") is to make "packages" of my own utilities and "install" them for myself so I don't have to keep a copy of the source code and worry I may "mess it up" somehow.  As I recall, the "Professional" version of VIPM allows you to "make installers" and to do other useful things, like populating Palettes (which I think can include "dir.mnu").  For example, I have OpenG installed, there's an OpenG Tab in the right-click drop-down on the Block Diagram, and it has sub-entries that group the OpenG functions ("OpenG File", "OpenG String", etc.).  Other packages stick their stuff in "AddOns", but it is still folder-organized.

Would that take some of the burden of distribution and installation out of the equation?

Bob Schor

---

I think all the stuff you mentioned are in the Free version as well.  The only things I can think of that it doesn't support is like when you right-click on something and the palette shows up.  With free, you have to go to "All Palettes" or something like that.  Some things to do with license management and advanced tools for multiple developers are absent as well.

Edit:

Oops, I think you're right about the "addons" thing.  But there is a Community Edition now that is supposed to be a lot more "Pro-ish" in that it makes it a lot easier for you to distribute to the outside world.  I haven't checked it out yet.

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FYI I do this with my reuse code very frequently with the Free version. You don't have to put things in 'Addons" if you don't want to. I haven't tried the "right click on something" stuff you mentioned.