array element color

[jspaarg]

I have an application which includes an array of clusters.  That array is an element in a higher-order cluster.

The problem is that whenever the array contains only null values, it exhibits the "grayed" color of the higher-order cluster instead of the "grayed" color of the array.

The two attached jpegs show the incorrect color (using the "grayed" color of the higher-order cluster), and the array color when it is not null.

Any ideas as to how to get the null color to be the "grayed" color of the the not null array will be appreciated.

I am using LabView 2009.

[LV_Pro]

Possibly pulling out the control reference for the array and writing the desired color to a property node

[jspaarg]

Tried that.

This is a portion of an actual type def.

I cannot change the color in the type def editor using the brush in the tools palette

The color also does not change using a property node in the VI.

The color simply stays at the "grayed" color of the cluster.

This software is an upgrade from version 7.1 and this behavior did not exist in that application.

Thanks for the thought.

Any other ideas?

[jspaarg]

As near as I can tell, this is a change in behavior in LabView 2009.

I just created a cluster from scratch that exhibits this issue.

When I performed the exact same sequence in LabView 7.1, it behaves differently.

Is there a way to get the colors to work the way that they used to?

[altenbach]

Can you attach your control/typedef and some simple code to reproduce the problem.

What is a "null value" exactly in this context?

It seerms to me to be more likely that your array is empty (or short) instead of having the desired number of blank elements.

Message Edited by altenbach on 12-14-2009 01:51 PM

[jspaarg]

The two attached files readily show the issue.

The one was made with 7.1 and shows the colors as they are desired.

The other was that 7.1 file opened with 2009 and it changed the colors as shown.

[Darin.K]

It appears that the shading for an empty array picks up the tint from the containing cluster, or the Panel color.  The easiest way I can see around this if you want your puke green background and a greyed out array is to color your cluster background transparent, put a color box behind the cluster sized appropriately and moved to the back.  I have grouped them for ease of scaling/moving.

[jspaarg]

That was unfortunately my assessment also.

It seems that NI has changed the standard behavior of something and it no longer is capable of working the way that it used to.

It seems that they are getting more like microsoft everyday (and not in a good way).

Also, thank you for the color critique.

[Hueter]

The change in behavior is due to the fact that Arrays in LV7.1 did not show when they were uninitialized. The two options you can use would be to insert 0 value data or use the colored shape workaround that Darin Suggested. Is this causing problems in your application or are you just trying to tweak the UI so it looks just like you want?

[jspaarg]

No problems in the actual application.

The problem is that technicians have been using this interface for the last three years and have grown accustomed to the appearance.

When I switched to 2009, the appearance changed, prompting a number of questions.

Obviously people will adjust over time, but it seems that they shouldn't have to.

I'm unsure what you mean that 7.1 did not indicate that arrays were unintialized.

Uninitialized arrays showed the "disabled gray" appearance in 7.1.

I use the arrays to feed a for loop and data in the arrays is written to a database.

Inserting 0 value data would change the array count (although I could look for null values since these are strings).