possible improvement in LabVIEW

[Neil.Pate]

Hi there,

I use LV 7.0 under Win2k, so maybe this problem (suggestion) is not valid for other OSes or later versions of LV, but I will suggest it anyway.

When I am editing my terribly buggy code I usually have multiple VIs open (sometimes two, sometimes five, you get the picure). However, as with all window applications, as more "buttons" are added to the taskbar the buttons all decrease in size, and with any significant number of VIs open, the description in the taskbar truncates the Front Panel / Block diagram description. Without fail I click on the wrong one: if I want the block diagram I end up opening the front panel and vice-versa. I am convinced that some background program actually swaps the buttons around when I am not looking!!!

Wouldnt it be great if there was some sort of way to distinguish the block-diagram and the front-panel windows on the taskbar, possibly something magical like a different colour op-amp icon? I have resorted to making my taskbar two levels high, but still this doesnt really help if I have various other programs open (ie email client, browser etc etc).

Just my suggestion, maybe I am missing something terribly obvious. If this is so I would love for someone to point it out to me to save me at least 100! (yes thats factorial!) clicks per day

best regards
Neil

[Brian_Beal]

In any VI that you have in the active window, you should be able to select "Window" from the menu.  You will then see all VIs that are open, and select from the front panel or block diagram.

[Neil.Pate]

Hi Brian,

Ah, I had never spotted that before... I suppose I have been using Windows for so long my natural reaction is to move the cursor down and just to use the taskbar. The problem with using the Window method is that you still have to read the whole text string and manually parse the data. I just think a visual / colour difference would be far more effective.

[tst]

Open Browse>>Show VI Hierarchy. This will allow you to see the icons for all the VIs (unfortunately, not just the open ones, although it may be possible to mark ones).

You could fairly easily write a floating tool which will (using VI server properties and methods) have icons for all the open VIs and will allow you to open it. You can even place it in your menu.

The float part can be handled by downloading winutil (search for it here) and using the Topmost Window VI. The VI server part should include going over all loaded VIs and taking the icons from those with open FPs. The menu part can be accomplished by placing the VI in the LabVIEW\Wizard directory.

If you come up with something, why not post it here?

[Neil.Pate]

tst,

thats actually a very good idea. I will knock something up tomorrow

[Neil.Pate]

ps: is your icon supposed to be Guybrush Threepwood??

[EdDickens]

Another option that I use a lot is the Windows "Alt-Tab" task switcher. If you've never used this, just hold down the 'Alt' key and start smashing the 'Tab' key. A dialog will open listing all the currently running applications. All your open VIs will have a separate listing for the front panel and block daigram, so you can easily get the correct one.

MS even made a power toy for XP you can download (Alt-Tab Replacement) and install that shows a small image of the task instead of just the icon. Makes getting the block diagram even easier.



Ed

Message Edited by Ed Dickens on 08-02-2005 12:20 PM

[tst]

Ed, that is highly cool (I didn't know it), but I don't think the XP powertoys will work on 2000 (just a guess).

Yes, nrp, it is everybody's favorite pirate (even more than Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean) as he looked about 15 years ago. I also have a newer version standing by.

[Sheldon_Stokes]

Another solution is <ctrl>-<tab> (just like excel) to move through open vi windows.  I'm so good at pecking the tab key from years of labview that I hold down the control key and go to town on the tab button until I find my VI.  After a while you'll find that is easier than moving your pointer the whole way to the (autohidden hopefully) startbar.  Also shift-ctrl-tab will cycle through in reverse order.  So you can say ctrl-tab twice to get to one vi, and then shift-ctrl-tab twice to get back to the other vi. 

BTW you don't have to be working on buggy code to have a bunch of windows open.  A couple tester VI's a few VI's that I'm working on that are inner-related, or that I'm copying front panel elements from, and some that I haven't bothered closing, and I've got a raft of windows open.  Right now I'm cleaning up some pre-existing code, and labview says I've got 16 windows open.  XP grouped them for mein the task-bar, but I don't often use that opting for the ctrl-tab thing. 

Sheldon

[tbob]

tst:

Is there a new episode of Monkey Island available?  I loved the first one.  The caribbean music was way cool...