LabVIEW
reminder how to create a small icon template
I know I have done this in the past but it is kicking my rear today. I am trying to create an icon template that only surrounds the middle 2X4 terminals of a 4x4 connector pane. I managed, at some point (not today), to create one for the upper 2X4, which, when I type into icon text the text stays within the icon, but today bupkis. When I create a template, or icon smaller than normal, the icon text still fills the whole area, not just that of the template's.
About to go back to ugly icons and GUIs! Had a customer looking for a developer to redo the GUI of our project (found out when a recruiter called me), tried to tell them that much of the problem was them needing a good graphics artist to convey their desires to a LabVIEW programmer, but in reality, it would then be a real pain to make work!
Thanks,
Sometimes the "center text vertically" has an effect (try on vs. off), but it is not consistent.
You can always add free text on the leftmost rightmost tab (move it using the arrow keys after typing to place it more accurately).
(edited for geometry)
altenbach wrote:
You can always add free text on the leftmost tab (move it using the arrow keys after typing to place it more accurately).
No, your other left (it is actually the right-most tab).
Hi Putnam, I would recommend using the top terminals if text centering is important to you. A couple points to keep in mind:
- Make sure your icon is completely empty using Edit >> Clear All (ctrl + shift + delete). The background will look like white and grey checkers. If you have the bottom of the icon filled in white, it still counts as filled and will not give the transparent look you are after.
- You may want "Center text vertically" checked. When checked, your text (only lines that aren't empty) will be somewhat evenly distributed from the top border of the editor (even if unfilled!) to the bottom most filled in pixel (see pictures below). When unchecked, it basically distributes all 4 lines (even if blank) along the same space.
- Show the terminals if not already shown using Edit >> Show Terminals (ctrl + T)
Here is fewer than 1000 words:
I just made a Black Box, skipping 8 lines (32 pixels/4=8), using the checkerboard to help count, and ending 8 lines from the bottom. To make it "pretty", I colored the inside pale yellow. I have not (yet) saved it as a Template.
A caution -- putting text inside this using Icon Text is problematic, for reasons I don't understand. I think I once looked at the code for the Icon Editor, but decided to "forget it". But using the Type Tool certainly works.
Incidentally, I have a set of templates for Top Row, Bottom Row, Top Two, Bottom Two, but hadn't made "Middle Two" ...
Bob Schor
Thanks all. Learned a couple tricks, but only a hint at what is really bugging me, which is, I have managed, sometime in the past, to create a "1/2 size" template, that when used the icon text only is within the bounds of the box. created a png in PowerPoint ( a Wonderful graphics editing tool /s!) but when used, it is the top terminals (it is just a rectangle the size I wanted), not sure how to make it the lower or middle, but it does exhibit the "icon text" only in the rectangle that I want. I can use the "text tool", have pretty much since LabVIEW 2.x, the editor of which was very much like the early Windows Paint program. I wish there was more effort directing the amazing graphics artists at NI towards making it easier for us to make better looking UI and icons, rather than changes to the look and feel of the editing environment, didn't need yet another change to the terminals on the diagram, other than to tell, when I am aiding one of my associates, that they are using LabVIEW 2017 vs the default 2015 (the Runtime Engine version on most of our test targets). I am getting (lol) to be a grumpy "senior" engineer, don't like the associative dissonance caused by some of the "aesthetic" changes. Lol, look up my rant when LV 7 came out!!
