transparent subvi problem

[gslomo]

I'm trying to run a subvi transparent window above the main VI. It seemed to work fine just configuring this subvi to run transparently (under "Customize window appearance"). However if I click on the Windows toolbar (at the bottom of the screen) before the execution of the subvi, it appears for a short while (less than one second).

I'm using Labview 8.2.

I would appreciate any help to solve this problem.

[altenbach]

You only need the tranparency opton if you want to still see the front panel, but semi-transparently.

If you don't want to see the front panel, simply configure the VI to not show the front panel. 🙂

[gslomo]

Thanks for your answer, but I need this transparent window to avoid mouse clicks on some parts of the screen. The problem I described seems to be a bug because the subvi appears even if is configured to run transparently.

Maybe someone can confirm this.

[altenbach]

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gslomo wrote:

However if I click on the Windows toolbar (at the bottom of the screen) before the execution of the subvi, it appears for a short while (less than one second).

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I don't know if there is a bug, because I don't understand what you are describing.

• Where do you click exactly?
• What is the current state (e.g. "edit mode") of the subVI when you observe the problem?
• How do you start the execution of the subVI?
• What is your LabVIEW version?

Can you attach a simplified VI that shows the problem, including detailed steps on how to reproduce the issue.

[gslomo]

I will try to anwer your questions. I apologize for not pasting the VI but it's too big.

1) I click on the Windows XP task bar (could be on a minimized programm or just on the bar).

2) The problem occurs when I run the VI in edit mode, and also in the executable.

3) The subvi is whithin an event structure in the main VI, and is called when the user click on some buttom.

4) Labview version is 8.2

Thanks very much for your help.

[altenbach]

Can you make a very small simplified set of VIs that shows the problem.

For example just a main VI that calls the transparent subVI, which itself only contains a 10 second wait.

[Darin.K]

I have seen this behavior in the past.  For example, say you have a graph in a subVI and you would like to export its image.  The graph will not update unless the FP is open, so I usually open the FP with the VI set to run transparently.  I recall that this was not a clean solution,  you see the subVI in the taskbar and I remember some flashing.  I usually set the FP position to some corner of the screen and it seems fine.  In this case, trying to cover one VI with another, that could be an issue.

All of that said, if you are simply looking to block mouse clicks I suggest using an Event Structure to filter the Mouse Down events.  See the following example.  Run it and try to change the value of the button inside the box.

[altenbach]

Darins's solution is fine if you want to block mouse-click in another VI window. I thought maybe you want to block mouse-clicks on some screen area in general.

[gslomo]

Sorry for the delay, but I had a little holiday. I tryed to simulate the problem with simplified VIs without success (it works perfectly in the simulation). Anyway I'm pasting the VIs and I would appreciate your comments.

The real VI, includes some dlls to control a digitizer. Maybe the strange behaviour is related to the interaction with the dlls.

Thanks again for your help.

Gabriel