visualisation of dataflow with marquee arrows

[M.Riede]

Hello,

I have to visualize a dataflow with moving arrows (like a marquee) where the arrows (small triangles) move from left to right or right to left. Any ideas how to implement this in an easy way?

Thanks,

                    Magnus

[tst]

Here's one simple example (7.0). Note that the cluster is used to hide the edges of the array and to create smooth scrolling. You can of course use a picture ring instead and so control the images as well as the direction.

[M.Riede]

Wow, thanks, thats really a smart solution. Thank you very much.

I also need to move the arrows up an down, I guess, this is not possible with this kind of solution?

I added my current solution which is much more complicated, but I can move the arrows in all directions (this example is arrows up). Attention: you need the "Wingdings 3" font on your system to get the arrows. Maybe you can give me some hints to simplify my implementation.

Thank you very much,

                                       Magnus

[tst]

You can definitely modify my example to move in any direction - just use the Top property instead of the Left property to move vertically. As mentioned before, you can use a picture ring to have the images of all 4 triangles and then you can dynamically select the direction. You could even use the Number of Rows and Number of Columns property for the array to change the orientation.

If you want to use the picture control, you might consider writing a simple VI which will draw a shape (a triangle in your case), so that you're not dependant on a font of a specific size.

[M.Riede]

Sorry for bothering you again, but LabView seems to interprete the "left" property of an array in another way than the "top" property. The array with the down-triangles moves completely over the whole screen and does not rotate like the array with the right-triangles. Did I use the wrong property?

Could you give me a small example for an implementation with a picture ring? I have no idea of that.

Thank you very much,

Regards,

                    Magnus

[tst]

I don't have LV 8, so I can't see your code, but here's the one going down.

The picture ring is a numeric control where every number is represented by an image. You can modify the value of the array elements to change the direction of the arrows. To import the images into it, I simply placed some LV decorations on the panel and then copied and imported them.

To learn more about LabVIEW, I suggest you try searching this site and google for LabVIEW tutorials. Here, here, here, here and here are a few you can start with and here are some tutorial videos. You can also contact your local NI office and join one of their courses.
In addition, I suggest you read the LabVIEW style guide and the LabVIEW user manual (Help>>Search the LabVIEW Bookshelf).