PJM_labview

QUOTE (crelf @ Mar 18 2008, 12:11 PM)

...

I've written a couple of articles on appropriate UI design. I feel that sometimes we get caught up in over engineering things without true and honest thought for both the system requirements and the end user. Wouldn't you prefer an app with an intuative UI that works, or an app with a pretty UI that doesn't?

...http://forums.lavag.org/blog/crelfs_technology_articles/index.php?showentry=142' target="_blank">

Well if I have to choose, I want a working app with a pretty intuitive UI.

PJM

QUOTE (Aristos Queue @ Mar 17 2008, 03:34 PM)

It is not a bug. The reentrant clones are able to support their own panels/diagrams without significant loss of performance because they share large quantities of properties with the master...

Ok, then, the documentation for Tip Strip is lacking since there is nothing about it not working in reentrant instances (See screenshot below of LV 8.5 help window for this)?

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_03_2008/post-121-1205802109.png' target="_blank">

One can argue that there is a bug in the documentation (at the very least). There should be a line like "Available with reentrant instances --> No".

I was not aware of these limitations of using reentrant VIs as reusable UI, but since this is the case, where can I find a list of all the properties (and methods if any) that do not work in reentrant instances?

PJM

While this is a documented error (since there is a number for it) I believe this is to be bug.

If you try to change tip strips of controls located on an instance of a reentrant VI you get that error (1446). I have no clue as to why this is not possible and I am considering this to be a bug.

Note: Attempting the same operation on the "Master" copy of the reentrant VI does work.

PJM

Note: This issue is present in LV 8.2x and 8.5.

Liz,

Just as an example, I did some more cleanup of your last attachement. I did not made any functional changes whatsoever.

A good house keeping rule is: remove everything that distract from understanding what the code do. Very often this end up meaning keep wire straight, remove unnecessary bend in wire, align primitive when possible etc...

You might find this usefull.

Cheer

PJM

QUOTE(JDave @ Mar 4 2008, 10:00 AM)

...I suspect that NI uses the VI Activation scripting event in the Navigation window.

Oops sorry, I though that this was what you were talking about. I missread.

QUOTE(JDave @ Mar 4 2008, 10:00 AM)

Is you background service FP close?

PJM

QUOTE(JDave @ Mar 4 2008, 08:31 AM)

...

• Active VI does not always change with window focus changes. Sometimes requires clicking on an object on the window.
  

This is odd. I have never noticed any issues with this. I used it quite a bit, and it seem to always work for me. I think NI is using it in the navigation window, and as far as I know, I have not heard people saying that it does not display the image of the right VI with focus.

QUOTE(JDave @ Mar 4 2008, 08:31 AM)

Yes this is possible. Here are a couple items that help in doing this.

1) The close if lonely does generate a scripting event (I forgot which one at the moment) which you can catch and act upon.

2) System VIs, while not shown in the hierarchy, could be used as well for this background service if they are the only one left running in memory.

PJM

QUOTE(crelf @ Mar 3 2008, 11:53 AM)

To what?

Ok, I'll bite.

I Agree to the post above my answer, basically that this would be nice to optionnally be able to have a Runtime engine webinstall if the target machine does not have it already.

PJM

Absolutely! I could not agree more,

PJM

QUOTE(Justin Goeres @ Feb 25 2008, 12:44 PM)

...I find myself wondering if NI made them absurdly large to discourage their use .

Now that you mentioned it, I wonder if there is a similar purpose behind the "ridiculously" large class icon...

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_02_2008/post-121-1203994107.png' target="_blank">

PJM

One of the thing that could bear some improvements is the error message one get when trying to run a software that does not have the LV runtime install.

It goes more or less like this: "myexecutable.exe" requires version 8.5 (or compatible) of the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine. Please contact the vendor of "myexecutable.exe" to correct this problem.

This error is really not usefull to the user of the software (it is conceivable that they do not know what is LabVIEW).

If the message was more like: "myexecutable.exe" requires version 8.5 (or compatible) of the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine. Please Click here to download an install it. This would be a lot more usefull.

Just my two cents

PJM

Just to add one more point to this conversation.

While the cluster size is reset to its default size it also has the side effect to hide back all the Labels. Strict type def cluster are not necessary huge. If I have a very large strict type def cluster and I do not benefit to see a large constant on the BD, then I wrap it in a SubVI, but quite often I want to see the cluster constant and its labels for documentation pupose. So if you happen to "improve" on this particular behavior, please do not forget to preserve all aspect of the constant (labels visibility included).

PJM

QUOTE(tcplomp @ Feb 15 2008, 07:26 AM)

Wohoayuhasyadf, drewl drewl :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Very nice, (did I tell I am bazzled?)

Please share!

Ton

I agree with Ton, you did a very nice job. :thumbup:

Please do give us the details.

PJM

Since we are on the topic of "hardware" wish list, I want a cRIO with optional FPGA back plane. I want the modules, the processing power, not the FPGA.

PJM

QUOTE(Yen @ Feb 13 2008, 12:03 PM)

Can anyone please backsave the code (or at least the control) to 7.0?

Here it is in 7.0.

http://lavag.org/old_files/post-121-1202974163.vi'>Download File:post-121-1202974163.vi

PJM

QUOTE(tcplomp @ Feb 12 2008, 09:34 PM)

Looks very nice PJM, the 'treeing', is some routine you have to do for yourself?

Yes, but this is very easy.

The Item Symbol Index has to change according to this formula:

Item Symbol Index = Orginal Item Symbol Index + Indent Level * 65536

Example:

If you have this glyph (

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_02_2008/post-121-1202921719.png' target="_blank">

PJM

Now that I got all the pieces together I am finally able to write UI like the one below.

This MCL will really come in handy in many situations.

Thanks everyone for all the feedbacks.

PJM

Thanks :thumbup:

PJM

I have made some progress on that front. I extract that control from the example finder (this turn out to be a MCL listbox).

Here is the control: Download File:post-121-1202760621.vi

Now I have to figure out how to change these glyphs. For info, here is a screenshot of NI VI interface that manage the listbox (Mikael, you might have been onto something with the 2d array of glyphs).

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

PJM

I think to even have a chance of this working, you will have to strip the compile code as well (so opening the VI would required a recompile).

I think you should go with Darren solution.

PJM

Which is what I meant by "resizing column".

QUOTE(MikaelH @ Feb 4 2008, 05:54 PM)

It would be good if the "Item Symbol" property can take a 2D array like this:

..and maybe this is available with a hidden property.

Yes, this could be nice to have 2D array for symbols, but I am suspecting that this might not be how this has been implemented.

As you say, this table/MCL/Tree might be available through scripting. I will have to investigate.

Since the example finder has been build as an executable, it has used this MCL which support multi glyph columns. The first LV version that shipped with the executable example finder was LV 7.0, so this would be cool if NI could let us use this (since this has been around for quite sometime now).

QUOTE(MikaelH @ Feb 4 2008, 05:54 PM)

Yes, I have done it in a similar fashion in the past, and this work fairly well as long as you don't expect the user will want to resize the column.

PJM

I remember attending a presentation last year (or the year before) at NI week talking about the example finder. The code is written in LabVIEW (if I remember correctly). I was wondering is someone know how to get to that multiple column list box (or tree or table) that allow for multiple glyphs columns (see image below)?

Thanks

PJM

This look very promissing.

I will try to give it a shot next "free" time I got.

PJM

QUOTE(Jim Kring @ Jan 5 2008, 08:10 PM)

I just checked and "Open URL in Default Browser (path).vi" is not working for me in LabVIEW 8.5, either

I have the same issue here. In LV 8.5, it does not work at all with no error. In the same fashion, the Open URL in default browser [path] does not work either with no error.

If I try with an older LV version (for example 7.1), I got the URL, but it is truncated (in firefox).

So basically, this is a no go for me as well.

Some staring at the "Open URL in Default Browser core.vi" binary data seem to indicate that this function call a LabVIEW export function called WWWOpenURLInBrowser. This is probably were the issue is.

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_01_2008/post-121-1199595693.png' target="_blank">

I will be curious to find out why it work on some computer but not on other though.

PJM