george seifert

The FAQ on shared variables (#30) says that the "DSC Module adds the ability to register for shared variable alarm and event notifications and data value change notifications as separate event cases in the LabVIEW event structure". I tried to do that, but can't figure out how to register the event. Can anyone clue me in please? George

I have two separate projects that will be built into stand alone executables (Win XP). I want the apps to be able to function as separate entities. In some instances though I want one app to be able to trigger an event in the other app. After reading about shared variables I'm still not sure how to do this. Do I have to use network published variables even when both apps are on the same PC? If I do use a network published variable I assume I have to use the "Bind to Source" property (I don't really know that for sure). What do I enter for the Path? This gets confusing when working with executables. George

Mostly I was just playing with them to see what they were all about. But what I did try was to put everything necessary for saving and retrieving an XML configuration file in one place so that I could use it in several applications. In this case I think I might have been better off putting the code in a subvi. George

I finally realized that, unlike regular VIs, after I put in the breakpoint I also have to save the Facade VI. I was just putting in the breakpoint and then running it. The breakpoint didn't take until I saved it. George

But why bother building an XControl if you're only going to use it once? Isn't it just as easy (easier actually) to just build the functionality into the VI where you're going to use the control?

I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are on XControl usage. Are they most useful where the control will be used over and over or are there circumstances where it's worth the trouble to build one for one instance? Seems like for everything I can think of so far that if I only need the control in one place that it's just as easy to implement the features right in the VI - especially now that LV8 has runtime shortcut menus for controls. George

Everytime I want to edit my XControl I have to close the VI that contains the XControl. This is getting to be a real pain. When I try to edit any of the XControl VIs without closing the VI that contains it, I get a message that says This VI cannot be changed to edit mode. This VI is reserved in another application instance. Stop the VI from running in the other application instance before changing it to edit mode. Well the application instance that contains the XControl isn't running and it's not in run mode. What am I missing? George

I'm finally diving into XControls and after much frustration am finally getting some results. I must be making this harder than it is. Anyway, I'm trying to update a listbox in the control. When the string list comes from something like a static array the listbox updates fine. But when I try to get the strings from the List Folder VI, then I get nothing in the listbox. Are there some things you can't do inside the Facade VI? How do you probe what's going on inside the Facade VI? When I first started working with the control I could set the Highlight Execution and watch what was going on. Now it does nothing and the run arrow never even comes on in the Facade VI. Yet it definitely working. George

Thanks for posting your example. I started looking at Xcontrols when I first got LV8, but the documentation was so confusing (to my tiny brain anyway) that I gave up. It's nice to see another example that I can disect so I can try to make sense of all the components needed. George

Oh wait, I do know this one. I've been through this already trying to do the exact same thing. All drag and drop events only work within Labview. Doesn't seem too useful if you can't drag and drop from outside of Labview. George

What else is necessary? I'm not sure if this is it, but do you have "Allow drop" checked in the Advanced menu for the control?

I saw that, but the first time I looked through the list I couldn't find the Align Items item so I figured there was no way to set it. I just looked again and there it was. Duh. George

CTRL A and CTRL D don't work anymore in LV8. I was really bummed when I discovered this. :thumbdown: George

Everything I've read seems to indicate that there's a CaptionLabels object, but it doesn't seem to be exposed in any of the properties I've found under Word.Tables. I wonder if it's a bug and somehow got left off of the list. I'd appreciate hearing any other thoughts on finding a particular table in a Word doc. The only thing I've come up with is to read in the data from each table in the doc and looking for a unique keyword.

[LV8 and WinXP] I'd like to be able to return the contents of a given table (based on its caption) in Word to LabVIEW. I can return the table contents OK, but I can't figure out how to programatically find a specific table based on its caption. I'm sure there must be a property hiding somewhere that gives captions. I figured I could first get the number of tables, then return the captions for all the tables, find the caption that matches the one I want and then get the table index from that. I can return bookmarks just fine but I don't know how I could tie a specific bookmark to a table index. George

That's odd. I've mixed and matched fonts in labels of controls without any problems. Dumb question, but did you make sure to make the current value the default before saving it? Have you tried it with other things - like maybe a label? George

Yes, but it's a two step process. In LV8 select FIle->Save for previous version. This will save it as 7.1. Then in LV7.1 you have to do it again to save for 7.0. George

So the order they're selected IS important. I discovered that I could build both, but I must have selected them in them in the wrong order. I got some errors because it must have tried to build the installer first. I gave up on trying to do both at once because I figured it wasn't working right. George

>>I just double checked and am afraid to report that you will be stuck with 2 copies of the INI file.<< Thanks for checking. At least I know I'm not missing something. So far I'm not seeing any real advantage to the new app builder. Maybe it's great for large projects, but for me it's been a step backward. George

Jason, We seem to be going in circles a bit. I understand how I can add a variable to my WINNT directory in the installer. However that same file is also included in the directory with the executable because it's part of the executable build script. I have it as part of the executable build script so I can test how the program functions without having to run the installer. So now the file gets put in two places when I only want it in one place. Unless there's a way that I'm missing to tell the installer to put just the executable in a particular folder, it seems that I'm always going to have to have two copies of files if I want to have files installed in directories other than where the executable is. George

Jason, >>If you want to have your ini file moved to the WINNT folder, you need to add it as an item from the project, not the build rule. << Sorry I don't follow what you mean here. In my build spec for the executable I tell it send the Tescom.ini file to the WINNT dir. If I build just an executable I don't know how else to tell it where to put that file. And since I need to build the executable before I can run the installer I'm stuck with the structure in the build spec. George

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to remember to open everything from the project explorer. I've attached a Word doc that shows two screen shots. The first is from the application builder. The second is from the installer. In the application builder note the file Tescom.ini in the WINNT folder. That's where I want it. Now in the installer note that the Tescom.ini file is in the CP Dispense/Code dir (because it's included in the Executable files) and I added it under the [WindowsFolder]. If I don't manually add it under the [WindowsFolder] the installer only puts it in CP Dispense/Code dir. So now when I do the install the Tescom.ini file gets put in two directories. That didn't happen to me with the 7.1 app builder. Also note that in the application builder the lvxxx.dll files get put in the data dir (defined as my support files dir). I don't want them there. I'd rather have them in the Code dir. The old installer let me pick where they go. I don't see any way to specify where they go now. In the installer however they do get put in the Code dir. So in the end they do go where I want them, but I don't understand why I can't have a consistent directory structure between the application builder and the installer. George Download File:post-2786-1130881381.doc

I'm wondering what is the best way to keep the new LV8 Project Explorer up to date on file changes. For instance I renamed a VI and forgot to tell the Project Explorer about it. When I went to build an executable I got an error saying it couldn't find a file. I finally figured out that the VI was missing in the Project Explorer because of the name change. It sure seems like I have to do a lot of baby sitting for this new system that I didn't have to do before. For instance the old app builder would automatically figure out which VI should not have their front panels removed. Now I have to manually go through and figure out which VIs should not have it's front panel removed. Am I missing something about how to manage a project or is this new system really a lot more work? Another problem: How do I get the LV8 installer to put the files in the same place as the application builder? The app builder lets you specify which folders to place the file in whereas the installer seems much more limited. If I include the exe listed under the "Build Specifications" on the Source Files page of the installer it puts all the files in one directory. There seems to be no way to get installer to create the same file structure as the app builder. What am I missing? George

It seems like creating an installer now is a 2 step process. First I have to build the executable. Then I have create the installer. Or am I missing something? I suppose it's growing pains, I'm not sure this is any easier. Plus I really miss having the installer ask if they want to overwrite certain files (like ini files). Ok that was a few versions back, but I still miss it. George