dhuff

I don't think easter eggs are completely bad, but you should not waist valuable time coding it into your project, in fact, Labview.exe has easter eggs in it as well. (Before you ask, NO I will not reveal them here) There are a few things to keep in mind before doing an easter egg: 1. It should not contain anything even remotely offensive or profane, many programs can now search for metadata on your computer, which means that even if the egg is virtually impossible to trigger, the ASCII text is still readable by a hex editor or search tool. 2. Remember that software, no matter how perfect, can still get into unstable conditions, so something considered "impossible" to access may actually happen later. I know personally of a company that suffered from an easter egg. The user got to a "virtually impossible" condition and then got a skull and crossbones on a display , and then forced the company to exchange the device. (That action brought out lots of angry managers and lawyers ) dhuff

I have heard of people using a custom made check in type utility. Have a program check to execute the VI locally on the users computer, just to see if it runs. Then bundle up the users VI and PHP signature on a document. The system could only accept files that have the signature attached. You could even use the MD5.LLB files on the NI website to give a MD5 checksum for the whole bundle of files.

Hi Deep_Blue Library structure Pros The distribution is easier with libraries. It is also easier to keep track of which files are needed for a specific project. It makes your computer less cluttered than seperate VI's. Library structure Cons Version tracking and source code control can be harder, because the source code control can't tell what files have changed. Almost all professional source code control software can't handle Labview easily, it has to store the enitre binary file each time it's saved, so your CVS system will fill up quick. You can't add other type of files to the library, so if you have .dll's, .ini files, or even user documents, they are on their own. If you have a sub-VI that is it's own file, and another VI with the same name in a Library you can't tell which one loads Directory structure Pros Like someone else said, you can sort your VI's by type (custom controls, analog in, etc.) You can tell which files changed WITHOUT OPENING THEM simply by looking at dates in Windows explorer, which is usefull. Directory structure Cons It does take a lot of work/discipline to sort the vi's, because sometimes VI's don't fall into neatly defined categories. I use mainly seperate VI's split into folders, and only use LLB's for distribution and source code control (I use a homemade LV based source code control).

Here is an annoying bug in LV 7.0 with the help window, the window will unlock and change, even if it is locked. 1. open the help window (Cntrl+H) 2.From your main VI diagram, place any sub vi on the diagram. 3.Hover over any sub VI or primitive that has help defined, then lock the help window, so the help window now shows your help definintion and is locked. 4.Open the sub VI, the help window should still be locked on your help definition. 5. Close the sub VI front panel, the help window will unlock, and is blank This works with LV 7.0 (win32 version) on any VI I know this is not a big deal, but it is annoying. After all, if the help window doesn't lock when I tell it to, then what is the purpose of the lock?

I think it would be uesful to have custom decorations. things like small pictures to explain things, or ability to put text on the front panel. I know you can use controls or indicators, but decorations on the panel might help, and they don't need extra CPU to compute them every time. (Copyright notices, user help text, big pictures of what the button does, etc. on the front panel right next to the controls) And what about the ability to programmatically place the pictures / text decorations on the panel. This would be very helpful to people who need help with source code control, or ability to put the warning text on a whole library full of files at a time. dhuff