Sketchpad on the diagram!

[JasonD]

I've been wishing for a freehand sketchpad for the diagram view. Maybe also have the basic "draw tools" - text, squares, fills, lines, etc.

I'd love to be able to just look at the back panel, and circle a big chunk of code and then maybe have some explainitory text next to it.

It would have to be a layers thing, so you could click a button to hide or show.

yeah, that's what subvi's are for but still...

[Minh Pham]

QUOTE (JasonD @ May 28 2003, 09:46 PM)

I've been wishing for a freehand sketchpad for the diagram view. Maybe also have the basic "draw tools" - text, squares, fills, lines, etc.

I'd love to be able to just look at the back panel, and circle a big chunk of code and then maybe have some explainitory text next to it.

It would have to be a layers thing, so you could click a button to hide or show.

yeah, that's what subvi's are for but still...

I dont get it!? What is the back panel? Do you mean freehand block diagram which create messy wires?

Can you be more specific or have picture diagram to explain your idea.

Thanks

[Francois Normandin]

QUOTE (JasonD @ May 28 2003, 07:46 AM)

I've been wishing for a freehand sketchpad for the diagram view. Maybe also have the basic "draw tools" - text, squares, fills, lines, etc.

I'd love to be able to just look at the back panel, and circle a big chunk of code and then maybe have some explainitory text next to it.

It would have to be a layers thing, so you could click a button to hide or show.

yeah, that's what subvi's are for but still...

Some people use a one-frame Stacked Sequence Structure to wrap a piece of code and put some text. Not my favorite, but that could do the trick.

I'm not sure a free-hand sketchpad would increase readability of the block diagrams. But the draw tools might be useful I agree, although it's that sort of thing that might be nice to have, but how many times will you really need something like this? For the moment, decorations can be dropped on the front panel and copied to the diagram.

[Mellroth]

QUOTE (normandinf @ Oct 1 2008, 02:52 PM)

...decorations can be dropped on the front panel and copied to the diagram...

They can actually be dropped directly on the BD.

/J

[Francois Normandin]

QUOTE (JFM @ Oct 1 2008, 09:04 AM)

They can actually be dropped directly on the BD.

/J

Well, a simplified version of the front panel decoration palette...

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_10_2008/post-10515-1222874087.png' target="_blank">

[TobyD]

QUOTE (normandinf @ Oct 1 2008, 08:14 AM)

Well, a simplified version of the front panel decoration palette...

No, you can actually select a decoration from the front panel palette and drop it directly onto the block diagram.

[AndyDm]

ZITAT(JasonD @ May 28 2003, 01:46 PM)

I've been wishing for a freehand sketchpad for the diagram view.

In additional to decoration, discussed above I using following technique for adding some freehand drawings on the block diagram:

I creating such notices pretty rarely (usually text labels enough), but they helpful in some complicated situations...

You needed just two tools:

ZoomIt from Sysinternals: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte...s/bb897434.aspx

SnagIt capture software: http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp

First on is free and second - not (but pretty good). Other screen capture software also may be used, sure.

When I need to add hand-based drawing to BD, I do following:

- press Ctrl+2

- draw what I wanted

- press Ctrl+Shift+C (Hot keys can be changed of course)

- select region where drawing located (after selection drawing disappeared automatically)

- select BD and press Ctrl+V

Now drawing inserted as bitmap into BD.

Andrey.

[crelf]

QUOTE (TobyD @ Oct 1 2008, 11:27 AM)

No, you can actually select a decoration from the front panel palette and drop it directly onto the block diagram.

You can do that with several FP items - eg: drop a numeric control from the FP palette onto the BD and you'll get a constant of that type. You can also drag and drop items between the FP and BD - eg: complex cluster on the FP become same datatype on the BD (and vice versa).

[Francois Normandin]

QUOTE (TobyD @ Oct 1 2008, 11:27 AM)

No, you can actually select a decoration from the front panel palette and drop it directly onto the block diagram.

You're right, but normally my block diagram takes the whole screen... and Ctrl-E doesn't work when you have something selected.

[LAVA 1.0 Content]

QUOTE (normandinf @ Oct 1 2008, 12:08 PM)

You're right, but normally my block diagram takes the whole screen... and Ctrl-E doesn't work when you have something selected.

Buy another screen for you FP

[Francois Normandin]

QUOTE (pdc @ Oct 1 2008, 12:52 PM)

Buy another screen for you FP

In my dreams!!!

[LAVA 1.0 Content]

QUOTE (AndyDm @ Oct 1 2008, 10:41 AM)

You needed just two tools:

ZoomIt from Sysinternals: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte...s/bb897434.aspx

SnagIt capture software: http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp

First on is free and second - not (but pretty good). Other screen capture software also may be used, sure.

The same can be done with MS Paint, by creating the bitmap there and copy/pasting it to LV.

http://lavag.org/old_files/monthly_10_2008/post-3370-1222884326.png' target="_blank">

[Minh Pham]

Why you need so many different software and shortcuts to create freehand sketches on BD while you can

paste anything on the BD through the built-in Windows clipboard. Copy anything you want to the clipboard

then Ctrl+V to paste in anywhere you like, any size you want on the BD.

If you follow some simple Design techniques and structures , i believe you will rarely use this feature unless you

really have to. One thing I can think of is the State transition diagram, which will be kind of useful info on the BD

for the other programmers to have a general idea of the designed state machine within the code.

[JasonD]

Why you need so many different software and shortcuts to create freehand sketches on BD while you can

paste anything on the BD through the built-in Windows clipboard. Copy anything you want to the clipboard

then Ctrl+V to paste in anywhere you like, any size you want on the BD.

If you follow some simple Design techniques and structures , i believe you will rarely use this feature unless you

really have to. One thing I can think of is the State transition diagram, which will be kind of useful info on the BD

for the other programmers to have a general idea of the designed state machine within the code.

Wow - I'm really late responding here...

Usually when I say "back panel" I mean "Block Diagram". In my head it's"Front Panel" and "Back Panel". Incorrect, but it's stuck in there (my head).

If you notice the date of my original post (2003) and you consider the version of LabVIEW that was out back then (probably LV 6)...

NI did actually grant my request. They added the functionality I was wishing for in LabVIEW, namely the decorations that are available on the Block Diagram.

My original thought was similar to what people posted above, in that it might be nice to circle or highlight a chunk of code for documentation purposes.

And yes, it's very easy nowadays to paste in images to the block diagram or the front panel.

The block diagram tools that are in current versions of LV do the job nicely for me. Sometimes in a tight block of code, it's nice to have a text comment box off to the side, then then draw a diagonal arrow to the code the comment refers to.

I'd highly recommend the NI "Idea Exchange" where developers can post feature requests. Other visitors can "vote" on features they like.

- jason

[Yair]

it might be nice to circle or highlight a chunk of code for documentation purposes.

You may wish to have a look at the new version of the code capture tool, which has this feature (see video here). It should be noted, though, that the decoration is only applied to the image, so if you change the code, you have to recreate it.