LV 2012 Toolbar look

[Phillip Brooks]

Anyone have any opinion on the tool bar changes?

I've been running LV 8.6 so I can't recall if the change happened in 2009,10 or 11 but the color change (yellow and green to yellow and cyan) along with sort of a 'flat look' is almost a bit too retro for my taste.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Phillip Brooks

[Elset]

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[hooovahh]

Here is my 2011 in Windows 7 x64. I'm having a difficult time seeing any difference between the two. I haven't used any thing earlier than 2009 in so long (it feels like more than a few years) so I can't say when the change happened.

Related

That only had 9 Kudos and it got implemented? I guess there's hope for any feature request.

[Elset]

That only had 9 Kudos and it got implemented? I guess there's hope for any feature request.

I think it got implemented independent of Ravens' idea. It seems unrecognized by NI. Usually they will mark ideas as completed, but this has been untouched.

[jgcode]

This change happened in 2011 complimenting the new Silver Controls

Subtle change - but looks cool IMO

[crelf]

I've been running LV 8.6...

Wait, what?!

[Phillip Brooks]

Wait, what?!

It's in my profile.

We have so much code and libraries that we don't upgrade very often. The last upgrade happened when we went from 7.0 to 8.6 in December of 2008.

I try to participate in the betas and keep up on things, but I'm falling behind the times. I did download 2012 today, but won't do much with it until the end of the year. We might start our next project on 2012, the latest TestStand and win7

[GregR]

Personally I like the visual cues provided by beveled buttons and color, but that doesn’t seem to be the prevailing direction. The soon to be released Visual Studio not only removes button borders but also most color and any dividing lines between menus, toolbars and content. Then they put the menus in all caps.

What do you think? Is this the direction LabVIEW should be moving?

[Yair]

What do you think? Is this the direction LabVIEW should be moving?

No. I prefer the buttons to at least have borders and I generally also prefer the 3D effect which gives you additional feedback that you're seeing a button.

[Mads]

I think it got implemented independent of Ravens' idea. It seems unrecognized by NI. Usually they will mark ideas as completed, but this has been untouched.

That's quite common. In 2012 you can now define an executable to run when the user uninstalls your application; that idea was first posted by yours truly, then by Jim Kring. (Mine was marked as a duplicate because the latter one got more popular (pictures pictures pictures!)). Neither of them are credited in the 2012 release, nor marked as completed (it is a bit early after the release perhaps though) . Inlining is another example back from LV 2010. It has been marked as completed now (although the implementation is not exactly as simple to use as I envisioned it) - but was not credited because it was conceived independently of the Idea Exchange. It is only natural that we share a lot of the same ideas/needs.

[Onno]

What do you think? Is this the direction LabVIEW should be moving?

Please, no! I guess something is to be said for removing visual clutter, but they've taken the minimalism way too far in the latest Visual Studio. And, as far as I know, putting things in all-caps is a well-known usability no-no.

Besides, if NI decides to spend time on improving the IDE's user interface, I think there's other ideas that would have a much more pronounced effect on usability.

And, on-topic: I'm fairly sure the new toolbar was introduced with LV 2011. I personally like it a lot, it looks much fresher!

[ShaunR]

It's in my profile.

We have so much code and libraries that we don't upgrade very often. The last upgrade happened when we went from 7.0 to 8.6 in December of 2008.

I try to participate in the betas and keep up on things, but I'm falling behind the times. I did download 2012 today, but won't do much with it until the end of the year. We might start our next project on 2012, the latest TestStand and win7

This is quite common so I wouldn't feel too left behind. Moving to a newer version represents a significant project risk and if/when you upgrade (which should be for a very good reason rather than there is just a new one) it's better to let other people find all the bugs/issues and any work-arounds for them. I'm still on 2009 which is far more stable and performant than than 8.6 (and, anecdotally/arguably, more performant than everything to date) and I'm waiting for a feature list or bug list that warrants an upgrade.

However. Back to toolbars. The change was made in 2011. 2009 and 2010 both have the (much better IMHO) standard 3D button bar.

Edited August 7, 2012 by ShaunR

[jgcode]

8.6 was (is) good - 2009 was just better (lighter-weight and some handy new features)

it's better to let other people find all the bugs/issues.

lol - I agree

[hooovahh]

We might start our next project on 2012, the latest TestStand and win7

Yeah I couldn't help but notice you are running XP. I'm sure you know this already but I like to remind myself, XP came out almost 11 years ago. Service packs have changed XP since that original release, but I can't imagine using very much 11 year old software today that was designed for consumers. Good luck with your future upgrades.