Contraction shortcut (opposite of Ctrl+Shift+drag)

[Mads]

It is currently possible to add space to the block diagram by drawing an area or line with the cursor while holding down Ctrl+Shift.

I often wish there was an equivalent opposite shortcut;  where you could draw how much you want the diagram to contract instead...

Message Edited by Mads on 07-03-2009 08:31 AM

[Thoric]

I often find adding space very useful, and also wish there was a way to 'undo' this if I create too much space. A contraction tool would be very useful 🙂

[J.Mamakos]

I agree with the above - I find myself being very conservative in expanding an area to allow for new code, and I sometimes even opt to create the space manually due to the hassle I know I'll face should I be overly generous in my space allocation.

[Manzolli]

I would like to have three options (configurable in the “Options Dialog Box”):

1) Double click in any structure handle shrink all borders to be as small as possible and desirable (not too close). I got this idea from Skusie Easy resize of labels created with a double-click.

2) Double click in any structure handle shrink only the borders related to the handle.

3) Leave just like it is now.

Additional options under a context menu would be nice too.

[X.]

Expanding from part of the diagram oftentimes leads to chaos in other parts. I don't want to imagine what shrinking one part of a diagram would result in... Have NI fix their expansion algorithm (so that it behaves sanely), then they will get my vote for a shrinking algorithm.

[Manzolli]

As I understood, only the border of the selected structure will shrink, creating some space around. Nothing outside the structure will be moved.

The reduction process will stopping in anything that require being moved to shrink more. In other words, it will respect the current position of any item in the BD, including Labels, Free Labels, Tunnels, Decorations, etc.

The only exception are wires. When they are perpendicular to the side, they will be only be shrieked, not moved.

[X.]

This is not an idea about shrinking structures. You're posting in the wrong thread 🙂

[Manzolli]

Ok. I repeated the comment in the other thread.

[Darren]

Available in LabVIEW 2015 and later

[X.]

You've been warned! (see my comments of 2 years ago).

[Mads]

I'm very pleased with the way it was implemented.

The real-time preview is useful and cool. And  the way the algorithm tries to isolate the changes (not affect other areas of the diagram too much) works nicely.

I use the contraction shortcut more often than the expansion shortcut now; I prioritize code neatness over compactness when doing the coding, and then compress it where possible afterwards. The real-time feedback makes the latter a much more controllable and efficient operation.