LabVIEW Idea Exchange

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
JB

Structures with enabled Auto Grow

Status: Declined

Any idea that has received less than 10 kudos within 10 years after posting will be automatically declined.

I don't like and don't use the Auto Grow option of structures. Therefore, I always uncheck Place structures with Auto Grow enabled in the LabVIEW options. A visual mark on the structures or a specific entry in the Find and Replace dialog box would help me to locate these structures on inherited VIs.

 

Auto Grow structure.jpg

Auto Grow.jpg

7 Comments
Matthew_Kelton
Active Participant

I would actually like to see this changed to a global setting instead of a per-instance setting.  If I turn it off in my options, no structure should support auto grow, regardless of whether it was created with auto grow or not.  This has the added benefit of the reverse case where some who gets my code loves auto grow.

 

I find this particularly frustrating when using the LVOOP wizards to create VIs, as the default is auto grow enabled on there structures, so even though I created the code, because the code is automatically generated, it overrides my setting.

Michael.Proctor
Member

 

After a few expereinces helpfing out with novices in LabVIEW coding I come to teh conclusion that 

auto-grow structures should be completely REMOVED from labVIEW.

 

Their wiring diagrams just get bigger adn bigger with no thought to re-structing the code to better fit a screen sie or better

coding models.

 

When case statements auto-grow the wires on other cases get stretched etc so it is not easy to ungrow previously autogrown code so a bad problem grows worst.

 

Please take out auto-grow.  I can think of no good reason to have it.

 

michael

AristosQueue (NI)
NI Employee (retired)

> Please take out auto-grow.  I can think of no good reason to have it.

 

How about the disasterous code that results from *ever* turning it off where items are hidden under the edges of structures?

Darin.K
Trusted Enthusiast

> How about the disasterous code that results from *ever* turning it off where items are hidden under the edges of structures?

 

IMO that should be disallowed regardless of the auto-grow settting.  No (valid) reason I know of to allow a structure to be smaller than the bounding rectangle of its objects.

 

Autogrow, per se, does not bother me that much.  What bothers me is when it calls its evil cousin "Make Space". 

RavensFan
Knight of NI

I agree with Aristos Queue.  Hidden code is far more dangerous than block diagram size explosion.  If you don't like a move you just did because it blew out a structure, you'll know it right away and can immediately undo it and try to do something different.  If you don't have autogrow on, you may never notice that code just moved under the edge of a structure.  It may be days, months, or even years before you can find a bug that was hidden beyond the edge of a structure.

 

I would prefer to see the option of AutoGrow to never be allowed to turn off.

 

If the problem is with novices creating blown up code, that is a training issue where they should be taught how to keep their diagram clean as they go.  If they aren't capable of keeping code clean that is too big to see, how are you going to expect them to learn to keep code clean that they can't see because it is hidden?  It's all about training.

dthor
Active Participant

I love autogrow. I would absolutely hate to see it gone, or even defaulted to OFF.

 

I only wish that the limit when resizing to an internal structure was 16 pixels instead of 32. But that's a topic for another Idea...

Autogrow example.PNG 

Darren
Proven Zealot
Status changed to: Declined

Any idea that has received less than 10 kudos within 10 years after posting will be automatically declined.