How to view/edit the list of found VIs, i.e. <foundVI> Symbolic Path

[TeraTech]

In the Options dialog > Paths page, under  VI Search Path pull down, there is an optional symbolic path called <foundvi>. 

The help states

"<foundvi> refers to a list of all directories where you have previously located a subVI. During a search, LabVIEW adds to this list any directory in which LabVIEW finds a subVI. <foundvi> helps you locate a directory of VIs that has been moved or renamed. When you open a VI that calls another VI that has been moved, you must find that directory only once and then LabVIEW adds this path to the list of directories."

Where is that list stored? I've read elsewhere in the forum that it is kept in the LabVIEW.ini file.  However the only path entries are for "RecentFiles.projectPathList" , "GSW_Pinned_Files" and "RecentFiles.pathList".

[Kyle97330]

I'm pretty sure this is a temporary location only present on the current instance of LabVIEW that is erased when closed, so it's stored... nowhere.

Is there a particular reason you want to access this list?  Maybe there's another method of doing what you need to do.

[TeraTech]

According to this LabVIEW Wiki page, the LabVIEW.ini file should contain an entry for "viSearchPath" as follows:

viSearchPath= "<topvi>:\*;<foundvi>:\;<vilib>:\*;<userlib>:\*;<instrlib>:\*"

https://labviewwiki.org/wiki/LabVIEW_configuration_file/Paths

Yet, I didn't see a viSearchPath. 

My concern is that I don't want LV searching for VIs where I don't want it to.  The simplest example is a network mapped drive letter.  I occasionally need to open, view and/or compare VIs located located on a mapped drive.  However, I don't want LV to routinely look there for VIs. I would like to view the found VIs list so I can look for and remove any network paths if needed.

[Kyle97330]

I believe the way it works is that line is only created if you have modified LabVIEW to use something other than the default search path list.  I'd bet that if you added a directory to the search path list then you would see that line.

[TeraTech]

Yes, I just verified that... if you have the "use default" check box checked, that "viSearchPath" is not created. If you un-check it, add some custom folder (or delete one of the default symbolic path) then click Ok, viSearchPath is added to the LabVIEW.ini file. Do you know the conditions when LV will add to the found VIs list? Will it add only if it doesn't find a VI, you browse to it and then you answer Yes to the 'would you like to add this path to future searches' dialog?

[Kyle97330]

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@TeraTech wrote:

Do you know the conditions when LV will add to the found VIs list? Will it add only if it doesn't find a VI, you browse to it and then you answer Yes to the 'would you like to add this path to future searches' dialog?

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I'm fairly certain that the Found VIs list only gets added to if there is a missing file, and you browse to it and select it.  It will then add that directory only with no further recursive searching... I have noticed many times that I can select a missing file in "C:\Path1\Path2", then it will find some other files in there, then it will start looking for a file found in "C:\Path1\Path2\Path3" and fail.  

After doing that, if I close everything without saving, it then asks me to find the exact same paths the next time I open LabVIEW, so it's not saving these found paths automatically.

I don't recall ever seeing the "would you like to add this path to future searches" dialog you mention.  Maybe it was added in a newer version of LabVIEW than I use?

[TeraTech]

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@Kyle97330 wrote:

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I don't recall ever seeing the "would you like to add this path to future searches" dialog you mention.  Maybe it was added in a newer version of LabVIEW than I use?

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That's paraphrased. The exact wording "Do you wish to add the directory <your directory> to your search path?"

The message pops up after

1. A file is moved or deleted

2. You open the project

3. It searches through all the paths in your Options > Paths > VI Search Path list and doesn't find it.

4. You browse to a new location and select the file.

But you only get this pop up if your Options > Paths > VI Search Path list does not contain <foundvi>

Regardless of what I do, I cannot seem to get LV to "...list of all directories where you have previously located a subVI." Which makes me wonder if <foundvi> is only session based.

[Frozen]

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@TeraTech wrote:

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Which makes me wonder if <foundvi> is only session based.

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I think that is what @Kyle97330 has been trying to tell you 3 times already 🤣

[TeraTech]

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@Frozen wrote:

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@TeraTech wrote:

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Which makes me wonder if <foundvi> is only session based.

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I think that is what @Kyle97330 has been trying to tell you 3 times already 🤣

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Not really. @Kyle97330 wrote "... if I close everything without saving...".

I wouldn't expect it to save changes, if you don't save when exiting. My understanding is that something that is "session based" is NOT saved, even if you save the project. (i.e. the list is only kept in memory and never saved to disk) The point is, when I save the project, exit and then examine the project's ini file I still don't find the <foundvi> paths thus my comment about being session based. It does however modify that particular VIs relative path inside the project's ini file.