User Generated Tab Controls (tabbed pages)

[noblepete]

Hi Everyone, 

I'm a software engineer who has no experience in LabVIEW. I just started a new job where they would like me to help fix a LabVIEW application that was developed by a third party. This application replaces an existing application where the user could create multiple tabbed windows where they can view sensor readings of their choosing. They can do the same with plots of these readings. Our tests can range in complexity and can contain anywhere from 20-4000 sensors. Hence the need to give the user ability to create their own displays with data in tabular and plot form. 

My question is: 

Could a LabVIEW vi have the ability to allow the user to create new tabbed pages within a window? Not really looking for an explanation of how to do it (but an example would be welcome). I just want to know if it is possible.

Thank you.

[kartiknattar]

If you want to develop a vi then yes it is possible using vi scripting.

If you want to develop an application or exe then it is not possible in run time.

[noblepete]

Thank you. And in order to develop a vi and use vi scripting then I would need a full LabVIEW license for each machine that ran it correct? While an application or exe would just need the runtime? 

[kartiknattar]

Yes, you would need a full LabVIEW license for each machine

The RunTime Engine cannot use scripting nodes because it does not have a compiler.  Scripting will only work in the development environment.

[pincpanter]

kartiknattar is right: if you want to create controls on-the-fly, you need the full LabVIEW environment.

However there may be another possibility, depending on the detailed specifications. LabVIEW controls can be highly customized, relocated on screen, resized, hidden and displayed again by programming. This would allow to show different data at different times by rearranging indicators and reloading data values, in an extreme case using the very same set of indicators (I'm not saying I would recommend it, but in principle it's possible if all data views are similar).

[altenbach]

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@noblepete wrote:

My question is: 

Could a LabVIEW vi have the ability to allow the user to create new tabbed pages within a window? Not really looking for an explanation of how to do it (but an example would be welcome). I just want to know if it is possible.

---

It would probably help to describe in more detail what "multiple tabbed windows" and a "tabbed page within a window" actually are. Can you show an illustration? How does the user interact with it?

LabVIEW is a full featured programming language and (with sufficient skills!) anything is of course possible. 😄

Since you have "no experience in LabVIEW" there will be an uphill battle. At least you got the letter case correctly. 😄

[noblepete]

pincpanter-

Yes, there is the possibility of us having the tabbed windows there and (maybe) hidden until the user performs some action that would make them visible. This is not something I would want to implement, though. Thanks for your response.

[mcduff]

This package might work for a Windows based system (Not sure if it works on other systems)

https://www.vipm.io/package/saphir_lib_vibox_xcontrols/

[noblepete]

altenbach-

Perhaps a tabbed page is a better description but just imagine the tabs in your internet browser- I use Chrome but I think most have this same sort of capability. 

The user would interact with it in the same manner as you would a web browser. In the case of a web browser the + sign is used for opening up a new tab. The user of the application I'm referring to would create a tabbed page, either a plot or tabular data, customize which sensors they want for that tab and repeat the process until they have displayed every sensor they want to see.

In our case, the third party did not implement it the way it was done in our previous app, and now I understand why. The requirements called for a standalone LabVIEW application, but did not call for tabbed pages. The developer chose to replace the tabbed pages implementation with having the user create a new window for each tabular or plot page that the user wanted. With the help of the community, I'm able to conclude that the LabVIEW app will not allow for the user to create tab controls and they would need to be implemented in the code itself. Another user has mentioned ViBox so this may not be entirely true I will need to look into it more.

With separate windows vs one window with multiple tabbed pages, this would result in having over 50 windows to monitor one test for our most complex tests. I find this totally unacceptable even if they can be separated by virtual desktops (which is a relatively new feature in Windows) as I would not want to rely on the operating system to make my displays more accessible.

[noblepete]

mcduff-

Thank you I will look into this further.