A function to format strings or variables

[mpwbs]

Hi,

Is there a function to space out strings and etc. without impeding on a set character length. i.e. I want to spread out my table columns.

I'm currently using a lot of spaces to format it. The tab escape doesn't seem to have an effect on moving it at all.

Any help will be appreciated.

[adena.l]

 Hi mpwbs,

Have you tried using the Table Control Attributes for the size of your table? 

http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/370051V-01/cvi/uiref/cvitable_attributes/

If these attributes don't work for you, can you elaborate on what you mean by spreading out your table columns? Do you need the width of your columns to be a set size that is bigger than the set number of characters that can be entered?

[mpwbs]

Well, I'm not creating a table. I'm creating one by hardcoding. So, there is a header and then the data follows below.

If the one section has a character of 3 or more then all my alignment is thrown out the window. Wondered if there was a command or something that can set how far I am from the previous character. Like in C++, there is setw(). I wonder if there is something other than "%5d" so it moves it 5 spaces or spots over that would work. But, then I would need to sprintf all my strings and character which can't be done because they are fixed strings/arrays. Attached is the example:

[CVI-User]

I know two ways:

1. use a non-proportional font like Courier New and sprintf your content, this way all the columns will stay below each other
2. use a List Box Control and the formating codes available there, see InsertListItem

[SteveD123]

Just to emphasize what CVI-User says: find a reference on the printf family of functions (fprintf, sprintf etc) and fully understand all the options the standard c library gives you there.

[ElectroLund · Accepted solution]

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@mpwbs wrote:

Well, I'm not creating a table. I'm creating one by hardcoding. So, there is a header and then the data follows below.

If the one section has a character of 3 or more then all my alignment is thrown out the window. Wondered if there was a command or something that can set how far I am from the previous character. Like in C++, there is setw(). I wonder if there is something other than "%5d" so it moves it 5 spaces or spots over that would work. But, then I would need to sprintf all my strings and character which can't be done because they are fixed strings/arrays. Attached is the example:

---

I did something like this for a logging function.  This function outputs columnar formatted rows of text that are then written to file, no a MessagePopup.  But outputting to a popup should work the same.

The '-' character will left-justify the substring.

#define TIME_COL 10
sprintf(string, "%-*s", TIME_COL, TimeStr());

[mpwbs]

I'll give that a try. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Thanks!

[mpwbs]

@ElectroLund how do I format a character to a character variable like you did in your output below. I get a mismatch error when I try to do it. And if I try using a string as the character mapping. It won't move the output at all. Even if I put 100 spaces there.

[ElectroLund]

I'm not totally clear what you are seeing.  But I'm guessing you got a GPF for specifiers not matching?  In my example above, "string" is a character buffer

char string[100] = {0};

Now make sure that the elements correspond correctly.  When you use a '*' character in place of a literal width, you can then use a variable reference for width.  This is not required, you could have "hard-coded" the width.  But if you use a variable width, you must have the order correct in the specifier list!

This is a great reference.

[mpwbs]

Okay, I sorta found out why I was running into issues. It was a dumb mistake on my part. Never changed my variables after I added spaces into them. But I do understand what you were saying in the last reply. 

Thanks for the help!