Build Eye-Catching GUIs (from NIWeek)

[TroyK]

Fantastic presentation.

It prompted me to spruce up the front panel on a couple of my applications... I'm very pleased with the results. Thanks for the inspiration.

Mostly using system controls, adding decals and some custom boolean indicators. (Using GIMP as graphics editor and a few borrowed icons from the web)

OLD front Panel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ New FP

[Miguel_Fernandez]

Awesome work indeed.

I was trying to make something similar but I always face a problem I cant avoid.

When I´m creating a custom control for a Boolean Button, if I add an image, I´m unable to press the button in that space.

Basically I want to make the same "Read More" button that you have at the main page.

Can you explain how did you create it?

Thanks a lot.

[cirrusio]

Miguel,

It sounds to me as if you are not quite doing this correctly.  You need to do this in the control editor - dropping an image onto a control will just obscure the control.  NI has a detailed article about this that can be found here:

http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361F-01/lvconcepts/custom_cont_ind_type/

Hope this helps.  Peace,Matt

[Matthew_Kelton]

Miguel,

Also refer to this:

http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361F-01/lvhowto/impt_graph_in_bool_contrl/

You want to import the images as decals as well.  EVen if you copy and paste them into custom controls, they will block pressing the button unless it is a decal.

Matthew

[Miguel_Fernandez]

THX guys.

I got the problem fixed simply using a "BooleanPush button" as the base instead of a "OK Button".

I replaced the green led with my image (as a decal, of course) and it worked like charm. However I do not find the process very intuitive.

I really miss an option to directly add a decal to all kinds of buttons.

Thank you for the help

[CrystalTech]

I highly commend (and thank) the users of Labview to come up with such great updated controls.  However, the idea that "we" (the Users of Labview) have to do what the Employees of NI should be doing is beyond me.  After recent years of Labview Users indicating the controls are way out of date shoulld be a message to NI that they put some resources into updating the front panel.   Unfortunately the great looking controls that the users are coming up with are NOT resizeable due to the nature of bitmap.  NI, Please, make updated controls, and make them resizeable (and sell more LabVIEW!).  Please!  The year is 2010!  I also would like to see more Users inform NI to provide the updated, resizeable controls we need.  We all need to compete with scripted languages.  ...best regards.

[Elijah_K]

Ken,

This might help you.  Simon just posted a new palette of amazing looking controls and indicators for LabVIEW.   If you haven't seen them already, click here to see and download his work.

[CrystalTech]

Thank you, I have seen all of the displays.  I think they are amazing!  However, it is my complaint that these controls are not resizeable due to the nature of Bitmap.  I also have an issue with NI for not updating their own product where it needs to be.  NI is currently working on Scripting.  This will allow a VI to be automatically built by scripting instructions to perform the task.  This scripting function takes more work than just building a VI and saving it to be used later (over and over).  The name Rube Goldberg comes to mind.  Personally I think NI would get much more bang for it's buck if it updated the Front Panel.  Does NI not want more market share?  Managers and Customers are also sold on good looking or updated items.  Programmers are not the only customers.  I once worked at a company that switched from Labview to C-Sharp.  Their loss, but NI's also.  Sometimes I wonder why I care so much about this, since I feel NI doesn't.

[CyGa]

Daer Ken,

I can just agree with you. More and more customers are requiring other languages than LV only because GUIs are less good looking. In my company,  a lot of GUIs are made in C# and then loaded in LV using .NET nodes. It implies a bit work than building a VI with traditionnal LV controls but customers are satisfied. LV control customization takes a lot of time compared to the time necessary to build code. NI should provide in LV2010 C# inspired control.

Nevertheless, Elijah is right : Simon's job is just amazing, and controls particularly nice looking !

[Thoric]

Ken,

I think you've raised a very important point here. It is possible to create interesting and snazzy looking GUIs with LabVIEW, but it takes a lot of effort, a working understanding of a graphics package, quite often a fair chunk of coding is need and typically the controls aren't resizeable due to the bitmap nature of the image content. It is also (no offence intended to anyone) quite often underestimated how difficult it really is to create a slick, usable interface that is intuitive and a pleasure to use. Lots of design and effort can sometimes go into the simplest of interface panels. This is often understated.

I agree that NI needs to consider providing access to a much larger library of vector-based (resizeable) controls. I tend to resort purely to System controls, as the LabVIEW controls (to me) appear very out-dated. Microsoft recently released Microsoft Chart Controls, a free add-on to .NET 3.5, for generating a plethora of charts and graphs. I've seen the quality of these graphs and they are outstanding. Far more polished than the NI graphics.

I appreciate that NI are not traditionally in the market for highly polished user interfaces, and have preferred to maintain a historically "industrial" grounding, but C# is strongly encroaching upon this, and I'm sure NI are more than interested in expanding their influences into all software engineering arenas. We (at my company) have a C# developer, and I'm often required to resort to the LabVIEW .NET interface to import functionality available natively to him to spruce up my code. Regretably, not everything is possible, and I usually have to tolerate a less than optimal GUI. But if I could access a larger library of NI native controls for my user interfaces, I'd be a much happier coder, and I wouldn't have to rely on the strengths of other languages to 'prop-up' my interfaces.

I back your cause Ken.