LV 2009 Icon editor

Just installed LV 2009 and had to try out the new icon editor.
Firstly, I'm very happy to see the huge increase in productivity possible with this new editor. Great stuff guys. Including the Glyphs in the editor is a HUGE time-saver.
I have noticed, however that there is a feeling of lag when drawing on the icon picture. It's as if the picture being displayed is about 1/4 of a second behind what I'm actually doing. Not a major problem, but I'm curious if others see the same thing.
A possible problem is the fact that when writing text on the Icon, selecting the Name of the layer (on the panel outside of the drawing area) and typing does not shift focus away from the icon. I need to manually select a different tool other than the text tool for the drawing editor before I can enter text anywhere in the editor. The picture control retains focus apparently.
Aside from that, brilliant!
Shane.
Say hello to my little friend.
RFC 2323 FHE-Compliant

smercurio_fc wrote:
How long does it take for the Icon Editor to come up for you? I have found it to be quite slow. While I'm running LV2009 in a virtual machine, I also have 8.6 in a virtual machine, and the Icon Editor for 8.6 comes quite quickly.
First time to call it it takes quite a while, about 6-7 seconds on my machine but subsequent calls are much quicker.
I know the old Icon editor could be replaced (mark Balla did a great job of creating an icon editor which bears striking similarity to the new NI one in many places), maybe the new one can be copied to an older LV version, I have no idea.
Shane.
Say hello to my little friend.
RFC 2323 FHE-Compliant

Similar Messages

LV 2009 Icon Editor Turned to Previous Version

Hello!
I just want to ask if someone has encounter a strange behavior of "ICON EDITOR". When I opened my editor, it showed up about half a second or so then disappear and violllllla!!! the old editor came up. Really strange because I've just used it earlier today... If anyone know how to bring it back please kindly post the "how-to".
Thanks in advanced!!
KowdTek
LabVIEW 2009
One Step At A Time, Maybe Two...
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Check the LabVIEW Data folder in 'My Documents'. If it is set to read only, the icon editor doesn't work.
Usually this is a sign for it, when the Icon Editor is displayed for a brief moment.
The IE is open source. If the LabVIEW data folder is not write-protected, navigate to LabVIEW 2009\resource\plugins\ lv_icon.vi and check whether the IE is executable at all.
Thanks,
Tom
http://www.newgistics.com

Polymorphic icon editor - reverts back to old editor

LabVIEW 2010 SP1
I have a set of polymorphic VIs that I have in a Instrument Library Project in the Public Folder.
When I try to edit the icon and select a Glyph to drag into the icon field LabVIEW reverts to the old editor!
This is really slowing down my productivity. Is there a way to fix this?
This also happens to non-polymorphic VIs Icon Editor.
Ryan Vallieu
Automation System Architect
Solved!
Go to Solution.

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/LV-2009-Icon-Editor-Turned-to-Previous-Version/m-p/1022706#M455826
Hmm I just checked this post out and it seems like somehow my folder got set to Read Only - but even as an Admin I can't change it to not read only...time to call IT.
Ryan Vallieu
Automation System Architect

Labview 2010 icon editor extremely slow

Working on a medium size project in LabVIEW 2010. Out of the blue the icon editor slows down. So slow that typing in one text character takes 20 seconds. After closing the editor there is about 3 to 5 second lag on every action I make in LabVIEW.
Restarting LabVIEW sets things back to normal until I open the Icon Editor. Opening any SubVI results in this problem. And this occurs in any project or even if no project is open and I try to edit icon in an Untitled 1 subVI.
Anyone else seen this behavior. I really don't want to re-install LabVIEW 2010.
Thanks

I'd almost suggest using the old icon editor, then edit and save the VI, then try the new icon editor again. One issue could be with keeping track of all that layer information and one of them having bad data or something. By using the old icon editor and saving, it might save the icon as the flat image it is, and wipe away all that layer information the new icon editor uses.
Of course before there was an improved icon editor developers made their own, and I'm curious to know if they still work, and if they would load faster.
https://lavag.org/files/file/100-mark-ballas-icon-editor-v24-lv2010/
https://lavag.org/files/file/91-improved-lv-2009-icon-editor/

Why does LabVIEW 2009 revert to the old icon editor?

Hi,
I have noticed that sometimes when I am trying to edit the icon in LabVIEW 2009, I get the old style icon editor from LabVIEW 8.5 days instead of the more advanced new one with layers, gliphys, etc. Once the old style editor shows up, there doesn't seem to be a way to go back to the advanced editor. Has anyone seen this behaviour? I have version 8.5 of LabVIEW still installed, should I remove it? Do I need to restart my computer?
Thanks.
Bob

Here are some of the errors I see ...
Attachments:
ScreenShot057.png ‏18 KB
ScreenShot058.png ‏112 KB
ScreenShot059.png ‏125 KB

Icon Editor Bug/Feature?

In the linked video, I am showing a puzzling behavior of the icon editor (LV 2012 (12.0f3, Windows XP 32 bit):
I have two lines of text defined in the Icon Text tab. The second and the third lines, the other two are empty.
I am trying to draw a frame around them.
If I draw a large frame (in green in the video), things behave as expected (that is everything remains put).
If I draw a narrow frame (my initial intent, in red in the second part of the video), the text jumps up. Not expected (maybe intented, NI will tell me).
Notice that id doesn't matter that I am using line 2 and 3. The behavior also occurs if I move my test to line 1 and 2 instead.
Edit: Actually, while checking that the video was playing correctly from the link, I noticed that the first case is not as I intended it to be, as the jitteriness of Jing (which I used to capture this video) prevented me from drawing a full frame box. The result is that the first line of the text actually also jumps! If I draw a full frame, this does not happen.

The jump occurs in 2009 and 2011 as well. It also seems to be related to whether the box you draw hits the bottom row of pixels or not. It doesn't seem to matter much whether the box is wide or narrow in the left/right direction.
It also seems to be related to whether you have a background template defined. It tries to squeeze the text data into the boundary of the background template, and if a background template is not defined, then it becomes that much more confused as to where it squeezes the text. It uses other non-transparent pixels (such as the box you draw) to determine the vertical positioning of where to squeeze the text.
I don't think it is actually a bug. I think it is an artifact of other code that calculates where to put the text when that code uses inputs that haven't been defined within your icon. As you add those other inputs (turning other pixels non-transparent), it is a recalculation of where to position the text.

Icon Editor bug - random rotations

While editing icons with the new icon editor in LV 2009, I keep finding that my icon (or selection, or layer) rotates when I type the letter "r" into a layer name. Are others seeing this? What tool do I need to have selected to avoid this? I've installed the icon editor update and this bug is still there.
Also, is there some way to define the default VI Icon layer to be something other than a white square with a black border?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I have noticed this, too. In fact, it's pretty easy to reproduce.
Open the icon editor and show the layers page. Now select a layer. At this point pressing "r" should rotate the layer, which makes sense.
Now, click in the layer name, which un-highlights the layer, and any time you type an r it will rotate.
There are some other issues with rotate: if a selection or layer goes outside the icon canvas, it will be trimmed permanently (not so great if you wanted to flip it 180 degrees).
As for changing the default icon background, I'd suggest making some templates for general use. You can save templates from within the Icon Editor. The first thing I do when editing an icon is delete the default layer and select a relevant template I've made. Or you can just use the filled rectangle too. If there is a way to change the default icon, i'd be interested in finding out.
-Barrett
Message Edited by blawson on 11-12-2009 03:27 PM
-Barrett
CLD

Alternate Icon Editors for LV 2013

I am trying to determine if there are any alternate Icon Editors that can be intergrated into LV 2013. I recall a great editor that I used with 8.6 and another pretty good one that I was able to use with 2009 but from what I can find, there is nothing out there compatible with 2013.
Using the default editors, My experience is that the readability of the text has degraded over the years as NI revises the editors. Examples here:
Actual LV 8.6 code wtih icons created with that version (Ignore broken items, old code that is missing things)
Notice that the lower case text is readable which is nice when you have longer words you are trying to get fit into a small space. "Bellows" will not fit using Small Fonts when typed in all Caps. The first part of the B and last part of the S are cut off.
And now, some of these exact same icons re-created in LV 2013
Using the default format (small fonts) there is a definite difference in the quality of the text. In particular, compare the "ER3000" text. It is pretty crisp in the old version but the zeroes are narrow and fuzzy in the new one. The word "Control" is clearly identifiable above but could be read as Control or Central below.
I know icons are not supposed to be used to document the full extent of a vi but given the continuing improvements in graphics capabilities, I would expect the clarity of the icons to improve over time, not degrade.
If anyone knows of an alternate editor that I can try out in 2013, I am ready to do it.
Thanks....
Doug
"My only wish is that I am capable of learning each and every day until my last breath."

Everything was set as default when creating new one. Old one was created w/ built in editor in 8.6 from a few years back. If there is a different font I can use that would appear better in the current editor I will try it but what little I did find was that the Small Font was the only one that would provide useable results.
Doug
"My only wish is that I am capable of learning each and every day until my last breath."

Icon editor sneaks to 2nd monitor

A WindowsXP setup with primary monitor as portrait and secondary as landscape orientation.
But in LabVIEW 2009 the icon editor always appears on the 2nd screen. Most of the
time my 2nd monitor is off but thankfully I turned the 2nd on just to discover this behavior.
Is there an ini file setting to make the icon editor always appear on the primary screen?
Thanks in advance
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi Odd_Modem,
I hope the Icon Editor is working properly now. Please mark GerdW's post as the solution. I've followed the link and verified that it fixes the issue.
Regards,
Imtiaz Chowdhury
Head of Digital Technologies
Brand786

Icon editor VI

I'm using LV2009. I don't know why, but the icon editor doesn't work. So, I check the incon editor VI. As you can see the screen shot, there is an error, which I don't understand.
It used to work until a couple of days ago. Could anyone tell me what's going on there?
Thanks,
Jay

Hi Jay,
If you open context help and hover over the broken wire, what does the window say?
You can repair LabVIEW by going to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. Select National Instruments Software and click "Change/Remove". In the window that opens, search for LabVIEW 2009 and then select Repair. You'll need the disks/installation files to complete the repair.

Icon editor - no glyphs

Hi, I'm using LabView 2009 and have an issue with the Icon Editor - no glyphs are listed. I've tried syncing with NI.com icon library and that still won't work.
I found this thread: http://decibel.ni.com/content/thread/8011?tstart=0 and applied the fix near the end of the thread to GET HTTP.vi. That fixed my original downloading problem (Error 42) but now I run into Error 7. The dialog box says this: Error 7 occurred at File/Directory Info in Check Path.vi->Read PNG File.vi->ni.com_iconlibrary.vi
I found instructions to update the icon library manually (http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361F-01/lvhowto/synchronizing_icon_library/), however the option to manually sync never comes up as the dialog box just closes and reverts me back to the Icon Editor.
Any ideas on how to fix this?
Thanks!

Is your LabVIEW data folder set to read-only?
C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\\My Documents\LabVIEW Data\
The icon editor tries to create two folders:
..\LabVIEW Data\Glyphs
..\LabVIEW Data\Icon Templates
If none of those folders exist and/or it is not possible to get access to the LabVIEW Data folder the icon editor won't be able to show any glyphs/templates.
Attached pls find my version of the LabVIEW Data\Glyphs folder.
http://www.newgistics.com
Attachments:
Glyphs.zip ‏407 KB

LabVIEW2009: How to replace new Icon Editor with old one?

Colleagues,
I really don't like the new icon editor introduced in LabVIEW 2009:
That was nice attempt to make "embedded Photoshop" with lot of features:
But I really don't like it, because:
- it opened EVERY TIME on the RIGHT monitor (I have three monitors, and primary monitor in the middle)
- it takes lot of time for launch (old icon editor was started momentally)
- from usability point of view - it was wrong to place tools on the right side. Commonly they located on the left side (and only in old icon editor, but also in imageprocessing software like Adobe Photoshop). Also front panel UI design... hmmm... this can be better...
- some bugs or changed functionality (for example - select ROI, then press <Del> button - nothing happened)
etc...
Is it possible to replace it with old one:
Ideal solution will be - simple switch between both editors (some introduced features are not so bad).
Thanks in advance,
Andrey.
Message Edited by Andrey Dmitriev on 01-29-2010 11:00 AM
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Go into <LabVIEW>\Resource\Plugins and rename lv_icon.vi. This is the plugin that's called when you invoke the icon editor, and if it's not there, LV reverts to the built-in editor (at least today. I'm not sure how many versions ahead they will keep the code).
You should note that the editor is open source, so you can go in and change what you want (or save yourself time and use the changes others have made, such as PJM's thread here. You may also want to look at the other discussions in that group).
Try to take over the world!

Icon editor lock up in LV2009 for Template VIs (.VIT)

I have reproduced this on two different LabVIEW 2009 installs (two different PCs).
Setup:
- I create a VI and save it as a Template VI (.vit) and then I try to edit the icon for the .vit by right clicking on the icon and selecting "edit icon".
What happens:
- The icon editor does not open and I cannot close the .vit. I can still make changes to the .vit, but I cannot close the .vit without using Win Task Manager.
Any Ideas?

If you double-click on the icon, the icon editor should open. I've only reproduced the issue by using the right-click menu shortcut for the icon editor in a .vit.
To reproduce the issue:
From a .vit right-click the icon and select "Edit Icon"To avoid the issue:
Double-click on the icon to open the icon editor
This appears to work on my system, any other takers?
-Bob
-Bob

Text based VI Icon editor with letter compression

For anyone who is looking for a quick and easy text based icon editor I've posted my latest version in the LAVA CR
http://forums.lavag.org/downloads.html&showfile=56
Description:
This is the second version of my vi icon editor and was created in LV8.2. The purpose is to help quickly create text base icons. The editor can be used in place of the standard NI icon editor or as a stand alone vi. see instructions. My original posting of the icon editor Ver. 1 can be found here
LabVIEW 7.0,7.1 http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?s=&s...ost&p=19022
LabVIEW 8.0 http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?s=&s...ost&p=12920
Instructions:
1: The icon editor was designed to be used as a replacement for the standard NI editor LV8.x only. To get LabVIEW 8.x to use the editor place the three files (lv_icon.vi, color templates.bin and the folder lv_icon_Subvis) in the LabVIEW 8.2\resource\plugins directory.
The next time the icon editor is called LabVIEW will use the lv_icon.vi instead of the standard one.
There is a button on the editor that will allow you to use NI’s editor when a text icon is not desired.
2: The icon editor can also be called from another vi or used as a stand alone tool. Make sure the “From Editor” control is set to false either via terminal in the lower left corner of the connector pane or manually in the FP. This setting indicates to the vi that a vi reference will be used to extract and save the icon information. If the “VI REF” input control is invalid at runtime a dialogue box will appear asking the user to select a vi.
New features:
Along with the auto drawing and Text compressing from version 1, version 2 has 2 new features.
1: In addition to the 2 color format in version 1 the icon editor now supports a 5 color format (Frame, Header text, Header Back, Body Text, and Body Back). This is the standard frame that many programmers use.
2: In version 2 the last 10 icon color sets are saved in a binary file and are recalled each time the editor is open. These color sets can then be selected and reused.
Future Ideas and improvements:
A graphics picker that would import a list of graphics to choose from
Template creators were text zones could be created to avoid interfering with graphics.
Incorporate some or all of the Ni editor functions.
Text extractor that would fill in the text boxes from the icon image.
Please feel free to give me feedback. This version has benefited greatly from ideas given to me by coworkers and other programmers.
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

For anyone who is looking for a quick and easy text based vi icon editor I've posted my latest version in the LAVA CR
http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=56
File: Mark Balla Icon editor V2.2
Author: Mark Balla
[email protected]
Description:
This is the newest version of my vi icon editor and was created in LV8.2. The purpose is to help quickly create text base icons. The editor can be used in place of the standard NI icon editor or as a stand alone vi. see instructions. My original posting of the icon editor Ver. 1 can be found here
LabVIEW 7.0,7.1 http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?s=&s...ost&p=19022
LabVIEW 8.0 http://forums.lavag.org/index.php?s=&s...ost&p=12920
Instructions:
1: The icon editor was designed to be used as a replacement for the standard NI editor LV8.x only. To get LabVIEW 8.x to use the editor place the three files (lv_icon.vi, color templates.bin and the folder lv_icon_Subvis) in the LabVIEW 8.2\resource\plugins directory.
The next time the icon editor is called LabVIEW will use the lv_icon.vi instead of the standard one.
There is a button on the editor that will allow you to use NI's editor when a text icon is not desired.
2: The icon editor can also be called from another vi or used as a stand alone tool. Make sure the "From Editor" control is set to false either via terminal in the lower left corner of the connector pane or manually in the FP. This setting indicates to the vi that a vi reference will be used to extract and save the icon information. If the "VI REF" input control is invalid at runtime a dialogue box will appear asking the user to select a vi.
Version 2.1:
Along with the auto drawing and Text compressing from version 1, version 2 has 2 new features.
1: In addition to the 2 color format in version 1 the icon editor now supports a 5 color format (Frame, Header text, Header Back, Body Text, and Body Back). This is the standard frame that many programmers use.
2: In version 2 the last 10 icon color sets are saved in a binary file and are recalled each time the editor is open. These color sets can then be selected and reused.
Version 2.2:
Along with the all the features from version 2.1, version 2.2 has several new features.
1: A new color picker was added. The standard NI color picker has been replaced by one that will only show the legal 221 colors allowed by LabVIEW for icons.
My thanks to Justin Goeres for the idea.
2:Key navigation has improved. The key navigation will only set focus to the text boxes to navigate between boxes use the tab, enter, up and down keys.
My thanks to boone_93 for the idea.
3:Improved UI. The buttons and current and previous icons have been relocated for a more intuitive look. I have also added tip strips to the buttons and history array.
My thanks to ahull for the idea.
4:Random color picker. A random color button has been added to help pick colors.
My thanks to Dave Graybeal for the idea.
5: FP auto centers. The icon editor will now open in the center of the primary display.
My thanks to tcplomp for the code.
6: The ability to read the text in the icon was added. If the icon to be changed was previously created by this icon editor the program will automatically detect the characters in the icon and convert them back into strings. This function allows for small changes like color changes and spelling mistakes to be changed without having to type all the text over.
This one was all mine.
7:Bug with Panel close fixed. When the user presses the x in the upper right corner the editor will shut down gracefully instead of locking up.
I made a avi file that shows some of the new features for Version 2.2 which I posted the support thread.
Please feel free to give me feedback. This version has benefited greatly from ideas given to me by coworkers and other programmers.
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
Attachments:
picture of editor.png ‏47 KB

How to use high resolution image as glyphs in icon editor?

i want to use a hiigh resolution image in icon editor . how do i use it?

Icons can be up to 32x32 px in size, so first you need to reduce the resolution of the image. Save as .bmp, .jpg or .png.
From the icon editor, select Edit -> Import Glyph from File... and choose your image. Done.
-Benjamin
CLA

LV 2009 Icon editor

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