Storing front panel values between application runs

Labview 6.1 built application
I have built an application in which the operator can change setpoints that transmit through datasocket to a central controller.
The operator needs to be able to close his PC down, each time he reboots the application reloads with the default levels, this can cause alarm problems etc.
Is there a way of him entering the values to an area that will save his last values and reload as the datasocket values when the executable is restarted?
(his/her) no offence.
Any code or advice, thank you.

Hi,
You can use configuration files VI placed in the File I/O section. I use LV7 and It has it, I supose LV6 also has it.
What you can do is create an ini file with a configuration by default
and then when program starts you read it and load this values to your
window. You can load them reading from the ini file when you open the
window that contains these levels. Finally, in this window you can
create a button to save the new values that the operator enters for the
levels. So If the operator need to save new values, he/she will press
that button and the values will be saved to the ini file and then when
operator closes his PC, reboots it and restarts the application the
default values will be the last values the operator has entered and
saved in the previous execution of the program because each time you
restart it the values are loaded from the ini file.
I hope this helps you,
ToNi.

Similar Messages

How do I store front panel values on LabVIEW RT

I have a program that auto launches on a PXI. Is there any way to store the front panel values, so that the program starts up again with the last values that were used? The ini file method will not work because I am using LabVIEW RT.
Regards,
S G
Certified LabVIEW Architect, Certified TestStand Developer, Certified Professional Instructor

The best way to initialize inputs in RT is to use constants, or use the Communication Wizard in LabVIEW 7.0 to create a VI that initializes communication to the code running on the RT target. This becomes your user interface. One final suggestion is to use the Operate>>Make Current Values Default feature that is available in RT also.

Can not open front panel sub VI when running an application VI.

When I create an application of my program a problem occurs. When I select options (press a button or so) from the main front panel that should result in a popup menu (sub VI cal) LabVIEW indicates that something is happening but the front panel does not open. The mouse indicator changes to the time glass so LabVIEW is doing something but the window of the sub VI does not open.
The problem has the same characteristics on several places. There are some sub VI front panels that opens but I ca not find the reason for why these open and not other.

Hi
there are three ways trhough which you can force a subVI to show its front panel
1. open the perticular SUB VI
click File->VI properties select window appearence catagory.
click customize button and select "Show Front Panel when called" and "close afterwads if originally closed" check boxes
save the VI
whenever you use this Sub VI every time it will pop up front panel
2. dont perform the changes suggested in option 1. place the instance of subVI in your main application and if you want that instance to popup a front panel then right click on subVI and Select "SubVI Node Setup" again select "Show Front Panel when called" and "close afterwads if originally closed" check boxes
with this option only certain instances of SUB VI will cause pop up to occur
3. this is the most flexible option. use invoke node to show front panel. in invoke node select show front panel method to popup the VI and use close front panel method to close the pop up window.
Tushar Jambhekar
[email protected]
Jambhekar Automation Solutions
LabVIEW Consultancy, LabVIEW Training
Rent a LabVIEW Developer, My Blog

CDE Front Panel change between sessions

I'm trying to change the front panel workspace buttons so they change between sessions. However, when I log out and back in again they are reset back to "One", "Two", "Three" and "Four".
After I changed the label on one of the buttons, I brought up the Style manager and selected "Set As Home". I went to the $HOME/.dt/sessions/home directory and found the dt.resources file did contain the new label for the button. However, when I log out and back in again the buttons are not set to the new value. What am I doing wrong, please?

Hi Filip,
About the 6 second delay. Did you changed anything in the "function generator.vi"?
And when you change the amplitude of your signal, is it first displayed on the front panel,
or does your output change first.
I am asking you this because i have trouble opening the example. All our pc's have Labview 8.5 installed
and 6.1 is just abit to long ago to be compeletly compatible. So i need to make an image of a pc then uninstall
Labview 8.5 and install an older version. I can open the vi with 8.5 but many subvi's are missing and i can't run
it so i can't see if i have a problem.
So let me know if you changed anything? From what i have seen there isn't anything wrong with the vi.
I think the problem is the following. When we select continuous generation we make the hardware fill a buffer with samples.
so the buffer can be read every time at the same moment and the signal appears continuous. But let's say we change the signal,
then it will only disapear after all the pervious buffer items are read out. So i think if you make the buffer smaller the delay should be smaller.
Perhaps you can take a look at that too.
Kind Regards,
Joris Donders
National Instruments
Applications Engineering
www.ni.com/support

How to open front panel of a VI running in RT.

Hi,
I have an application to read the encoder position using the cRIO program. I have made an executable and this application runs as startup application whenever the controller reboots. Right now, i am accessing the VI of the startup exe through Remote Panel connection. This works fine but everytime i close the remote panel , i have to reboot the controller for the next view.
So is there any alterntaive to open the front panel of the VI.
I tried using VIServer but ran into errors. (i tried using front panel -open property node.did not work)
Also i do not have any VIs stored on the controller. Only the exe is stored on the ni-rt/startup folder on the RT controller.
Please let me know how to open this VI.
Thanks.

Hi Ben,
When i close the remote front panel the first time, i am terminating the RT VI which is running on startup.
So i had to reboot everytime to access the remote VI. I guess that the VI (exe) should be continuosly running when the RT is started up. The remote panel only should be opened and closed. After I close the remote panel , i want a windows VI to be opened up.
I have a Windows VI which programmatically opens connection to the RT server for opening the remote panel. The VI runs. When the user clicks Exit on this RT VI, the VI running is stopped and then another windows VI opens up. This works fine for first time. Since the RT VI is terminated, second time , if I run, it says, VI not in server memory.
Is there a method to close the remote panel programmatically in the RT VI itself. I have a Exit button in this RT VI, so if the user clicks, Exit, the program has to be running, but the remote panel has to close. There is a method called close connection to client , but this does not work in RT , as this requires VI path.. Right now , when the remote panel RT VI is launced, to close the remote panel, i click on the 'close' button on the VI title bar. Again when the remote panel is launched, there is no error. but is there a method to close the remote panel in the server(RT VI itself). i have attached the VI.
Thank you.
Attachments:
Dummytest.vi ‏39 KB

What can affect the size of a front panel object between versions of Windows?

Greetings, all!
I have a client that wants to use a piece of LabVIEW code on Windows XP, Vista, and 7. The application was originally written to run on XP machines, so everything looks OK there. However, on Vista or 7, certain front panel objects appear larger than they do on the XP machine (in one example, all of the string fields in an array of strings are taller). Other objects (such as a text label) appear smaller.
The machines in question all appear to have comparable DPI settings, and monitor resolution does not seem to be a factor. The application uses Application Font in various sizes in the cases of interest. Can anyone suggest some other things we can check?
Thanks!

This issue is coming up more and more lately. Particularly as people move to Win7 machines. I've seen differences between my home Vista machine and my work XP machine.
It comes down to the system fonts used by the different OS's. XP's basic font is Tahoma. Vista uses Segoe. I believe Win7 is the same as Vista, but I'm not sure. The fonts appear similar, but one font or the other is slightly larger. So any features that are based on a font size will change. This includes the sizing of labels. Text within local, shared, global variables, and references. Enough that it can cause wires to move a few pixels on a BD, and objects that are aligned on one system to look slightly misaligned on another.
I think that if you set the fonts you use to a specific font, rather than Application font (which is taken from one of the current Windows font settings, you will avoid the issue. The other possibility is to define which font is used for the application font within your LabVIEW.ini. (Or the application's .ini file if it is built into an .exe.)
Do some searching on the forums for application font, system font, dialog font, windows versions. You'll find quite a few threads where people had different variations of this problem.

Hiding front panel with built applications

I've seen and used the techniques to run a VI with a hidden front panel. I have the VI open a reference to itself and it works as expected. However when I build my code into an application, it no longer works. Watching Task Manager I see the application quit when the panel becomes hidden. I've even tried building the window-less.zip example I downloaded from the NI website. It worked in VI form but not in EXE form. Anyone have any suggestions?
Andy Brown
Averna

Andy,
I ran into this problem back in LabVIEW 5.1 when I was developing a game in LabVIEW. I had an introductory screen that allowed the user to run the tutorial or play the game, and upon selection I hid the introductory screen and displayed the panel of the appropriate subVI (tutorial or game). Unfortunately when I built an executable, it would end once I chose to run a subVI, and I later found out that this is because closing the front panel of an executable essentially closes its reference. My workaround was to use LabVIEW 6i and the new tab control to keep all of my front panel operations in the same VI, and programmatically switch between the tabs in order to display different screens (like tutorial, enter info screens, the actual game, etc.)
I hope this
suggestion helps. There may be a way to bypass the problem with closing EXEs once their front panels are gone, but I do not know of one.
Good luck with your application, and have a pleasant day.
Sincerely,
Darren Nattinger
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
Darren Nattinger, CLA
LabVIEW Artisan and Nugget Penman

Front Panel values lost upon save

I am just taking my first steps with Labview. I have created a couple of VIs and have managed to get I2C communication happening through a third party DAQ box. The problem I am having is fairly simple, I am trying to save VIs but they are not retaining the values I have entered in the Front Panel.
I have a top level VI and a couple of subVIs that contain lower level functionality for sending I2C messages. The top level VI has a couple of value controls that let me enter device addresses, etc. It also has groups of toggle switches that I am using to set bits that I later combine into bytes of data that I can send.
But whenever I save a VI the front panel settings are defaulting to some other value. I dont understand it, I just want the value box to hold the number I entered. And more importantly in this case I need the array of toggle switches to stay where I set them so when I run it again the same bytes are transmitted. But each time I open the VI, the toggle switches are all greyed out and set to 0.
Is this normal? How do I get controls to retain there values? Is there a design reason they do not?
Thanks for any advice.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

You may also consider initializing these values from a file. There are lots of posts which go into details about how you can do this. This is a much more flexible and maintainable approach then relying on the default value of a control.
Mark Yedinak
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

Saving Image of front panel in an application

See attached image.
Using my source code, I can save the image of the front panel with no problem. However, when i build an application and run this, the image of the front panel does not save. Can anyone help?
Attachments:
Save Image of Front Panel.JPG ‏19 KB

This piece of code does the trick, don't mind the wiring.
André
Message Edited by andre.buurman@carya on 09-17-2007 05:39 PM
Regards,
André
Using whatever version of LV the customer requires. (LV5.1-LV2012) (www.carya.nl)
Attachments:
Top level dir.PNG ‏10 KB

Opening multiple sub VIs (front panels) in an application

Hi,
I am working on a small process control application. The main VI represents a layout of various equipment (pumps, valves, heat exchangers). Each TYPE of equipment
can be turned on/off through a particular subVI. The subVI is displayed when the operator clicks on the component. At the moment only one subVI front panel can be loaded. I would like to have multiple panels open at the same time; this to include multiple instances of a same VI and different subVIs.
I have tried to set properties in the WindowsApperance dialog box but cannot acheive the desired operation.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

Trust my personal experience: You do NOT want multiple dialog windows open. The users will hate you and curse your name if you do. You really want to use subpanels and limit what the user can do. Subpanels are a way of inserting a VI's front panel into another VI's front panel. So you want to have a section of your main front panel that the user can load whatever control subVI they need.
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions
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How to see the full program on the front panel when it is running?

Hi, my program is really big, and when I run it and obverserve the program on the front panel, I cannot drag the window to see the other parts. Also, I tried the method like hold control, then press + to zoom in or press - to zoom out. However, labview seems doesnt have this function. Does anyone know how I can see the full program then it is running, maybe zoom out or drag the windows? thanks!
Attachments:
not running.png ‏85 KB
running.png ‏72 KB

You should use a Tab control. Group your front panel objects together and put the grouped items in tabs. Then you can select the Tab you want to display while the program is running.
It is never a good idea to make your screen too big to fit on one display. This goes for the block diagram also. If you have to scroll to see it all, use more subvi's. Make it modular. A state machine is a good way to put a lot of code on one display screen.
- tbob
Inventor of the WORM Global

Pass variable values between Applications,but not through URL.

Greetings,
My objective is to pass a value from one page in one application to another page in a diferent application.
I am aware through some posts i ahve read in the forum that it is possible to pass the value through URL,
however besides being unable to do so i don't want the user to be able to see the value in the url.
Also it may be a big value and there are URL size limitations as well as not looking pleasant.
I have considered keeping the value in a database field, but i would like to use this only as a last resort since the value is temporary and when it gets to destination page it will disapear.
Anyone is aware of a solution for my problem?
My Homepage
Best Regards

Hi Igor,
I don't know if the APEX_UTIL. [SAVEKEY_NUM|http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B28359_01/appdev.111/b32258/api.htm#sthref2583] / SAVEKEY_VC2 functions work across apps, but you could try. The other thing you could try is setting a cookie using the [OWA_COOKIE|http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B28359_01/appdev.111/b28419/w_cook.htm] package.
--Jennifer

Question about subvi front panel

I want to call a subvi in the main program and do like
this:
1. When the main program calls the subvi, the subvi shows its front
panel and executes.
2. After the subvi finishes, it can close the front panel.
Now, I meet a problem: I can popup the subvi node setup dialog to enable
"show front panel when called", which implements the first one, but I
can not close the front panel until originally closed(main
program stops). How can I close the subvi's front panel(after it
finishes running) even when the main program is still running?
Thanks in advances.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Remco Breen" wrote:
>
> [email protected] wrote in message <[email protected]>...
> >In article <[email protected]>,
> >"Kevin B. Kent" wrote:
> >> [email protected] wrote:
> >>
> >> > Now, I meet a problem: I can popup the subvi node setup dialog to
> >enable
> >> > "show front panel when called", which implements the first one,
but
> >I
> >> > can not close the front panel until originally closed(main
> >> > program stops). How can I close the subvi's front panel(after it
> >> > finishes running) even when the main program is still running?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> Select the "close front panel if originally closed" option.
> >> in addition to the "Show front panel when called"
> >>
> >> Kevin Kent
> >
> >
> >I have tried this, in this way, the subvi's front panel is closed
only
> >after the main program stops. In fact, what I want is to close the
> >subvi's front panel even the main program is still running.
> >
> >
> >zhljh
> >
> >
> >Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> >Before you buy.
>
> Another option would be to open a VI reference (found under
"application
> control") and tie that to a property node and select the property
"front
> panel.open". Change it to a control and attach a boolean false to it
when
> you like to close.
>
> RB.
>
I think a more elegant way of closing the SUB VI is to start off the way
that Remco states regarding opening a VI reference. Only in the Sub VI,
you should program a Terminate control (such as an Abort button to exit
from a While loop... or something similar) and via the VI reference,
select the 'Set Control Value' method to gracefully stop the Sub VI
execution. Of course the Sub VI will have to set the close if originally
closed attrib set.
There is a great source of example LabVIEW apps at:
http://digital.ni.com/explprog.nsf/web%2Fswgrp?OpenView&Start=1&Count=50
0&Expand=3.7#3.7
In particular, see "Stopping a Running SubVI from the Main VI Using VI
Server" example. It demostrates this techniques better than I can
explain it. Hope this help.
Rick
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Show front panel of subVI on a real-time target

Hi,
I'm running an application on a real-time target (14.00). On the main front panel of the application, I have a button who open another VI with the invoke node method but this component doesn't work with Real-Time taget. So, how can I show the front panel without this method ?
Thank you

Hint: RT = there should be no GUI.
RT applications are meant to just run off on their own. GUI is not part of a real RT system since that adds a non-deterministic process to the system, adding jitter (which is a big no-no in RT). What you should be doing is making a Windows host application that can communicate with the RT system (via Network Streams, TCP/IP, etc). The host application acts as the GUI/HMI.
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VI locks up when front panel is displayed

Hi
Firstly, I apologise if I’ve sent this to the wrong forum – I’m not sure if this is a TestStand or Labview related issue or possibly both.
I have a test procedure developed using Labview 7.1 and TestStand 3.1. It’s run from TestStand’s Operator Interface VI (full version), and executes about a dozen TestStand sequences in turn which call lower level VIs that perform the actual tests.
The code was written on a Dell GX240 Pentium 4 PC, with Windows 2000 + SP4 installed and runs without a hitch. However, I also have a second PC, same model & spec, but running Windows XP + SP3 instead of Win2K. I’ve also installed the same versions of Labview & TestStand on it, and copied across all my TestStand sequences & VIs into the same working directory. However, when I run the program on this machine, again using the same Operator Interface, it executes until about half way through and then hangs up.
In several tests, I call up a graphical user interface VI which displays a picture and prompts the operator to click on either a ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’ button – the actual text being passed as a parameter. When the lock up occurs, the front panel is displayed, but there’s no picture and the buttons are blank. Up to that point, previous calls to the VI have executed ok.
If I modify the step that causes the problem, to call another VI - for example, a sub VI that doesn’t display a front panel - the new VI executes and the program continues to run. If I then change this VI’s configuration so that it’s front panel is displayed at run time, the problem re-occurs - the front panel outline appears but everything then freezes.
Attempting to close the front panel window, results in either error code –18001 and the message ‘an error occurred accessing the Labview ActiveX automation server’ being displayed or the Windows prompt to close Labview as it’s not responding. Usually, clicking ‘End Program’ causes the PC to crash out & re-boot.
Skipping TestStand sequences, whether they execute the GUI VI or not, just moves the point where the lock up occurs further down the list of tests, to the next step where the GUI VI is called. It’s almost as if something isn’t being closed properly when the program runs, and eventually reaches some limit, but why this doesn’t appear to effect the Windows 2000 PC, I’m at a loss.
Very much appreciate anyone’s thoughts.
Thanks
Bruce

Hi Bruce,
I found a KnowledgeBase article relating to the error you are seeing.
It describes error 18001 "Error occurred accessing LV activeX automation server".
Let me know if this helps you out.
This problem may also be due to how you have configured the Distributed COM (DCOM) settings on your machine. You will need to ensure that your DCOM settings allows the LabVIEW ActiveX Server to be launched and accessed through ActiveX automation. Even Administrator accounts can be denied launch and access permissions. To modify these permissions follow the steps below for Windows XP:
Login to Windows using a UserID that has administrator privileges.
Select Start»Run and enter dcomcnfg.exe. This displays the Component Services dialog window.
Navigate to Component Services»Computers»My Computer and select DCOM Config. Ignore the warnings that may appear.
Right-click on LabVIEW Application, TestStandLVRTS or the name of your LabVIEW ActiveX Server and select Properties to open the LabVIEW Application Properties dialog window. Select the Security tab.
You must give permission to the appropriate users so that they can access the LabVIEW server. You should give everyone access permissions and appropriate users launch permission. Only users who have launch permission will be able to access the server. Add permissions by selecting Customize and Edit for each of the three permission settings and manually adding permissions for each user.
I doubled checked that LabVIEW 7.1 and 3.1 are compatible with windows XP and they are. Just to make sure, it is 32bit or 64bit you are using?
Let me know how you get on.
Kind Regards
Lewis Gear CLD
Check out my LabVIEW UAV

Storing front panel values between application runs

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