Boost Productivity with Quick Drop in LabVIEW 8.6

For more than 20 years, National Instruments has continually expanded the LabVIEW graphical system design platform with cutting-edge features to offer developers innovative tools with every upgrade and new add-on. LabVIEW palettes contain hundreds of items, which can make it time-consuming for you to find the tools you need fast. With Quick Drop, introduced in LabVIEW 8.6, you can rapidly find and place LabVIEW front panel and block diagram objects without navigating the palettes or initiating a search.

Video of Quick Drop in Action

This video demonstrates the use of Quick Drop to quickly find and place objects on the block diagram of a LabVIEW VI.  Playback is at actual speed.

Background

Finding the correct function or snippet of code can be challenging in any language. Text-based development environments depend on proper syntax, but many modern development environments help by automatically completing partially typed functions using predictive text.

Figure 1. NI LabWindows™/CVI software automatically generates a list of matching items for partially completed functions.

While the LabVIEW graphical development environment has always required a computer mouse to place and position objects, Quick Drop now helps you quickly navigate to the correct VI with a few simple keystrokes before placing the item with the mouse.

To begin using Quick Drop, press CTRL and Space. The dialog that appears contains a list of all the VIs available in the palettes.

Figure 2. Press CTRL + Space to show the Quick Drop dialog.

You can filter the list by typing a phrase from the title of the VI you need. Quick Drop shortens the list as you type to display items with names containing your entered text. Quick Drop also applies predictive text to your query using the first VI in the palette that begins with the same letters.

In the Figure 3 example, the user has typed “t-r-a-n.” LabVIEW attempts to automatically predict the name of the object using the first matching entry. The filtered list shows candidates that contain “t-r-a-n” somewhere in the name.

Figure 3. Quick Drop automatically completes queries with the first VI that begins with the same letters and shows all other possible matches in the list.

Quick Drop automatically places the highlighted item on the mouse cursor so you can type the name of a function and click once on the block diagram or front panel to place the object. If Quick Drop cannot predict your search, you can select the correct item from the list of matching results.

You can also configure shortcuts within Quick Drop to help access the VIs you use frequently without scrolling through results by clicking on the “Shortcuts” button from the Quick Drop dialog.

Figure 4. Click the “Shortcuts” button to define custom shortcuts for your most commonly used palette items.

You can make complicated VI names or VIs that share the first part of a name with other VIs more readily available by linking them to a two- or three-letter shortcut. It is recommended that you use letters that you can easily reach with your nondominant hand to keep your dominant hand on the mouse.

Figure 5. Try to define shortcuts using two or three letters.

LabVIEW stores your configured shortcuts in the LabVIEW.ini file. Copy and paste the value of QuickDropDiagramShortcuts into the LabVIEW.ini file to transfer them to another installation. Find an example list of shortcuts below or download one in the attached text file.

• ad1 = increment
• cs = case structure
• evstr = event structure
• fs = for loop
• wat = wait
• ws = while loop

Download example shortcuts to paste into the LabVIEW.ini file here.

If you are a new developer, you still need palettes to find required functionality by drilling into the appropriate category. However, as you become more familiar with LabVIEW and function names, Quick Drop enables you to place the desired VI without navigating palettes. This is valuable for improving productivity as the default palettes grow with installed modules and additional functionality.

To learn more about new LabVIEW 8.6 features, visit the LabVIEW 8.6 portal at ni.com.

To use the latest features, launch LabVIEW online.

 

The mark LabWindows is used under a license from Microsoft Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

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