Environment Options Page

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Select Tools»Options to display the Options dialog box and select Environment from the Category list to display this page.

Use this page to set miscellaneous options for the LabVIEW environment.

This page includes the following components:

End text entry with Enter key—Allows you to press the <Enter> key on the keyboard to end text entry. This checkbox is unchecked by default. If you place a checkmark in this checkbox, the <Enter> key on the keyboard works like the <Enter> key on the numeric keypad, ending text entry. Press the <Ctrl-Enter> keys on the keyboard to embed new lines in a text box. Mac OS Press the <Option-Return> keys. Linux Press the <Alt-Return> keys.
Show tip strips—Displays tip strips. This checkbox is checked by default.
Show created constant labels—Shows labels with the name of the terminal from which the constant was created. This checkbox is unchecked by default.
Open VIs in run mode—Opens VIs in run mode, in which the VI is running or reserved to run, instead of edit mode, in which you can make changes to a VI. This checkbox is unchecked by default.
Use native file dialogs—Windows and Mac OS Uses the native file dialog boxes in LabVIEW so they act similar to other applications on the computer. This checkbox is checked by default. If you remove the checkmark from this checkbox, LabVIEW uses its own platform-independent file dialog boxes with some convenient features, such as providing a list of recent paths and reducing the steps necessary to save VIs in LLBs.
Allow drop-through clicks—Windows and Mac OS Allows you to click the mouse once to activate and select an object in an inactive window. This checkbox is checked by default.
Use pixel-based font sizes—Linux Causes LabVIEW to use pixel size instead of point size to select which fonts to load. This checkbox is unchecked by default. Placing a checkmark in this checkbox causes text to be smaller on large (100 dpi) displays but results in higher-quality cross-platform VIs.
Use Control as menu/meta key—Linux Allows you to use the Control key for menu shortcut accelerators. This checkbox is checked by default.
Keep floating windows on top—Linux Causes floating windows, such as the Controls and Functions palettes and the Context Help window, to appear on top of other windows. The window manager must support this feature or this option has no effect. Some versions of GNOME and KDE support floating windows. This checkbox is checked by default.

Show/hide floating windows on focus change—Linux Causes LabVIEW to show or hide palettes and hide all floating windows when another application has window focus. This checkbox is checked by default.

Note This option works well only if you have to click a window to give it focus. If the window manager is configured with a focus policy of the focus following the mouse or the focus on enter or exit, you should remove the checkmark from this checkbox.

Automatically close VISA sessions—Automatically closes VISA sessions left open by the application when the top-level VI becomes idle. This checkbox is unchecked by default.
Skip Getting Started window on launch—Opens a new, blank VI instead of the Getting Started window when you launch LabVIEW. This checkbox is unchecked by default.
Treat read-only VIs as locked—Primarily used for source control, this option restricts editing on read-only VIs. This checkbox is checked by default. If you do not place a checkmark in this checkbox, you can edit VIs even though they are read-only, but you cannot save them. If you place a checkmark in this checkbox, a VI that is read-only opens as locked, and you cannot edit it.
- Do not save automatic changes—Does not prompt you to save any changes automatically implemented by LabVIEW. You do not need to save these changes because LabVIEW implements the changes each time the VI is loaded. Changes automatically implemented by LabVIEW include recompiling, converting from an older version, and updating type definitions or fonts. This checkbox is unchecked by default.
Use native appearance—Linux Selects which user interface style to support on Linux. This checkbox is checked by default.
Disable menu animation—Disables menu animation features, such as fading or scrolling menus, on Windows 2000. You must have this feature enabled on the computer to disable or enable this feature in LabVIEW. Refer to the Windows 2000 documentation for information about enabling window animation on the computer. This checkbox is unchecked by default.
Use abridged menus—Windows and Linux Displays only the most recently used menu items by default. This checkbox is checked by default. Remove the checkmark from this checkbox to display all menu items by default. The option does not affect palette views. From a palette, click the View button and select Always Visible Categories»Show All Categories from the shortcut menu to display all palette categories.
Lock automatic tool selection on—Keeps automatic tool selection enabled when you press the <Tab> or <Shift-Tab> keys. This checkbox is checked by default. Remove the checkmark from this checkbox to configure LabVIEW to disable automatic tool selection when you press the <Tab> key and to toggle automatic tool selection when you press the <Shift-Tab> keys.
Enable Just-In-Time Advice—Displays the Just-In-Time Advice window when you perform certain actions in LabVIEW. The dialog box alerts you to changes between a previous version of LabVIEW and the current version of LabVIEW. This checkbox is checked by default. Remove the checkmark from this checkbox to disable the Just-In-Time Advice window so it does not appear while you use LabVIEW.
Enable Windows Explorer for LLB files—Windows 2000/XP Enables Windows Explorer support for .llb files so double-clicking a .llb file displays the contents of the library. You can open, move, copy, rename, and delete files in the library, and you can mark a VI in the library as a top-level VI. This checkbox is checked by default. Deleting a file from a .llb file in Windows Explorer permanently deletes the file and does not store the file in the Recycle Bin.
If you display the contents of a .llb file in Large Icons view, Windows Explorer displays the icons of the files in the library. If a VI is a top-level VI and the icon is a 16-color or 256-color icon, a glyph with a red border appears on top of the VI icon. If a VI is a top-level VI and the icon is black and white, a glyph with a thick border appears on top of the VI icon.

If you remove the checkmark from this checkbox, LabVIEW opens all the top-level VIs in the library when you double-click a .llb file.
Maximum undo steps per VI—Sets the maximum number of steps that you can undo. If Use default is checked, you cannot edit this field. The default is 8 steps. The maximum number you can enter is 99. The minimum number you can enter is 1.
- Use default—Sets Maximum undo steps per VI to its default value of 8. This checkbox is checked by default. To edit Maximum undo steps per VI, remove the checkmark from the checkbox.
Clear Password Cache—Clears the LabVIEW password cache. If you have password-protected VIs, LabVIEW caches the password when you access the block diagrams so that you do not have to re-enter the password in the same session. If you clear the password cache, the next time you access a password-protected block diagram, you must re-enter the password. When you clear the password cache, LabVIEW closes any open block diagrams of password-protected VIs.

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