You are here: NI Home > Support > Product Reference > Manuals > LabVIEW 8.5 Help

Building the Front Panel



Concepts

Configuring Front Panel Objects
Configuring the Front Panel
Front Panel Controls and Indicators
Labeling
Text Characteristics
Designing User Interfaces
Creating Custom Controls, Indicators, and Type Definitions
Dragging and Dropping in LabVIEW
Using XControls

Using XControl Abilities
Using XControls in VIs

How-To

Configuring Front Panel Objects

Adding Space to the Front Panel or Block Diagram without Resizing the Window
Aligning Objects
Changing Indicators to Controls
Changing Controls to Indicators
Clearing Front Panel Indicators
Coloring Objects and Backgrounds
Configuring Controls and Indicators
Configuring User-Defined Colors
Copying and Pasting Objects
Copying Colors from One Object to Another
Creating Transparent Objects
Displaying All Hidden Controls and Indicators
Displaying Hidden Front Panel Objects
Displaying Scroll Bars of Controls and Indicators
Distributing Objects
Grouping and Locking Objects
Hiding Front Panel Controls and Indicators
Reordering Objects
Replacing a Front Panel Object from the Clipboard
Replacing Front Panel Objects
Scaling Front Panel Objects
Selecting Custom Colors
Setting Item Dragging and Dropping in Controls
Setting Keyboard Shortcuts for Controls
Setting the Tabbing Order of Front Panel Objects
Showing and Hiding Labels and Digital Displays
Importing Graphics in LabVIEW

Importing Background Images for Panes
Importing Graphics on Linux
Importing Graphics on Mac OS
Importing Graphics on Windows

Front Panel Controls and Indicators

Array, Matrix & Cluster Controls and Indicators

Arrays

Adding Elements to Arrays
Changing Array Default Values
Changing Array Dimensions
Clearing an Array
Creating Array Controls and Indicators
Default Sizes and Values of Arrays
Determining the Size of Arrays
Displaying an Array in a Table
Displaying or Hiding Index Displays
Moving Arrays and Clusters
Selecting, Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Array Cells
Setting Array Default Values
Tabbing through Elements of an Array or Cluster

Clusters

Changing Cluster Controls to Indicators and Cluster Indicators to Controls
Creating Cluster Controls and Indicators
Modifying Cluster Element Order
Moving Arrays and Clusters
Resizing Clusters
Setting Cluster Default Values
Tabbing through Elements of an Array or Cluster

Variant Control and Indicator

Boolean Controls

Changing the Mechanical Action of a Boolean Object
Configuring a Mixed Checkbox
Creating a Radio Buttons Control
Creating and Operating Boolean Controls and Indicators
Customizing Boolean Objects with Imported Graphics
Editing the Labels of Buttons

Container Controls

Configuring Subpanel Controls
Loading a Front Panel in a Subpanel Control
Tab Controls

Adding Pages to Tab Controls
Configuring Options for Tab Controls
Configuring Tab Control Pages Programmatically
Creating Tab Controls
Duplicating Pages on Tab Controls
Making a Control Visible on All Pages of a Tab Control
Removing Pages from Tab Controls
Reordering Pages on Tab Controls

Graph Controls and Indicators
I/O Controls and Indicators

Building Digital Tables
Configuring I/O Controls

Listboxes, Tree Controls, and Tables

Adding Header Text to Listboxes, Tables, and Tree Controls
Adding Symbols to Listboxes and Tree Controls
Coloring Listboxes, Multicolumn Listboxes, Tree Controls, and Tables
Configuring Cells for Multiple Line Input
Creating a Tree Control
Creating Listboxes
Creating Multicolumn Listboxes
Deleting Rows in Listboxes and Tree Controls
Disabling or Enabling Listbox and Tree Control Items
Displaying Components in Listboxes, Tables, Tree Controls, and Digital Data Controls
Editing Data in Tables
Editing Listbox and Tree Control Cells at Run Time
Entering Data in Tables
Indenting Tree Control Items
Inserting Items in Listbox and Tree Controls
Inserting or Deleting Rows or Columns in Listboxes
Inserting or Deleting Rows or Columns of Data in Tables
Limiting Tree Control Item Selection to Siblings
Opening and Closing Tree Control Items
Resizing Rows and Columns in Listboxes, Tables, and Tree Controls
Selecting Listbox and Tree Control Items at Run Time
Selecting Parent Items in Tree Controls
Selecting Table Cells, Rows, or Columns
Setting Case Sensitivity in Listboxes and Tree Controls
Setting Column Widths at Run Time
Setting Expand/Contract Symbols in Tree Controls
Setting the Number of Items You Can Select in Listboxes and Tree Controls
Using Tables

Numeric Controls and Indicators

Adding Color Ramps to Dials, Knobs, and Gauges
Adding Sliders or Needles
Adding Text Labels to Numeric Objects with Scale
Changing Data Ranges of Numeric Controls and Indicators
Changing Fill Options for Slide Controls and Indicators
Changing Format and Precision of Numeric Controls and Indicators
Changing Scale Limits
Changing Scrolling Ranges of Scroll Bar Controls
Changing Values of Numeric Objects with a Scale
Characters Numeric Controls and Indicators Accept
Configuring the Time and Date in a Time Stamp Control
Displaying Higher Digits of Precision in a Time Stamp Control
Displaying Radixes on Numeric Objects
Placing Arbitrary Markers on Scales
Scaling Slide and Rotary Controls and Indicators
Setting the Color in a Color Box
Using Scroll Bar Controls
Using the Increment and Decrement Buttons
Valid Percent Codes for Numeric Data Types

Refnum Controls

Creating Strictly Typed Refnums
Refnum Controls
Switching Between Strictly Typed and Weakly Typed Control Refnums
Types of Refnum Controls

Ring & Enum Controls

Adding Items to Enumerated Type Controls
Adding Picture Items to Ring Controls
Adding Text Items in Ring Controls
Assigning Specific Numeric Values to Ring Control Items
Configuring Ring Controls to Allow Undefined Numeric Values
Creating a Ring Control
Creating an Enumerated Type Control
Disabling or Enabling Ring Control Items
Displaying Numeric Values of Ring Controls and Constants
Removing Items from Ring Controls
Selecting Items in Ring and Enumerated Type Controls at Run Time

String & Path Controls

Adding Strings in Combo Box Controls
Changing Values of Path Controls
Configuring Browse Options of Path Controls
Configuring Combo Box Controls to Allow Undefined String Values
Empty Paths
Entering a Carriage Return into a String
Entering a Linefeed into a String
Entering a Tab Character into a String
Entering or Changing Text in a String Control
Removing Strings from Combo Box Controls
Selecting and Entering Strings in Combo Box Controls at Run Time
Specifying Custom Values for Combo Box Strings
Using Symbolic Paths
Configuring String Controls and Indicators

Backslash ('\') Codes Display
Enable Wrapping
Hex Display
Limit to Single Line
Normal Display
Password Display
Update Value while Typing

Labeling

Aligning Labels and Captions to Preset Positions
Changing Captions Programmatically
Changing Text Characteristics
Creating Captions
Creating Free Labels
Editing Labels
Locking Labels and Captions
Moving Owned Labels and Captions
Rotating Text Labels

Designing User Interfaces

Creating a Dialog Box
Aligning Objects Using the Alignment Grid
Creating Splitter Bars and Panes
Creating Status Bars
Creating Toolbars
Configuring Splitter Bars
Configuring Panes
Creating Template Controls
Defining a Minimum Window Size
Deleting Objects
Maintaining Window Proportions with Screen Resolution
Moving Objects
Resizing Labels
Resizing Multiple Objects to the Same Size
Resizing Objects
Selecting Objects
Setting a Single Front Panel Object to Scale
Setting All Objects on a Front Panel to Scale
Fitting a Single Front Panel Object to a Pane
Using Decorations on the Front Panel

Creating Custom Controls, Indicators, and Type Definitions

Caveats and Recommendations when Creating Custom Controls and Indicators
Creating Custom Controls and Indicators from the Front Panel
Creating Custom Controls and Indicators Using the New Dialog Box
Creating Type Definitions and Strict Type Definitions
Customizing Controls and Indicators that are Parts of Controls and Indicators
Editing Saved Custom Controls and Indicators
Editing Saved Type Definitions and Saved Strict Type Definitions
Importing Graphics into Boolean Controls and Indicators
Adding Custom Controls and Indicators to Front Panels and Block Diagrams
Reestablishing the Link to a Type Definition or Strict Type Definition

Dragging and Dropping in LabVIEW

Creating Custom Drag and Drop Data Types
Dragging and Dropping in String, Tree, Listbox, Multicolumn Listbox, and Path Controls

Creating XControls

Creating an XControl Facade
Creating XControl Abilities
Creating XControl Properties
Creating XControl Methods
Altering the Appearance of XControls
Resizing XControls
Debugging XControls
Editing XControls That Are in Use