Programmatically Modifying the Appearance of a Decoration in LabVIEW

Updated Nov 25, 2020

Environment

Software

  • LabVIEW Base
  • LabVIEW Full
  • LabVIEW Professional

How can I programmatically modify the appearance of decorations while a VI is running? For example, I may want to change the dimensions, position, color, or text of a decoration. 

Decorations can be programmatically controlled in LabVIEW through property nodes. The steps below describe a method to obtain programmatic access to decorations:
  1. Add a VI Server Reference to the block diagram by right-clicking to show the Functions Palette » Application Control subpallete » VI Server Reference.
  2. Right click the VI Server Reference and select Create » Property for VI Class » Front Panel.
  3. Right-click the Front Panel Reference terminal and select Create » Property for Panel Class » Decorations[]. This gives you an array of reference to all of the decorations on the front panel.
  4. Place an Index Array, Programming » Array » Index Array on the block diagram.
  5. Create a constant to wire to the Index terminal and wire the Decorations[] terminal to the n-dimension array terminal.
  6. Right-click the output of the Index Array and select the desired property in the Create » Property for Decoration Class menu.
  7. Right-click the Decoration Class property node and select Change All To Write.
  8. Right-click the input to the desired property and select Create » Control.

Note: This image is a LabVIEW snippet which includes LabVIEW code that you can reuse in your project. To use a snippet right-click the image, save it to your computer and drag the file onto your LabVIEW diagram.
In order to specifically edit the text of a free label, follow steps 1-5 above and then continue with the following steps:
  1. Add a To More Specific Class VI to the block diagram. Right-click the block diagram and select Programming » Application Control » To More Specific Class.
  2. Right click the Target Class terminal and select Create » Constant.
  3. Specify the Text class by clicking the To More Specific Class and selecting Generic » GObject » Decoration » Text » Text. 
  4. Right-click the Specific Class Reference terminal and select Create » Property for Text Class » Text.

Note: This image is a LabVIEW snippet which includes LabVIEW code that you can reuse in your project. To use a snippet right-click the image, save it to your computer and drag the file onto your LabVIEW diagram.
 

Other Support Options

Ask the NI Community

Collaborate with other users in our discussion forums



Request Support from an Engineer

A valid service agreement or active software subscription may be required, and support options vary by country.