Tools for Long-Operation Feedback in LabVIEW

[EccentRick]

When designing a UI for an application or utility, you want to be sure to provide the user with feedback if the operation under the hood is going to take some time. This not only prevents the user from wondering if the application froze, but also makes the application feel more developed. In this document we provide some options for providing feedback for long operations to the user.

1. WF Progressbar by WireFlow

This toolkit provides a customizable progress bar to the user with the added flexibility of delaying the activation of the progress bar window and allowing the user to cancel the operation.

Download WF Progressbar on the LabVIEW Tools Network

2. LabVIEW Taskbar Progress Bar API

This toolkit utilizes the the Windows taskbar to communicate the progress of an operation - a method you may have seen some browsers use to show the progress of a download.

Download the LabVIEW Taskbar Progress Bar API on the LabVIEW Tools Network

3. Use Busy Cursors with LabVIEW

Sometimes all a user needs is an indicator that something is happening in the background. For cases like these, a busy cursor may work just fine. LabVIEW ships with a Set Busy VI, which you can use to change the cursor to a "busy" state. See an example of its use here.