Some kind of hotkey to run a top-level VI

[Neil.Pate]

Description

In Visual Studio or similar environments it is common to have a shortcut key (F5 for example in VS) build and run some preconfigured project. It would be really cool if we could have the same thing in the LabVIEW IDE. Pressing F5 (or whatever key was configured) from anywhere "inside" LabVIEW would then start a VI.  

Submitter

Neil Pate

LabVIEW Compatibility

The older the better

How would the user interact with this tool?

A (configurable) key. Default would be F5 to mimi what is done in Visual Studio

Distribution Method

VI Package (.vip)

Development Target Cost

$?

Other Notes

As a first attempt this could probably be implemented using Quick Drop, but I think it deserves to be baked into the actual IDE itself.

[crossrulz]

Perhaps a QD plugin to run the top-level VI in a build specification would work.  The default could be the first or last application build specification in the project.  But also with QD, you could type in the build specification name to run its top-level VI.

[JKSoerensen]

Hey Neil. This looks like an awesome idea, and I think some of this would play nicely with what @theQ was proposing in his presentation at CLA Summit. 
https://labviewwiki.org/wiki/Americas_CLA_Summit_2019/Help!_I%27m_out_of_letters_in_Quick_Drop!

Could we use some of that to get the project moving?

[TheQ]

Here is a link to my QDKS to run VIs by name as @JKSoerensen mentioned. Mine has a config screen and stores a config file for the shortcut to a VI. I’m sure it could be adapted to look at EXE build specs instead of the config file to chose which VI to run. 

https://gitlab.com/QSI_Shared_Code/quick-run

[fabric]

Could tie in with this idea for identifying the "main" VI in a project:

https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/Project-should-support-links-like-bookmarks-to-main-V...

[JKSoerensen]

Hey @Neil.Pate

Would it be useable to have a quick drop shortcut or are you looking for something else.

Another way to solve it would be to have a floating dialogue where you can specify the top level VI to launch and it would remember this until it was launched again or if you redefine the VI from the settings.

Or is it more like this identification of the Top level VI from an LLB automatically and then executing that when a user presses a button. https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Defining-quot-Top-Level-quot-VI-in-LLB-created-with-application/td-...

All the best

The GIE team 🙂