LabVIEW Idea Exchange

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Petru_Tarabuta

Add "Move to..." option in Project Explorer right-click menu to help move (transfer ownership of) VIs and CTLs

Status: New

Problem: There are currently two ways of moving or transferring a VI or CTL from one lvlib or lvclass to another (or from having no owner to having an owner).

Method 1: Drag-and-Drop. Select the VI or CTL, drag to desired lvlib or lvclass, drop in desired location.

  • This works well in small to medium projects, and will probably remain the quickest and most common way of moving a item from one owner to another.
  • This does not work well in large projects, which can have dozens or hundreds of classes and libraries, sometimes deeply nested within complex virtual folder structures (for good reason). In this situation dragging the item can take a long time, especially when the destination lvlib or lvclass is "off the screen" and slowly scrolling through the project becomes necessary. This is done by hovering the mouse in just the right region in the top or bottom of the Project Explorer. This can be tedious and wastes time.

Method 2: Remove and Re-add. Select the VI or CTL, remove it from its current owner by right-click >> "Remove from Library" or by pressing Delete key, select destination lvlib or lvclass, right-click >> Add >> File... , then select the file on disk (this last step can take time in large projects with large folder structures).

  • This can be quicker than method 1 in large projects.
  • This method is technically a workaround. It does not directly transfer ownership of the item.

Note: Both methods usually now also require moving the file on disk to the new owner's folder location. This can be done using the Project Explorer Files view, but is an additional step that takes time. It's also possible to simply forget to move the file on disk (best practice is not encouraged). 

 

Solution:

  • Right-click the VI or CTL, select Move to... option
  • A window appears. This window may use a Combo Box or a Listbox to display a list of all the lvlibs and lvclasses available in the project.
  • The user selects the desired destination owner and presses OK.
  • The item is moved to the destination library.

1 (edited).png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice-to-haves

  • The Move to... window may contain buttons or other mechanisms (e.g. clickable datagrid headers) that enable the user to sort the libraries and classes in the project by name in alphabetical or inverse alphabetical order, and to filter: display only lvlibs, display only classes.
  • When the selected VI or CTL is initially part of a lvlib or lvclass, that owner will be omitted from the list displayed in the Move to... window.
  • The Move to... window could contain a tickbox named "Also move on disk to new owner's folder?" or similar. When this is ticked, the item is also moved on disk to the folder of the new owner. This would remove the need to use the Files view to move the item on disk (would save time) and would help encourage a best practice (member items should be located in the same folder as their owner).
  • The Move to... option should be available when multiple items are selected. The items may initially be owned by the same owner, or may be owned by different initial owners.

This idea is inspired by the "Project Explorer "Move to Owner Folder" option in Files view" idea.