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StephenB

LabVIEW Should Use The Windows Browse Dialog

Status: Declined
Moved to CAR database. CAR#50481

I propose LabVIEW launch the browse dialog that Windows provides with each OS version instead of the current limited LabVIEW browse dialog on all versions of Windows.

 

Background:

The LabVIEW browse dialog looks like this regardless of the Windows OS version you're using. This is for any browse dialog from LabVIEW... the getting started window, the file menu, save as, path controls, everything:

labview browse dialog.png

 

This is OK and works fine for most things. However, it hasn't received the updates that the Windows OS has provided for browse dialogs in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Mainly... the left pane is very limited. If you look at Windows Vista's browse dialog:

vistasaveas.jpg

 

You get a much more capable left pane including favorites. The top address bar is also more capable instead of just a dumb drop down box.

 

The same thing goes for Windows 7:

browse dialog.png

 

If you are like me and use lots of mapped drives and favorite locations... it is infuriating having to give up all your favorite locations when you use LabVIEW. You always end up pathing to the same places... but can't do anything about that because the LabVIEW browse dialog doesn't support the modern Windows browse features.

 

I propose LabVIEW launch the browse dialog that Windows provides with each OS version instead of the current limited LabVIEW browse dialog. This is possible somehow... as the screen shots I took for the Windows browse dialogs were from Firefox 7.0.1 on two different OSs (7 and Vista). So there must be some API call to invoke the Windows browse dialog.

 

Stephen B
2 Comments
G-Money
NI Employee (retired)
Status changed to: Declined
Moved to CAR database. CAR#50481
Darren
Proven Zealot

CAR 50481 is fixed in LabVIEW 2012 and later.