Open the front panel of a subVI by double-clicking the subVI icon.
Click the Execution Highlighting button on the toolbar to see how data flows through the block diagram during execution.
Windows To open the block diagram of a subVI, double-click the subVI icon while pressing the <Ctrl> key.
Macintosh To open the block diagram of a subVI, double-click the subVI icon while pressing the <Option> key.
UNIX To open the block diagram of a subVI, double-click the subVI icon while pressing the <Meta> key.
Windows and UNIX To insert an object into an existing wire, right-click the wire and select Insert from the shortcut menu.
Macintosh To insert an object into an existing wire, <Command>-click the wire and select Insert from the shortcut menu.
Single-step through the execution of your VI using the Step Into, Step Over, and Step Out buttons on the block diagram toolbar.
To bend a wire while wiring, click to tack the wire down and move the cursor in a perpendicular direction. To tack down a wire and stop building it without connecting the wire, double-click.
To cancel a wire you started, press the <Esc> key.
To insert subVIs that do not appear on a palette, select Functions»Select a VI.
To add items quickly to Case structures, press the <Shift-Enter> keys after each item.
To change the path of an existing wire without first deleting the wire, create the new wire path between the same terminals. LabVIEW deletes the previous wire path.
Windows To delete broken wires, select Edit»Remove Broken Wires or press the <Ctrl-B> keys.
Macintosh To delete broken wires, select Edit»Remove Broken Wires or press the <Option-B> keys.
UNIX To delete broken wires, select Edit»Remove Broken Wires or press the <Meta-B> keys.
Edit»Remove Broken Wires deletes all broken wires, including wires that appear broken because you are not finished wiring the block diagram.
After you type a label, press the <Shift-Enter> keys to end text entry.
To display a VI or function connector pane, right-click the node and select Visible Items»Terminals from the shortcut menu.
To create subVIs from a portion of the block diagram, select the portion and then select Edit»Create SubVI.
Windows and UNIX To speed VI construction, you can right-click VI or function terminals and select Create»Constant, Control, or Indicator.
Macintosh To speed VI construction, <Command>-click VI or function terminals and select Create»Constant, Control, or Indicator.
To undo the last point where you set a wire, press the <Shift> key and click anywhere on the block diagram.
Use wire probes to view wire values during execution. The probe must be created before the data passes through the wire.
Avoid using more than 16 terminals on your VI connector pane. Too many terminals can reduce the readability and usability of your VI.
Use auto-indexing of arrays at loop tunnels. For Loops and While Loops can process and accumulate arrays at their borders.
Windows and UNIX To rearrange the order of a Case structure, right-click the structure border and select Rearrange Cases.
Macintosh To rearrange the order of a Case structure, <Command>-click the structure border and select Rearrange Cases.
Windows To scroll through Case, Sequence, or Event structure subdiagrams, move the cursor over the selector label and hold down the <Ctrl> key while moving the mouse wheel.
UNIX To scroll through Case, Sequence, or Event structure subdiagrams, move the cursor over the selector label and hold down the <Meta> key while moving the mouse wheel.
To show the entire path of a VI in the Help window, click the Detailed Context Help button in the Context Help window.
To turn automatic wiring on or off while dragging or dropping VIs or functions on the block diagram, press the spacebar. By default, automatic wiring is on for all VIs and functions.
Do not cross block diagram wires because they clutter a block diagram and make debugging more difficult.
To show dots at wire junctions on the block diagram, select Tools»Options and select Block Diagram from the top pull-down menu.
To replace nodes, right-click the node and select Replace from the shortcut menu.
To insert the name or the disk location of a VI in a front panel or block diagram path control, drag a VI node from the block diagram to the control. When you drag a VI node to a label or string object, the name of the VI appears.
Right-click the output tunnel and select Use Default If Unwired from the shortcut menu to use the default value for the tunnel data type for all unwired tunnels.
You can drag VI nodes on the block diagram to front panel and block diagram labels to insert the VI name in the label. You also can use this to insert the name in various front panel and block diagram objects. When you drag a VI node to a path object, LabVIEW inserts the path of that VI, not the VI name.
When an array generated in a loop does not have the correct data representation, use the Conversion Node to change the representation inside the loop, rather than outside the loop.
Windows and Macintosh Drag a VI or control from the file system to a LabVIEW block diagram to create a subVI call to that VI.
To list multiple file types in a File dialog box, wire a string constant or control into the file pattern terminal separated by a semicolon (fx*.bin; *.c).
Use the Positioning tool to drag a VI icon from the connector pane to a block diagram to make a subVI call. This technique also works with global variables and controls.
Create custom menus for your applications. Use the functions located on the Functions»Application Control»Menu palette or select Edit»Run-Time Menu to build custom menus.
Use clusters to pass many parameters through one terminal.
Write a value to a global variable before reading from it so that it has a known initial value when you access it.