Creating Tab Controls

You can use Tab Controls to overlap front panel controls and indicators in a smaller area. A tab control consists of pages and tabs. Place front panel objects on the pages of the tab control and use the tab as the selector to display each page.

Complete the following steps to create a tab control.

  1. Select the tab control from the Controls»Array & Cluster or Controls»Dialog palette and place it on the front panel. The Tab Controls are also available from the corresponding subpalettes on the Controls»Classic palette.
  2. To switch between pages, use the Operating tool to click the tab for the page you want. You also can switch between pages by right-clicking a tab and selecting Goto Page from the shortcut menu.
  3. Add any front panel objects to the active page. A page is active when the tab for that page is flush with the page and the objects on the page are visible. Terminals for controls and indicators you place on the tab control appear as any other block diagram terminal. There is no limit to the number of objects you can place on a page.

    Tip  When you add objects to a tab control page, frequently go to the block diagram window and arrange the newly added terminals. When you add several objects to a tab control, the terminals on your block diagram can become cluttered.

  4. On the block diagram, the tab control is an enumerated control or indicator. As a control, you can pass the value of the active page to other block diagram nodes. As an indicator, you can wire nodes to control which page is displayed. You do not need to wire the tab control terminal for the tab control to operate.

    Tip  You can wire the enumerated control terminal of the tab control to the selector of a Case structure to produce cleaner block diagrams. With this method, you associate each page of the tab control with a subdiagram in the Case structure. You place the control and indicator terminals from each page of the tab control—as well as the block diagram nodes and wires associated with those terminals—into the subdiagrams of the Case structure.