Exercise: Front Panel

Overview
This exercise will introduce you to the Front Panel. It will walk you through how to place controls and indicators on the Front Panel and the search options.

Goal
Understand the basic components of the Front Panel and how to place down controls and indicators.

Description
This exercise consists of a series of tasks in which will walk you through placing down controls and indicators. It will also show you how to search the Control Palette easily to find your desired control or indicator.

Front Panel
1. Launch LabVIEW and open a blank VI. # Select FileNew VI

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2. Open the Controls Palette # Right click within the Front Panel to open the Controls Palette # Select the thumbtack in the upper left corner of the Controls Palette. This will pin down the Controls Palette so that you can move freely around the front panel without automatically closing the Controls Palette.

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3. Change the visual categories that are shown when opening the Controls Palette # Within the Controls Palette select the View button and select Change Visible Categories

# Within the Change Visible Categories windows, change the categories that are shown by default when the Controls Palette is opened. This can be done by selecting specific categories or select Select All and then select OK.

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4. Place a Meter indicator or output onto the Front Panel and rename it. # In the Controls Palette, navigate to ModernNumericMeter. # Place the indicator on the Front Panel, by selecting the Meter indicator and drag and drop it onto the Front Panel.

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# Rename the indicator to "Speed". This can be done by selecting the name label by double clicking the name label and type in the desired name. Note: When the indicator is first placed onto the Front Panel, the name label will automatically be selected for you, so you can just begin typing in the desired name.

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5. Place a Vertical Pointer Slide control onto the Front Panel. This is a control which is an input to the VI. # In the Controls Palette, navigate to ModernNumericVertical Pointer Slide # Place the control onto the Front Panel by selecting the Vertical Pointer Slide and dragging and dropped it onto the Front Panel.

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6. Change the value of the control.The vertical point slide is a control which is an input to the program. By select the slider and moving it up and down you are able to change the input value. # Select the slide and move it up and down. Notice how the value is changed.

7. Set the default value of the slide control to value 0. # Set the value of the control to 0 by clicking and holding the notch of the control and dragging it down to 0. # Right click the Slide control and navigate to Data OperationsMake Current Value Default. This causes the current value of the slide control to be set every time the VI runs.

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8. Hide the "Slide" text label of the control. # Right click the Slide control and navigate to the Visible Items submenu. # If the Label selection has a check mark next to it, click it to make the "Slide" text label not visible on the Front Panel.

9. Use the Position/Size/Select tool to move the Slide control to a different part of the Front Panel. # Navigate to ViewTools Palette. # Select the Position/Size/Select tool from the Tools palette.

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# Click and hold the Slide control with the Position/Size/Select tool. # Drag the Slide control to a different location on the Front Panel.

# Switch back to the Automatic Tool Selection tool. This will automatically select the tool to use without having to navigate to the Tools palette.

10. Using the search tool on the Controls Palette

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# Within the Controls Palette select the Search button. This will open the search dialogue where you can search for a desired control or indicator within the Controls Palette. # Within the search field type Round LED. The search will automatically bring up all the controls or indicators in the Controls Palette that match Round LED.

# To select a desired indicator or control, double click within the search results. Double click on Round LED <<Boolean>> # Notice how you are redirected to the respective location of the selected indicator or control on the Controls Palette # Select the Round LED <<Boolean>> and place it on the Front Panel by selecting the Round LED <<Boolean>> and drag and drop it onto the Front Panel. 11. Close the VI and do not save. END OF EXERCISE

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