Just a small one... ...I think it would be sweet if the Insert >> LabVIEW Primitive... Dialog defaults to the previous search. 

I would be nice to have the ability to install a package directly into a end user specified project folder instead of being forced to install to a set location.  This would be similar to how NPM manages dependencies for Javacript node.js projects.   

I assume this package would not be installed onto any of the pallets, but it would allow a user to work with multiple projects using different versions of the same packages.  You wouldn't have dependency overlap of installing things into your labview program files or OS user file locations.  I guess this would just be an extension for packed project library but with versioning built in

What is it?

currently you have the ability to add a file name prefix/postfix to all package files. I am proposing that we have the ability to add a file name prefix/postfix to ONLY the dependencies. This would be identical to the way that NI allows you to rename the dependencies in packed libraries.

Why is this needed?

When migrating your code into packages, you're presented with this series of events:

1. I have X.vi. It is some piece of re-usable code that hasn't yet made it into a VIP.
2. I build package A.vip and it has dependency X.vi included in the package
   
3. I have application Application.vi that has dependencies A.vip and X.vi 
   
4. Now, when i open Application.vi, I am unsure which X.vi will be used?!

With this change implemented, the series of events changes to:

1. I build package A.vip and it has dependency X.vi included in the package as A_X.vi (assuming you add "A_" prefix to dependencies)
   
2. I have application Application.vi that has dependencies A.vip and X.vi 
3. Now, when i open Application.vi, the application uses X.vi and A.vip used A_X.vi

for a full discussion of this issue, see this thread http://forums.jki.net/topic/2103-rename-vi-dependencies/page__gopid__5165

I tried to create a VIP that contained the famfamfam.com Silk icon set as a glyph set for the NI Icon editor.

The Icon editor stores the PNG files in the '%Default data directory%\Glyphs' path. Unfortunately the %Default Data Directory% isn't available as a target in VIPM.

Ton

Star Ratings

With most things you can download these days there's usually some form of user rating, namely in the form of a score out of 5 stars, such as 

The best of the best

There are so many packages on VIPM now, and some I've never seen before and have never tried, that I wonder which ones I might be missing out on. I can't install them all, but if each were to display a star rating I could quickly pick out some candidates to try! I would know that these ratings would be coming from LabVIEW users and that I could trust them to be an honest reflection on the usefulness of the package.

NI Tools Network

The NI Tools Network already implements a ratings system, can we have something similar for the packages list view window? Clearly those that are supported on the NI Tools Network repository would need their rating to come from NI.

Submission

Of course, the ratings need to come from somewhere, and that would be us users. I think it would be great if you were able to provide your own rating for packages you have installed. If you are uninstalling a package, VIPM could ask you to provide a rating whilst it uninstalls so that you can provide feedback on why - it maybe that you hated it and this way you get to provide a low rating.

When I scan my repo, it tells me that there are no new verisons of packages that I have installed. I think it should also tell me if there are any new packages avialable since the last scan.

I would like the ability to categorize VI packages that are built.  If my company has 3 basic categories for a toolkit (1. use at own risk 2. Semi-tested 3. Certified). Then this category can be displayed when a user installs a package.  

Furthermore, once this information is gathered, you can then possibly search and install only Rock solid packages, for example

After starting my build process, and waiting for about 10 minutes, it bombed with an error related to validation of the Automated Online Activation URL. This check is performed by calling "_ValidateAutoActivationURL.vi" from the NI_LV2PLicAPI.lvlib, and can therefore be done at any time. Can I request that this check is performed at the very beginning please? Thanks.

Given the graphical paradigm of LabVIEW I think it would be sweet if I could click on an icon I see in the Insert >> LabVIEW Primitive... dialog to select it for the palette (rather than just text). 

Here is a quick edit (not complete) of what may be cool - to show all search hits with icons and text that could be scrolled through and double-clicked.

It would be great to see (or be able to filter out) toolkits, which are registered by Third-Party Activation Toolkit, and see its statuses. Because it happens, that some toolkits have trial period, then it is expired - and LabVIEW warns about it. When one wants to remove these toolkits, he has to open VIPM - but then he needs to search those packages by name.

But if - for example - first time user turns off notification window in LabVIEW for expired license, he does not see it in future. But, there are still toolkits with invalid (expired) license - and when he wants to uninstall them, he needs to open Activation Add-On window, check toolkits and their statuses, go to VIPM, and remove them.

If there would be statuses visible in VIPM, then one sees it directly there, and could manage - either buy/prolong license, or uninstall toolkit so he will not be bothered by it in the future.

This feature is not important, because such situation occurs quite seldom, but it could make routine a bit easier.

Thanks a lot,

Sincerely, kosist90.

I have a Surface Book 2 with a 3000x2000 pixels 13.5" screen. With screens like that its mandatory a way to change the font size. I suggest adding a ability to change the package list font, at least.

The search text field doesn't handle key down and hold events / repeat. For example holding down the delete key should strat deleting multiple characters after a while. Same for the cursor keys moving the caret position - it doesn't work when held down.

Use the ShellExecute WinAPI function to automatically open links in the default browser for Windows systems.

IE is horrendous.

Installing a package with a custom functions palette to the folders user.lib or instr.lib (eg. user.lib/My Library) results in duplicate entries in the functions palette when the package is installed.

This is due to automatic synchronisation of the functions palette within these folders. Adding an (_) underscore in front of the package installation directory (e.g. user.lib/_My Library) skips LabVIEWs automatic synchronisation of the functions palette and therefore only shows the custom functions palette like expected.

I would like VIPM to check if a package will be installed to one of these folders (without an underscore as the first letter) AND does have a custom functions palette. If so, VIPM should show a hint like "...this will result in duplicate function palettes entries..." (or something better). At least, this fact should be better documented.

For some reason i get an error when opening a package in the creator from the Latest package list, this error seems to stick, as further clicks on the Build package button doesn't do anything. 

What i need to do is restart VIPM and Build Package and select Open package.

A feature or function to display a hierarchy of packages showing the dependencies between different packages, based on a selection of packages, what is currently installed, or all packages in a package configuration. Similar to the VI or class hierarchy in LV.

Kami menjual Jual obat suplemen peninggi badan tiens murah asli dalam bentuk paketan, kenapa begitu? maksudnya biar sesuai dengan badget (uang) dan kebutuhan konsumen, karena setiap orang budget dan kebutuhan ingin naik tingginya berbeda. Sudah jelas kan? 😉 Anda bisa memilih Harga Paket Suplemen Peninggi Badan Tiens berikut ini sesuai badget kemampuan uang dan kebutuhan ingin naik tingginya :

It will be cool if there is a menu option (right click, menu bar etc.) for building a package of selected VIs?

http://screencast.com/t/bZbEaDixH

With Project Provider mechanism, this seems feasible as well.

...and maybe tell me about updates to packages I don't have installed?

I have setup a post-build VI that checks all the changing files into our SCC.

However when I hit the 'Show package in VIPM' VIPM will resave the VIPB file with the new (for next build) version information, leaving me with a dirty project.

It would be nice if there were no alterations after the post-build VI.

Ton

Problem Description: When I use the VI Package Builder, I can make a list of package dependencies, which becomes a .VIPC file in the root folder of VI Package.

There is even a button in the "Package Dependencies" section to "Open VI Package Configuration". This opens up VIPC editor, where I can explicitly select for each entry if I want include only the link to the VIP or the whole VIP.

After closing the VIPC editor I am still in the VI Package Builder. I makes me very confident that the settings I have made in the VIPC editor are valid for the VI package I am editing right now.

But apparently it not this way. It brings up some other problems, which are real problems (not just theoretical) to me:

If a VIP (call it a.vip) has a dependency(call it a_dep.vip) that is used in the Pre or Post-Install steps, than I start to have a dependency hierarchy. If a.vip is a dependency to a new new.vip than it's not enough anymore to just include the the a.vip and the a_dep.vip in a VIPC file with the new.vip. From this point on nothing guarantees that a_dep.vip will be installed before a.vip.

Idea:

It will be nice to have a property/option to exclude newly added folders from package by default. As of now any new folder under Source directory is included in package as default, It will be nice to somehow exclude new folders by default.

I have situation where I feel this option will be very useful.

I and my team are creating lots of Instrument drivers for internal purpose and release them very frequently. We have all our code under Instrument Driver folder. Instrument Driver folder includes sub folder (category of instrument drivers like Power supply, RF etc) and menu files that needs to be deployed while installing packages. With help of menu files drivers will be shown up in LabVIEW functionally palette.

Say to build Keithley 24xx, I need to include Instrument Driver as source directory and include Keithey 24xx folder and whole hierarchy of Instrument Driver menu files (ie the menu file directly inside Instrument Driver and the one inside Power Supply folder) and build package over it. Rest of the unnecessary folders are excluded from packages. Please see I need the whole hierarchy of menu files so that in the LabVIEW palette drivers are shown in the same level/folders as shown in window explorer (Instrument driver -> Power supply -> Keithley 24xx)

1. Whenever a new folder or driver category is created under Instrument Driver, the next time in Keithley package, the new folder is included in the ‘Source file setting’ by default, which is NOT needed. So exclude folders by default will be helpful here.
2. When there are multiples PC used for development purpose, there comes one more situation. VIPM removes file exclusions if source code folders aren't located on the machine where the build spec is being modified. So take the same example:
   1. A build spec is created on machine1 with this source directory: Instrument Driver
   2. Inside of that folder are several other folders: ...\Power Supply\Keithley 24xx, ...\Power Supply\Agilent E3631A, ...\RF\CMW, ...\Scope\Tektronix.
   3. In the source file settings ...\Power Supply\Agilent E3631A, ...\RF\CMW, ...\Scope\Tektronix are EXCLUDED from package
   4. The build spec is saved and closed
   5. The build spec is opened on machine2 that only has ...\Power Supply\Keithley 24xx folder
   6. VIPM will remove the folder exclusions properties of..\Power Supply\Agilent E3631A, ...\RF\CMW, ...\Scope\Tektronix (as folders are missing)
   7. The build spec is saved and closed
   8. The build spec is opened again on machine1
   9. The build will now include ..\Power Supply\Agilent E3631A, ...\RF\CMW, ...\Scope\Tektronix which were excluded first time but in the second build their properties were lost and now VIPM thinks they are newly encountered folders and include them by default.

This causes lots of issues and before each build developer has to verify the ‘Source file settings’ causing consumption of time.