Creating an Icon with the Icon Editor

Create an icon to represent a VI or custom control graphically in the LabVIEW Icon Editor.

NI recommends the following process to create icons for VIs and for custom controls:

  1. Create a banner as a template. Use the banner to identify related VIs or related custom controls.
  2. Apply the banner template to the icon of an individual item. Modify the body of the icon to identify the specific item.
Note If you want to create an icon for an object in a library, create a library icon instead of an icon template. LabVIEW can apply a library icon to the icon of all objects in the library.

Saving a Banner as a Template

Indicate that VIs or custom controls are related by creating a common banner in the Icon Editor as a reusable template for icons.

To save a banner as an icon template for a VI, complete the following steps.

  1. Open the Icon Editor:
    • Double-click the icon in the upper right corner of the front panel window, block diagram window, or Control Editor.
    • Right-click the icon and select Edit Icon....
    On the Layers tab, the default icon is a single user layer called VI Icon.
  2. Press Ctrl+A to select all user layers of the icon, and press Delete to delete the selection.
  3. On the Templates tab, select the _blank.png icon template from VI » Frameworks.
    You can browse templates by category or by keyword.
  4. To fill the banner of the icon with a color, use the Fill tool on the right side of the Icon Editor.
  5. Enter text in the banner of the icon with the Text tool.
    Tip While the text is active, you can move the text by pressing the arrow keys.
  6. Save the banner as a template for later use with File » Save As... » Template.

LabVIEW saves icon templates as 256-color .png files.

Creating an Icon from a Template Banner

After you create a template banner for a set of VIs or custom controls, apply the template to the specific item with the Icon Editor and create a unique icon for each specific item.

The default VI icon contains a number that indicates how many new VIs you have opened since launching LabVIEW, up to nine VIs. To disable this numbering, select Tools » Options... » Front Panel and remove the checkmark from Use numbers in icons of new VIs (1 through 9).

To create a unique icon that uses a template banner, complete the following steps.

  1. Open the Icon Editor:
    • Double-click the icon in the upper right corner of the front panel window, block diagram window, or Control Editor.
    • Right-click the icon and select Edit Icon....
    On the Layers tab, the default icon is a single user layer called VI Icon.
  2. Press Ctrl+A to select all user layers of the icon, and press Delete to delete the selection.
  3. On the Templates tab, select the banner template you created.
    You can browse templates by category or by keyword.
  4. On the Icon Text tab, enter up to four lines of icon text for the body of the icon.
    You can configure the font, alignment, size, and color of the text. If you place a checkmark in Center text vertically, the Icon Editor centers the icon text vertically within the body of the icon.
  5. On the Glyphs page, drag and drop glyphs onto the Preview area.
    • Place a glyph in the top-left corner of the icon: Double-click the glyph.
    • Flip a glyph horizontally: Press F as you move the glyph.
    • Rotate a glyph clockwise: Press R as you move the glyph.
    You can browse glyphs by category or by keyword.
  6. Use the Move tool to move any glyph.
    Each glyph is on a separate layer and therefore moves separately. Notice that the rest of the icon becomes dimmed when you select a glyph so you can identify which selection you are moving.
  7. Optional: To edit the icon further, use the editing tools on the right side of the Icon Editor.
    The Icon Editor dialog box creates a new user layer for each non-consecutive use of the editing tools. To create a new user layer during consecutive uses of the editing tools, select Layers » Create New Layer.
    Note You cannot modify the icon template or icon text with the editing tools on the right side of the Icon Editor. Use the Templates tab and the Icon Text tab to modify the icon template and icon text, respectively.
  8. Optional: To configure the name, opacity, visibility, and order of the layers of the icon, select Layers » Show Layers Page.
  9. To save the icon information with the item and close the Icon Editor, click OK.