LabVIEW - Creating Tab Controls

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

Follow these steps to create a tab control.

Add a tab control to the front panel window.

To switch between pages, we can use the Operating tool to click the tab for the page we want. We can also switch between pages by right-clicking a tab and selecting Swap Pages or Go To Other Page from the shortcut menu.

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 we add to the tab control appear as any other block diagram terminal.

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

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

Tip We 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, we associate each page of the tab control with a subdiagram in the Case structure. We add 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. If we need a component of a VI to run continuously, even when its controls are hidden, do not use a Case structure, because the structure executes only one case at a time.

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