Customize KNIME Components For Ease of Use

Add some flair to your hard work and help out the End User by adding an image, detailed description and helpful port information to your #knime Components.

First open KNIME and then the Component by holding the CTRL button and double-clicking OR by right clicking and selecting Component -> Open.

Once inside, select View from KNIME's top menu and then select Description, the second one down.

From here the Description view opens and you will see the saved Description information about the Component, including it's color and image.

To edit the Component description click the Pencil icon in the top Right Corner of the Description view. This opens a new, very similar view that then allows you to edit your Component information to include the Component Icon and Image.

You have the opportunity to provide some detailed information here about the purpose of your Component in the Description text field, select a color for your Component and also drag and drop a square PNG image file that is 16 x16 or larger.

Additionally, and probably my favorite part about this, is that you can name all of the In and Out Ports of your Component, whether they be Data ports, Variable ports or others. This actually changes the name on hover for the port AND the name of the output.

Once done with your updates, don't forget to click the Save icon in the upper right. Your Component will have a snazzy new look and some great new features!

Ultimately, controlling these factors will make your Component (especially if you distribute it to others) way more user friendly and help you remember what each piece does. Remember, annotations are good!

I hope this helps!

If you want to learn more about KNIME components click here.

To download KNIME 4.2 click here.

Happy KNIME-ing!