I would like the URCaps Palletizing template to allow the use of an existing variable for the Item Counter. This would provide a more consistent user experience, compared to many other functions which allow or even require variables to exist before they can be assigned in the function.
Additionally, this feature would mitigate a nuisance issue in the existing URCaps interface: When you copy and paste a Palletizing node, a new variable is created for the Item Counter, which breaks the functionality of any other part of the program that references the original Item Counter variable.
In the current workflow, it is common to include a BeforeStart prompt to ask the operator for the number of the next item on the pallet. This prompt assigns a value to the Item Counter variable. If a program change requires the Palletizing node to be moved to a new location (e.g., nested in a new If statement), the programmer must first delete any references to the Item Counter variable, copy and paste the Palletizing node, rename of the Item Counter as the original variable name, and then re-assign that variable in any other parts of the program that need to reference it.
Thank you for considering this request.
M