diff --git a/artiq/gui/tools.py b/artiq/gui/tools.py
index 7d673cc55..da94ae7e7 100644
--- a/artiq/gui/tools.py
+++ b/artiq/gui/tools.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from quamash import QtCore
+import numpy as np
 
 
 def elide(s, maxlen):
@@ -21,11 +22,19 @@ def elide(s, maxlen):
     return s
 
 
+_scalar_types = {
+    int, float,
+    np.int8, np.int16, np.int32, np.int64,
+    np.uint8, np.uint16, np.uint32, np.uint64,
+    np.float16, np.float32, np.float64
+}
+
+
 def short_format(v):
     if v is None:
         return "None"
     t = type(v)
-    if t is int or t is float:
+    if t in _scalar_types:
         return str(v)
     elif t is str:
         return "\"" + elide(v, 15) + "\""