LabWindows/CVI for Windows 2017 Readme

May 2017 This file contains important information about LabWindows™/CVI™, including installation instructions, programming considerations, a partial list of bugs fixed for LabWindows/CVI 2017, and known issues. Refer to the LabWindows/CVI Release Notes for more information about new features. Caution Installing LabWindows/CVI 2017 replaces any previous version of the LabWindows/CVI Shared Runtime with the LabWindows/CVI 2017 Shared Runtime. To restore the previous runtime, uninstall LabWindows/CVI 2017 and any previous versions of LabWindows/CVI on the computer. Then reinstall the LabWindows/CVI version you want to use.

If you have a beta version of LabWindows/CVI, you must uninstall the beta version before you install a non-beta version of LabWindows/CVI.

Contents

System Requirements

• Personal computer using a Pentium 4/M or equivalent microprocessor
• Microsoft operating systems:
  
  • Windows 10/8.1 1 /7 SP1 2
  • Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1 2
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 1
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 2

  Note National Instruments recommends that you install Microsoft Hotfix 2588507 for 64-bit Windows operating systems. Refer to the National Instruments support article, Why Does National Instruments Software List Microsoft Hotfix 2588507 as a System Requirement?, located on the National Instruments website, for more information about this issue.

  1 NI software installs Microsoft Visual C ++ 2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.

  2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.

  Installation Instructions

  National Instruments recommends that you install the complete LabWindows/CVI program to take full advantage of all LabWindows/CVI 2017 functionality. If you choose to install with options, select the options you want and follow the on-screen directions. If necessary, you can run the setup program again to install or remove additional files.

  The LabWindows/CVI Platform DVD includes LabWindows/CVI and the following modules and toolkits.

  Modules

  • LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module
  • NI Vision Development Module

  Toolkits

  • LabWindows/CVI Database Connectivity (SQL) Toolkit
  • LabWindows/CVI Signal Processing Toolkit
  • LabWindows/CVI PID Control Toolkit
  • LabWindows/CVI Execution Profiler Toolkit
  • NI ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit
  • NI Automotive Diagnostic Command Set

  Depending on the package of LabWindows/CVI you purchase, you can activate various toolkits:

  • Activating LabWindows/CVI Base Package also activates the LabWindows/CVI PID Control Toolkit
  • Activating LabWindows/CVI Full Development System also activates the following toolkits:
    
    • LabWindows/CVI Database Connectivity (SQL) Toolkit
    • LabWindows/CVI PID Control Toolkit
    • LabWindows/CVI Execution Profiler Toolkit

    If you want to evaluate other modules or toolkits before purchasing them, you can install these add-ons from the LabWindows/CVI Platform DVD and try them for 45 days. After an initial 7 day period, you can register on ni.com for access to the remainder of the evaluation period.

    Installation Considerations

    • When installing LabWindows/CVI, the LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module, and NI Device Drivers, install device drivers after the LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module. If you install all of these products at the same time using the LabWindows/CVI Platform DVD, the products are installed in the correct order. If you install the LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module on a computer that already has device drivers installed, reinstall the device driver software to ensure that real-time support is installed for the device drivers you selected.
    • The LabWindows/CVI installation includes the LabWindows/CVI 2017 Runtime. This version replaces any previous version of the LabWindows/CVI Runtime. After you install LabWindows/CVI 2017, executables and DLLs created with previous versions of LabWindows/CVI automatically use the new LabWindows/CVI 2017 Runtime.

    Running the Installation

    Complete the following steps to install LabWindows/CVI:

    Note If you already have a different version of LabWindows/CVI installed on your computer, be sure to install version 2017 in a different directory. If you want to install to an existing directory, uninstall the other version before installing LabWindows/CVI 2017.

    You must have administrator privileges to install LabWindows/CVI.

    1. Insert the LabWindows/CVI media into the disk drive. If the media does not run automatically, open Windows Explorer, right-click the disk drive icon, and select AutoPlay.
    2. On installation startup, the National Instruments LabWindows/CVI screen appears. Click Install LabWindows/CVI, Modules, and Toolkits.
    3. Continue to follow the instructions on the screen.

    If you do not have an active Internet connection, LabWindows/CVI installs all Windows SDK components, which might not be the latest components available on the Microsoft website.

    Note If you cancel the Windows SDK installation, LabWindows/CVI will not function properly. You can download the Windows SDK from one of the following places:

    • The Microsoft website
    • ni.com —Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code DownloadMSDTWindowsSDK

    Activating LabWindows/CVI

    1. Launch NI License Manager by selecting Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI License Manager.
    2. Click Activate Software on the ribbon.

    Note If you are unable to activate LabWindows/CVI, refer to the web page at ni.com/activate.

    After Installation

    • Installing LabWindows/CVI in a New Directory—If you installed driver or toolkit software for LabWindows/CVI 8.1.1 or earlier and you install LabWindows/CVI 2017 in a new directory, you must uninstall and reinstall the LabWindows/CVI portion of the driver or toolkit software.
    • Using Example Programs—You can find example programs in the following location: Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\CVI2017\samples .
    • Working with Project and File Templates—Save user-defined project and file templates in the LabWindows/CVI public documents directory ( Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\CVI . LabWindows/CVI 8.5 and later does not search previous locations, Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\CVI and Documents and Settings\\Application Data\CVI , for project and file templates.
    • Making Backup .uir Files—Make backup copies of your .uir files if you have been using previous versions of LabWindows/CVI. Once you save .uir files in LabWindows/CVI 2017, the .uir files are no longer compatible with versions 8.1.1 or earlier. You cannot load .uir files that you have saved in LabWindows/CVI 2017 in LabWindows/CVI 8.1.1 or earlier.

    Product Security and Critical Updates

    Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.

    Behavior Changes in LabWindows/CVI

    Refer to the following sections for behavior changes specific to different versions of LabWindows/CVI. Refer to the LabWindows/CVI Release Information web page on ni.com for an up-to-date list of behavior changes in LabWindows/CVI.

    Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2017

    • The following components and features were deprecated in LabWindows/CVI 2017:
      • NIReports
      • MStudioCW3DGraph
      • Merge Modules installed by LabWindows/CVI in system's merge module directory ( C:\Program Files\Common Files\Merge Modules ).
      • Support for LabWindows/CVI Library with .NET 1.1 and 2.0
      • LabWindows/CVI versions of the Clang 2.6 and 2.9 compilers shipped with LabWindows/CVI

      Note Deprecated components can still be used, but they are less visible than fully supported components and are likely to be removed in a future version of LabWindows/CVI. National Instruments recommends that you do not use deprecated components in new applications and that you update existing applications to remove dependencies on deprecated components.

      • cvirt.dll
      • LabWindows/CVI Project Wizards for Visual Studio
      • LabWindows/CVI support for DIAdem Connectivity Library (NI-USI) Note NI recommends that you use the TDM Streaming Library for existing projects and the TDM C DLL for new projects. Refer to ni.com/white-paper/3727/ to download the TDM C DLL.

      Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2015 SP1

      • LabWindows/CVI 2015 and later displays warnings that are part of the Compiler Warnings dialog box. Pragma messages are displayed as notes.
      • Minimum and maximum OS value ranges can overlap in the Edit Installer»Advanced range selections.
      • The WINVER Windows SDK macro is defined to the value corresponding to Windows 7.

      Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2015

      • The LabWindows/CVI installation includes the complete Windows 8.1 SDK.
      • The Instrument I/O Assistant is no longer accessible by default through the LabWindows/CVI environment. The Tools»Create Instrument I/O Task is no longer available.
      • The DIAdem Connectivity Library is no longer available by default. To use this library, select Library»Customize and enable the DIAdem Connectivity option. NI recommends that you use the TDM Streaming Library for new projects.
      • The NI-USI component, which is necessary for applications that use the DIAdem Connectivity Library, is no longer included in the LabWindows/CVI Runtime. To deploy applications that use DIAdem Connectivity Library functions, create an installer and select the NI USI item in the Drivers & Components tab of the Edit Installer dialog box.
      • The Variables and Call Stack window lists static local variables before local variables. In previous versions of LabWindows/CVI, local variables appeared before static local variables.
      • You cannot use LabWindows/CVI 2013 to debug DLLs you create with LabWindows/CVI 2015.
      • Files installed with the Windows SDK are in different locations than in previous versions of LabWindows/CVI:

      Files	Previous Location	Current Location
      Import libraries	\sdk\lib	\Windows Kits\8.1\Lib\winv6.3\um\x86 (or \x64 )
      Include files	\sdk\include	National Instruments\Shared\MSDTRedistributables\SDKHeaderFiles\8.1

      Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP2

      • Activating the LabWindows/CVI Base Package also activates the LabWindows/CVI PID Control Toolkit.
      • Activating the LabWindows/CVI Full Development System also activates the LabWindows/CVI PID Control Toolkit, LabWindows/CVI Database Connectivity (SQL) Toolkit, and LabWindows/CVI Execution Profiler Toolkit.

      Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP1

      • You can specify a .c file as the module to load to the LoadExternalModule and LoadExternalModuleEx functions.

      Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2013

      • The following product components no longer appear in the tree on the Driver and Components tab of the Edit Installer dialog box:
        • Standard Runtime
        • Instrument Driver Runtime
        • Real-Time Runtime
        • If the program breaks as a result of an exception
        • If you manually break execution, for example, by pressing the Stop button
        • Function brackets set to uneven, left; statement brackets set to uneven, right
        • Function brackets set to uneven, left; statement brackets set to flush, left
        • Function brackets set to uneven, left; statement brackets set to flush, right
        • Function brackets set to uneven, right; statement brackets set to uneven, left
        • Function brackets set to uneven, right; statement brackets set to flush, left
        • Function brackets set to uneven, right; statement brackets set to flush, right
        • Function brackets set to flush, left; statement brackets set to uneven right
        • Function brackets set to flush, left; statement brackets set to flush right
        • Function brackets set to flush, right; statement brackets set to uneven, left
        • Function brackets set to flush, right; statement brackets set to uneven, right
        • Function brackets set to flush, right; statement brackets set to flush, left

        Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2012

        • The Physical Memory Access functions, located in the Utility Library, are deprecated. Refer to KB 5QCCQSQW for more information.
        • If your program includes any Port IO functions, located in the Utility Library, the program will require administrator privileges to run. Refer to KB 5Q5FO1QW for more information.
        • The LabWindows/CVI low-level support driver can be loaded only by applications running with administrator privileges on 32-bit systems. Refer to KB 5Q5FJ4QW for more information.
        • You can no longer create a reduced-size distribution that includes the low-level support driver. If your application uses the low-level support driver, you must include the full LabWindows/CVI Runtime Engine in your installer. To include the full runtime engine in your installer, complete the following:
          
          • Select the NI LabWindows/CVI Shared Runtime Engine item in the Drivers & Components tab of the Edit Installer dialog box.
          • Ensure that you deselect the Install the LabWindows/CVI Shared Runtime Engine in the application directory option in the Advanced tab of the Edit Installer dialog box.

          For a target file, specify the following in the [Create Executable] section of the .prj file:
          Executable File_Configuration Force Path Absolute = True

          where _Configuration is the configuration of your target, such as Debug , Release , or Debug64 .

          Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2010

          • To specify multiple compiler defines, separate each compiler define using only a space. If you separate each one with a comma and a space, LabWindows/CVI displays an error.
          • Build Options and Target Settings dialog box options apply per configuration. The options on these dialog boxes are no longer global as in previous releases.
          • National Instruments no longer supports Windows 2000.
          • The minimum operating system version for distributions is Windows XP. If you open an existing distribution that specifies Windows 2000 as the minimum operating system, LabWindows/CVI updates the minimum operating system to Windows XP.
          • If you install the Full Development System, the Interface to Win32 Application Programmatic Interface (API) is installed by default.
          • The glaux.lib import library is deprecated and is no longer included with LabWindows/CVI. The glaux.prj sample program is no longer installed.
          • The Save changes before debugging option in the Environment dialog box is now a global option. In previous releases, this option was workspace-specific.
          • The Save changes before compiling option in the Environment dialog box is enabled by default. This global option allows LabWindows/CVI to save all modified files before compiling and debugging.
          • LabWindows/CVI no longer installs the Documentation from MSDN Library. National Instruments recommends that you view the latest version of this documentation at www.msdn.com . For more information, visit ni.com.

          Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 2009

          • Borland is no longer supported as a compatible compiler or as a third-party compiler in LabWindows/CVI.
          • Starting with the 2009 version of LabWindows/CVI, major versions align with the year in which they release. For example, this version of LabWindows/CVI is called LabWindows/CVI 2015. You can find installed files in the CVI2015 folder in the various locations where LabWindows/CVI installs files. The registry keys corresponding to this version of LabWindows/CVI are located in CVI\15.0 in the registry.
          • The NI Distributed System Manager replaces the NI Variable Manager. Use the System Manager to create and monitor network variables, processes, and I/O servers. For more information about the System Manager, refer to the NI Distributed System Manager Help, which you can access from the System Manager.
          • The Translate LW DOS Program option is no longer available.
          • The LabWindows/CVI compiler now defines the NDEBUG macro for release configuration builds.
          • LabWindows/CVI no longer adds _dbg suffix to the base name of the debug target of a project.
          • The data type of the targetThreadId parameter of the PostDeferredCallToThread and PostDeferredCallToThreadAndWait functions has been changed from unsigned long to unsigned int .

          Behavior Changes Introduced in LabWindows/CVI 9.0 and Earlier

          • toolbox.h now includes some LabWindows/CVI headers that must be included after including windows.h . Therefore, if your code includes toolbox.h before including windows.h , reverse the order of these includes.
          • Network variable processes that begin with NI_ are disallowed. The CNVNewProcess function returns an error if the process name you specify begins with NI_ .
          • The following macros have been renamed:

          Library	Previous Macro Name	New Macro Name
          WordReport.fp Instrument Driver	NONE	WR_NONE
          Analysis Library	SORT_ASCENDING	ANALYSIS_SORT_ASCENDING
          Analysis Library	SORT_DESCENDING	ANALYSIS_SORT_DESCENDING

          SVD and CxSVD—The following formula defines the SVD factorization of an n-by-m matrix A: A = USV T .

          In LabWindows/CVI 7.1 and earlier, U is an orthogonal matrix of dimensions n-by-m. In LabWindows/CVI 8.x and later, U is an orthogonal matrix of dimensions n-by-min(n, m).

          In LabWindows/CVI 7.1 and earlier, V is an orthogonal matrix of dimensions m-by-m. In LabWindows/CVI 8.x and later, V is an orthogonal matrix of dimensions m-by-min(n, m).

          In LabWindows/CVI 7.1 and earlier, S is a diagonal matrix of dimensions m-by-m. In LabWindows/CVI 8.x and later, S is a diagonal matrix of dimensions min(n, m)-by-min(n, m).

          Known Issues

          This version of LabWindows/CVI has the following known issues. Refer to the LabWindows/CVI Known Issues web page on ni.com for a complete list of known issues in this version of LabWindows/CVI.

          • Selecting Values in IviFgen Class Driver—In the IviFgen FP file, the Attribute ID and Attribute Value controls in the Get/Set/CheckAttributeViInt64 functions display an empty field instead of a list of attributes and values. For more information, refer to KnowledgeBase 5WOA752F: Issue Setting IviFgen Attribute ID Using Get/Set/CheckAttributeViInt64 Functions.
          • Uninstalling LabWindows/CVI—If you have multiple versions of LabWindows/CVI installed and you uninstall one of the versions, the remaining installation will be missing its file associations, and its automation capabilities will not function properly. To fix this problem, perform a repair installation of the remaining LabWindows/CVI version.
          • Error When Building a LabWindows/CVI Project in Visual Studio 2005—If you create a project in Visual Studio 2005 that uses LabWindows/CVI libraries, you will see the following error: fatal error LNK1103: debugging information corrupt; recompile module . To address this issue, install the hotfix available from Microsoft.
          • Debugging Executables on Windows—On Windows Vista and later, executables that contain setup , install , or update as part of their name automatically require administrator privileges. If you run these executables as stand-alone from a user-level account, Windows will prompt you for an administrator password. However, LabWindows/CVI cannot debug these applications from a user-level account. When you try to run them, LabWindows/CVI displays a Could not run executable notification. NI recommends that you rename your executable so that it does not contain those words in its name, or that you embed a manifest into the application that marks the application as being Vista-aware. You can embed a manifest using the Target Settings dialog box.
          • Viewing Help—If you open the LabWindows/CVI Help outside of LabWindows/CVI, such as launching it through the Start menu, you might not see all driver or toolkit content. Select Help»Contents to open the LabWindows/CVI Help from within LabWindows/CVI to ensure that all driver and toolkit content is available.
          • Using the LabWindows/CVI Conversion Wizard in Microsoft Visual Studio—Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and later do not support the single-threaded version of the Visual Studio C library. Therefore, you must configure your project's linker settings to ignore directives to use the single-threaded C library. In Visual Studio, select Project»Properties and expand the properties tree to the Configuration Properties»Linker»Input item. Add libc to the Ignore Specific Library option. Refer to the I Receive Linker Errors When Using LabWindows/CVI-Generated Static Libraries and Object Files in Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 KnowledgeBase article for more information.

          Bug Fixes

          Refer to the LabWindows/CVI Bug Fix Information web page on ni.com for an up-to-date list of bug fixes in this version of LabWindows/CVI.

          Accessing the Help

          Refer to the LabWindows/CVI Help, accessible from the Help menu, for information about LabWindows/CVI.

          Finding Examples

          Select Help»Find Examples from LabWindows/CVI to launch the NI Example Finder. LabWindows/CVI examples are located in the CVI2017\samples\CVI samples directory. You can modify an example program to fit an application, or you can copy and paste from one or more examples into a program that you create.

          Automating the Installation of NI Products

          You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.

          If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.

          For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:

          • For more information about silent installations of individual NI products, refer to KB 4CJDP38M, Automating the Installation of a Single Installer.
          • For more information about silent installations of NI products in a suite, such as NI Developer Suite, refer to KB 4GGGDQH0, How Do I Automate the Installation of a Suited Installer?.
          • To determine what version of NI Installers your product contains, refer to KB 4CJDR18M, How Can I Determine the Type and Version of My National Instruments Installer?.

          Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

          Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.

          Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

          When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.

          LabWindows/CVI Dropped Support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

          LabWindows/CVI dropped support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack). LabWindows/CVI dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 in 2015. LabWindows/CVI 2015 SP1 and later will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use LabWindows/CVI 2015 SP1 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing LabWindows/CVI 2015 SP1, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.

          Legal Information

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          Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

          NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.

          End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices

          You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:

          • Notices are located in the \_Legal Information and directories.
          • EULAs are located in the \Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
          • Review \_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

          U.S. Government Restricted Rights

          If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.

          IVI Foundation Copyright Notice

          Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.

          The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

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          Patents

          For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.