LabVIEW 8.2 Readme for Windows
August 2006
This file contains important last-minute information about LabVIEW 8.2 for Windows, including installation and upgrade issues, compatibility issues, and changes from LabVIEW 8.0. Refer to the LabVIEW Upgrade Notes for more information about upgrade and compatibility issues and for a complete list of new features in LabVIEW 8.2. Refer to the LabVIEW Release Notes for installation instructions. You can access both of these documents by selecting Help»Search the LabVIEW Help in LabVIEW and navigating to the Technical Support and Professional Services book.
Refer to the National Instruments Web site for the latest information about LabVIEW 8.2.
Refer to the labview\readme directory for readme files about LabVIEW add-ons, including modules and toolkits.
Supported Platforms
Installing Another Language Version
Installing LabVIEW Silently
Licensing
Known Issues
Additions to the LabVIEW Help
Documentation Corrections
LabVIEW supports Windows 2000/XP. LabVIEW does not support Windows NT/Me/98/95 or Windows x64.
Refer to the LabVIEW Release Notes for a complete list of system requirements.
If you have another language version of LabVIEW 8.2 installed on your computer, uninstall that version before installing the new language version.
You can control programmatically which features in the LabVIEW distribution to enable or disable for installation. You therefore can install a subset of the LabVIEW distribution silently. Refer to the silent_install.txt file in the Bin directory on the LabVIEW CD for more information about installing LabVIEW silently and selecting which features to install automatically.
Refer to the LabVIEW Release Notes for more information about installing LabVIEW.
LabVIEW relies on licensing activation. You must activate a valid LabVIEW license before you can run LabVIEW. To activate LabVIEW, use the serial number you received as part of your installation package.
Refer to the LabVIEW Release Notes for more information about licensing in LabVIEW.
Installation
- If you uninstall LabVIEW 8.2 and a previous version of LabVIEW remains on the system, the previous version of LabVIEW might try to repair itself the next time you open it. The repair process might remove any patches you installed for that version of LabVIEW. Make sure to reinstall any patches you have on the system after the repair finishes. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about correcting this problem.
- If you install LabVIEW 8.2 and then install a previous version of LabVIEW on the same computer, Windows Explorer crashes if you use Windows Explorer to perform an operation on an LLB. As a workaround, select Tools»Options, select Environment from the Category list, remove the checkmark from the Enable Windows Explorer for LLB files checkbox, and click the OK button. Display the same Environment Options page again, place a checkmark in the Enable Windows Explorer for LLB files checkbox, click the OK button, and restart the computer.
Compatibility
- LabVIEW 8.2 is not compatible with NI TestStand 3.1 and earlier. Refer to the National Instruments Web site at ni.com to access the Upgrade Advisor and purchase NI TestStand 3.5 or later.
- The NI Publish-Subscribe Protocol (NI-PSP) networking technology is incompatible with the Windows XP Service Pack 2 firewall. You must disable this firewall for networking to function correctly. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about the firewall.
- If you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed, a Security Alert dialog box appears when you launch LabVIEW or the NI Example Finder for the first time. If you select the Keep blocking this program option, the LabVIEW VI Server, LabVIEW Web Server, and any server written in LabVIEW cannot accept incoming connections from a remote computer. Select the Unblock this program, despite the security risk option to configure your computer to launch LabVIEW without any changes in functionality. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about correcting this problem.
VIs, Express VIs, and Functions
- The links to subVIs from the labview\vi.lib directory might break when you use File»Save for Previous Version to save application VIs for a previous version of LabVIEW. Right-click the subVIs and select Relink To SubVI from the shortcut menu to relink the subVIs.
- With automatic saving for recovery, LabVIEW does not save backups of a VI file in an LLB if the name of the VI contains characters such as ? or / that the operating system does not allow. If automatic saving for recovery is enabled, LabVIEW notifies you the first time the VI you are modifying cannot be saved.
- If you move the Advanced Storage VIs to a LabVIEW development system with a different language, the VIs do not work because the object types and property names do not match the names in other languages. To correct this problem, use the internal, language-independent object types and property names. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about correcting this problem.
- If you create a new, untitled VI while using the Storage VIs, the numbering of the untitled VI might be inconsistent.
- The Storage VIs do not support the extended-precision, floating-point data type. If you wire this data type to a Storage VI, LabVIEW returns a compiler error when you run the VI.
- The Delete Data VI does not work with .tdm files. If you use this VI with a .tdm file, the size of the file does not change, but you cannot access the data you try to delete.
- The Sound File Read VI uses large amounts of memory to read an entire .wav file. Read the data from the .wav file piece by piece rather than in one large file.
- The Array instance of the Sound Output Set Volume VI does not use the volume input to set the volume on a per-channel basis. Instead, this VI uses the first element of the volume input as the sound level for all channels.
- The Read From Measurement File Express VI returns an error if you call it on the same file multiple times, which makes using this Express VI in a subVI problematic.
- If the Database Connectivity Toolkit is installed, you cannot place the Database Variant To Data function on the block diagram. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about correcting this problem.
- If an example VI from LabVIEW 7.x or earlier opens another VI by specifying the example VI name as a path in the Open VI Reference function, you receive an error when you run that example in LabVIEW 8.x. Remove the String To Path function wired to the vi path input of the Open VI Reference function to correct the error.
- If you configure a Call Library Function Node to call a LabVIEW DLL, LabVIEW hangs if you place a checkmark in the Specify path on diagram checkbox on the Function page of the Call Library Function dialog box and you select Run in UI thread in the Thread control. If you configure the Call Library Function Node to call a DLL written in C with these same settings, LabVIEW works correctly.
Block Diagram Objects
- If you wire a hex value greater than x7FFFFFFF as an unsigned, 32-bit integer to a Formula Node, LabVIEW coerces the value to 0.
- If you register an ActiveX event, you must unregister the event explicitly. Otherwise, memory leaks might occur because the ActiveX control does not know that the client has disconnected.
- When you select Tools�Compare�Compare VIs and use the Compare VIs dialog box, LabVIEW does not display differences between values of cluster constants.
Environment
- A blue field does not surround the palette icons for Express VIs from LabVIEW 7.x and earlier that you open in LabVIEW 8.2. For example, if you use a LabVIEW 7.1 toolkit in LabVIEW 8.2, a blue field does not surround the icons for Express VIs on the toolkit palette. You must mass compile the Express VIs to display the blue field around the icons.
- If you define a custom run-time menu for a control and you save that run-time menu with the control, you cannot localize the run-time menu. As a workaround, you can save the custom run-time menu to an external file and point the control to that file, or you can build the run-time menu dynamically with localized strings.
- LabVIEW does not correctly hide subpalette menus that belong to locked project libraries.
- When you print the VI Hierarchy window, LabVIEW does not print the VI labels.
LabVIEW MathScript
- If you select File�Save for Previous Version and save a VI that contains a MathScript Node for LabVIEW 8.0, the VI is broken when you load it in LabVIEW 8.0. To correct this problem, load the VI in LabVIEW 8.0 and then modify the script in the MathScript Node. For example, add and remove a space. Then click the block diagram outside of the MathScript Node. When you click the Run button, the VI runs correctly.
- MathScript does not support string inputs that use LaTeX syntax.
- If you mass compile VIs last saved in a previous version of LabVIEW and the VIs contain MathScript Nodes, LabVIEW might return error messages, but LabVIEW compiles and saves the VIs correctly.
- If a LabVIEW MathScript contains a findobj, gca, gco, get, or set function, LabVIEW ignores the function and executes the remainder of the script as normal. LabVIEW does not return errors or warnings for these functions in a script.
LabVIEW Object-Oriented Programming
- If you delete a control, indicator, or constant of a LabVIEW class, the backup object keeps the LabVIEW class loaded in that application instance. This backup object can cause a problem if the LabVIEW class is loaded in more than one application instance. To edit the LabVIEW class, make sure the class is loaded in only one application instance. The backup object might be the only reason the LabVIEW class stays in memory in an application instance. To remove the backup object for the LabVIEW class, save or close the VI(s). Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about correcting this problem.
- If you rename a parent class while any child classes are in memory, LabVIEW does not record the mutation history of the class correctly. LabVIEW resets any flattened data or non-default data in memory to the default value. To avoid losing data, rename a class only when it is not in memory. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about renaming LabVIEW classes.
- If a LabVIEW class is broken because a member VI is missing from the LabVIEW class, you cannot fix the class by deleting the missing member VI from the Project tree.
DataSocket
- If you call the DataSocket Open, DataSocket Write, and DataSocket Close functions in succession repeatedly, LabVIEW leaks memory. To correct this problem, call the DataSocket Open function once, use the DataSocket Write function to write multiple times, and then use the DataSocket Close function.
- If a dialog box is already open, you cannot use the DataSocket Open function.
- You cannot use the http protocol with the DataSocket VI and functions in LabVIEW-built shared libraries.
- You cannot use front panel DataSocket data binding with fixed-sized arrays.
- If you use the DataSocket Server Manager to create a Boolean object, the DataSocket Server Manager converts the Boolean object to numeric data in the configuration file.
Shared Variables
- You can read from and write to private single-process shared variables.
- If you open a VI that contains a shared variable from a zip file, LabVIEW displays a file dialog box indicating that it cannot find the file for the global VI associated with the shared variable. Click the Cancel button to recreate the global VI.
- LabVIEW fails to deploy all shared variables in a library if one shared variable has an invalid binding. To correct this problem, either delete the shared variable that has an invalid binding or unbind the shared variable.
- If you select File�Save for Previous Version and save a VI that contains a Shared Variable node for LabVIEW 8.0, the VI might not return correct results. If you save the VI for LabVIEW 8.0.1, the VI returns correct results. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about correcting this problem.
- Network-published shared variables do not function properly if multiple network adapters are enabled on the same computer.
Miscellaneous
- LabVIEW returns out of memory errors when a VI built in one version of LabVIEW calls a DLL that in turn calls another DLL built in a different version of LabVIEW.
- If the server on which the Xmath license is installed is offline, LabVIEW hangs when you open a VI that contains an Xmath Script node.
- If a remote panel server is a LabVIEW development system, when a client requests a VI, LabVIEW saves an in-memory image of the VI and sends an up-to-date VI image to the client. Therefore, the remote front panel and the local VI front panel look the same. However, if a built application is a remote panel server, LabVIEW acquires the VI image from disk and sends it to the client. In this case, the VI image that the client receives might be out of sync with the in-memory image of the VI on the server computer if the client connects to a VI that has already been running. The remote front panel might not show an updated version of the VI front panel on the server computer. Refer to the KnowledgeBase at ni.com for more information about using remote panel servers with built applications.
- If you have more than one Ethernet card, Logos is automatically assigned to the primary Ethernet card. To assign Logos to a different Ethernet card, switch the Ethernet cards.
- The maximum size of datalog files is 2 GB.
- .NET type definitions do not correctly update when you change the related assembly.
- If you use the Edit Items page of the Enum Properties dialog box to edit an enumerated type control that contains a large amount of items, LabVIEW 8.2 might perform slower than LabVIEW 8.0. To avoid this problem, use the Labeling tool to add or edit items directly from the front panel. Refer to the Adding Items to Enumerated Type Controls topic in the LabVIEW Help for more information about adding items to enumerated type controls.
- The Create Instrument Driver Project wizard includes a progress bar so you can view the status of the instrument driver project as LabVIEW builds it. You can cancel the operation by clicking the Cancel button.
- The default value for the Cache VIs component of the Mass Compile dialog box changed from 5 to 10.
- In LabVIEW 8.0 or earlier, the value for the Priority input of a Timed Loop must be a positive integer between 1 and 2,147,480,000. In LabVIEW 8.2, the value for the Priority input must be a positive integer between 1 and 65,535.
- To create a new VI or project from the LabVIEW MathScript Window, you must first return to the Getting Started window by selecting View�Getting Started Window.
- You must use NI Spy 2.3 or later in LabVIEW 8.x. NI Spy 2.4 is available on the National Instruments Device Drivers CD.
- You must use the LabVIEW Report Generation Toolkit 1.1.1 in LabVIEW 8.2. Refer to the
National Instruments Web site to access the Upgrade Advisor and order the Report Generation Toolkit 1.1.1.
- You must use Measurement Studio 8.0 or later with LabVIEW 8.2. Refer to the
National Instruments Web site to access the Upgrade Advisor and order Measurement Studio 8.0.
- LabVIEW initializes a Shared Variable node the first time you run a VI that contains that node.
- In LabVIEW 7.x and earlier, LabVIEW enables debugging automatically for new VIs. If you then make a VI reentrant by selecting File»VI Properties, selecting Execution from the pull-down menu, and placing a checkmark in the Reentrant execution checkbox, LabVIEW automatically removes the checkmark from the Allow debugging checkbox. In LabVIEW 8.x, LabVIEW does not automatically remove the checkmark from the Allow debugging checkbox.
- A .NET or ActiveX property that returns a reference to a class outside the current type library cannot be made into a dotted property. When you view the property in the Class Browser window, a blue glyph does not appear next to the property name in the Properties and Methods list.
- LabVIEW supports smooth scrolling, or scrolling by pixels, on the front panel and block diagram of a VI.
- Select File»Close in a file with unsaved changes to display the Save changes before closing? dialog box. Select File»Close All to display the Save changes and Close All? dialog box.
- You can access LabVIEW data files from DIAdem regardless of the format in which you stored those data files.
- If you configure source control in LabVIEW, LabVIEW does not report an error when you save a VI to a directory outside the SCC specification.
- In LabVIEW 7.x and earlier, if you wire dynamic data to a waveform-based polymorphic VI that has Automatic selected in the polymorphic VI selector, LabVIEW selects the 1-channel instance. In LabVIEW 8.x, LabVIEW selects the N-channel instance. The N-channel instance returns arrays of measurement data instead of a single measurement, so VIs that use a waveform-based polymorphic VI might be broken in LabVIEW 8.x. If you want to process only the first signal in the dynamic data, you must manually select the 1-channel instance in the polymorphic VI selector.
- If you are working in multiple application instances, you might need to use an application reference when using VI Server properties and methods.
- The LabVIEW Help incorrectly states that you can use the DataSocket VIs and functions to read or write shared variables from Mac and Linux.
- The LabVIEW Upgrade Notes refers you to the Fundamentals�Calling Code Written in Text-Based Programming Languages�Concepts�Importing Functions from Shared Library Files topic on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for more information about creating wrappers for shared library files. The path to this topic should be Fundamentals�Calling Code Written in Text-Based Programming Languages�How-To�Importing Functions from a Shared Library File.
- The LabVIEW Upgrade Notes refers you to the Fundamentals�Windows Connectivity�Concepts�Web Services book on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for more information about importing Web services. The path to this topic should be Fundamentals�Windows Connectivity�Concepts�Importing Web Services.
- In the LabVIEW Upgrade Notes, the TDM Streaming File Viewer VI should be the TDMS File Viewer VI.
- The LabVIEW Fundamentals manual did not change for LabVIEW 8.2. Therefore, the content might not reflect changes made in LabVIEW 8.2. Refer to the LabVIEW Help for the most updated information.
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