LabVIEW PDA Module 7.0f1 Readme

September 2003

This file contains important information about LabVIEW PDA Module 7.0f1 update, including installation instructions, known issues, and changes from LabVIEW PDA Module 7.0. This patch installation is only an update and will not function correctly unless LabVIEW 7.0 and the PDA Module(s) are currently installed.

Refer to the National Instruments Web site for the latest information about the LabVIEW PDA Module.

Installing the LabVIEW PDA Module 7.0f1 Update

Complete the following steps to install the LabVIEW 7.0f1 PDA Module update.

1. Make sure that LabVIEW 7.0 and the PDA module(s) are correctly installed on your computer.
2. Extract the contents of the LVPDA_Patch_70f1.zip file to a new directory on your computer.
3. In the new directory you just created, run LV70f1Update.msi. Follow the instructions that appear. This installation will update LabVIEW 7.0 to correctly function with the LabVIEW PDA patch. Run this installation before running the PDA Module patch installers.
4. Install the update for the LabVIEW PDA module:
   1. If you use the PDA Module for Palm OS, run LVPDA_PalmOS.msi and follow the instructions that appear.
   2. If you use the PDA Module for Pocket PC, run LVPDA_PocketPC.msi and follow the instructions that appear.
5. When the installation is complete, restart the computer.
6. Launch LabVIEW and select Help»About LabVIEW from the menu. The correct version will be 7.0f1. If this listing is incorrect, then follow steps 1 – 6 again. If problems persist, contact National Instruments support at ni.com/ask.
7. Pocket PC If you use DAQ for Pocket PC, you must also install the new DAQ driver that is included with this patch.
   1. Remove any PCMCIA hardware that is currently installed in the PDA device.
   2. Run Setup.exe located in LabVIEW 7.0\PDA\Utilities\DAQ-PPC Installer and follow the instructions that appear.

Issues Addressed by this Update

This update corrects the following issues from the 7.0 version of the LabVIEW PDA Module.

• The online help for the PDA Module now clearly states that you must explicitly download any referenced DLL files to the device.
• The online help for the PDA Module now clearly states that the Formula Node does not support the ** function.
• The maximum speed of analog input on DAQcards is now 500 KS/s.
• Multichannel analog input is now possible on Pocket PC devices using the PDA AI Acquire Multichannel Waveform VI. However, to perform multichannel analog input, you must acquire data from channels in order, from the lowest-index channel first.
• The IP To String and String To IP functions were generated as asynchronous nodes, which caused some PDA VIs to crash. This update generates theses functions correctly.
• The Event structure now handles asynchronous nodes correctly.
• The Add File option of the PDA Project window now allows you to add VIs.
• PDA VIs with arrays that contain greater than 32k elements no longer crash.
• Bitmap functions no longer crash when the height and width are set to zero.
• Pocket PC Closing a subVI using the X in the upper right corner of the window no longer causes a crash when you interact with the subVI's parent application.
• Clusters containing a Not A Refnum constant no longer return a code generation error.
• Performing binary operations on an array no longer limit the output array dimensions to 32k.
• The DeviceDiscoveryExample.llb contained VIs that referenced the wrong subVIs. This update corrects these references.
• Erroneous behavior with the Wait On Occurrence function has been fixed.
• The MATLAB Script Node no longer appears in the PDA-specific palette set.
• Arrays containing picture controls or indicators no longer crash when they contain picture data larger than 255 bytes.
• Inserting a string or picture into an empty array no longer crashes PDA VIs.
• Selecting a ring control in a PDA VI that contains a Wait ms function no longer crashes the PDA VI.
• Streaming file I/O is now supported.
• Errors with the outputs of the Open File function have been corrected.
• The Get Date/Time String function now returns the correct month when the mode is long/abbreviated.
• Flat Sequence structures inside For Loops had irregular behavior in some situations. This update corrects this issue.
• The Wait On Notification function no longer crashes when you wire the error in (no error) or error out parameters.
• You now can download and debug on Pocket PC 2003 devices.
• The Dialog controls and indicators are removed from the Controls palette when targeted to a PDA device or emulator. There are no dialog-type controls for PDA targets.
• File I/O performance has been improved on Pocket PC devices and emulators.

Known Issues

• Windows 2000 You must install Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 in order to use the LabVIEW PDA Module. In general, it is best to install any available service pack updates for your operating system.
• Several front panel and block diagram objects behave differently when the execution target is a PDA device or emulator. Refer to the PDA Module book of the LabVIEW Help for topics that describe different or unsupported front panel or block diagram functionality.
• In PDA VIs, subVIs that appear as a new window crash if the subVI is improperly configured. You must right-click the subVI, select SubVI Node Setup from the shortcut menu, and place a checkmark in the Show Front Panel when called and Close afterwards if originally closed checkboxes for any subVI that acts as a new window.
• You must use strict C code in Formula Nodes you use in PDA VIs. However, LabVIEW does not check the C syntax in the Formula Node syntax while in edit mode. If you build a PDA VI that contains a Formula Node with non-strict C code, the PDA Module returns a general error.
• On the 6024E, an analog input acquisition limit setting between 0 and 50mV is programmed in bipolar mode at a gain of 10 (+-500 mV) instead of 100 (+-50 mV). This may cause 3-4 bits of resolution to be lost. To program the 6024E for a gain of 100, set the low limit of the acquisition between -50 mV and 0 mV.
• You cannot build a PDA VI that uses a Call Library Node that has refnum input or output parameters.
• Color box controls and indicators are not supported on the front panel of PDA VIs. PDA VIs that contain color box controls or indicators on the front panel return an error when you build the PDA VI for Palm OS devices or emulators, and they return a warning when you build the PDA VI for Pocket PC 2002 devices or emulators.
• Significant digits are not supported. Use digits of precision instead.
• The OK, Cancel, and Stop buttons do not support different text strings for TRUE and FALSE states.
• If you right-click a terminal on a Call Library Function Node to create a control or indicator, the control or indicator might have an incorrect data range if the execution target is a PDA device or emulator. When this happens, the data range is from 0 to 0, which renders the increment and decrement arrows nonfunctional. You must manually change the data range of the control or indicator.
• When you create a VI that uses multiple global variables, do not copy controls from one global variable to another global variable. Controls copied from one global variable to another global variable result in errors when you build the VI into a PDA VI.
• The PDA Module does not work in non-English versions of Windows NT 4.0. The PDA Module works on non-English versions of Windows 2000/XP, but the software and documentation are not localized.
• If you use a non-English operating system, you might encounter errors when you build PDA VIs. The errors state that cl and/or clarm are undefined. To fix these errors, complete the following steps:
1. Open National Instruments\LabVIEW 7.0\PDA\Utilities\WCEARM.BAT and WCEx86.BAT.
2. In each BAT file, change the WCEPATH to the location where you installed the Microsoft eMbedded Tools.
3. In each BAT file, change the SDKPATH to the location where you installed the Pocket PC 2002 SDK.
4. Save your changes. You do not need to restart LabVIEW for this change to take effect.
• Palm OS Emulator Running IrDA applications on the Palm OS emulator with the Palm OS 4.0 debug ROM crashes the emulator. Use the release version of the ROM.

Documentation Correction

• Page 5-1 of the LabVIEW PDA Module User Manual incorrectly refers to the default text size of controls and indicators for Palm OS devices and emulators as 44 point. The correct size of text for Palm OS controls and indicators is 48 point.

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