LabVIEW Launcher

[chancwj]

I used to have a little icon in my taskbar that was a LabVIEW launcher.

I can't remember the exact name.
I lost it when my laptop was refreshed.

When you started that program it gave you a little screen with all your installed versions of LabVIEW to pick from.

Anyone ever use that, or remember where to get it?
And yes, I've looked in VIPM and NIPM.
And no, it's not the one that hooovahh put on lavag eight years ago.
Despite what google AI thinks.

[Hooovahh]

Sorry that doesn't sound familiar (other than mine). It does remind me of the LabVIEW Shell Launcher but that also doesn't sound like what you described.

[chancwj · Accepted solution]

I know I'm not hallucinating.

It was called NI Launcher.

Or perhaps ni-launcher.

Remember when google used to be good at finding information?

Now there's not a trace.

...

here's a breadcrumb!

https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Idea-Exchange/NI-Launcher-improvements-Windows-8-only/idi-p/2611025

Not sure exactly when NI Launcher appeared.  Or disappeared apparently.

Let me drag out my old laptop hard drive from the drawer ...
I see an nipkg file named ni-launcher_20.7.0.49152-0+f0_windows_x64.nipkg

From 2021.

So I'm fairly certain I installed it as an NI Package.
But I find no trace of it in NI Package Manager today.

There's also some .msi and .cab files in my old C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\MDF\ProductCache\NI Launcher [20.70.49152]

like NILauncher.msi and NILaunch.cab

Let me just try installing that .msi from the command line.

Shazam.  Installed in about 2.8 seconds.

It's a nifty little utility.  I keep it pinned to the taskbar.

Maybe I'm the last person on earth that uses it.

[Hooovahh]

Wow that is a new one for me.  I could update my launcher to have other NI products, and folder shortcuts. But it looks like most of the functionality can be replaced just by having a shortcut to the start menu folder "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\National Instruments"

[chancwj]

Nice.

That works too.

I wonder if I can zip the .nipkg file and attach it here?