optomux VI's unavailable in LV7.1.1 after 8.0 install

[bob_miller]

Delurking after months of absence...

I have been developing and supporting a large application (fieldpoint-based water plant control) for quite a while, started in late 2004 on LV7.1 (Developers' Suite. PCE). I kept the application running under the current revisions
as shipped in the subscription until the LV8.0 edition. At that time I installed 8.0, ran into serious porting issues
(app build/install scripts not porting,  etc.) and decided to defer porting my application to it and continue to use 7.1
for the time being.

The 8.0 install caused severe problems with the toolkits in 7.1, which I pretty much worried my way through. But
I recently found out while attempting to enhance the part of the code accessing an FP-1001 remotely connected
through the main FP-2020 that the optimux VIs are now missing from the LV7.1 palette and helps.

>>The optimux VIs already in my code are still there, but I cannot get any access to others in the set or help.<<

I found an (old, possibly obsolete) article in the knowledge base that suggested that  Fieldpoint 4.1 needed to
be reinstalled (after the LV-RT module), but the installer prevents doing that as Fieldpoint 5.0 is installed. Attempting to repair using the FP 5.0 drivers on the DS-PCE May '06 version didn't appear to help -- LV 7.1 still lacks the optimux VIs.

I have the August '05 DS-PCE mailing, which was the last LV7.1 update as well as the later LV 8.0 mailings. I
now heartily regret ever installing 8.0 and wonder if I have to uninstall *everything* and start over!

Help!

Bob

[bob_miller]

Call me an impatient bloke, but I have now started the complete uninstall of all
NI software (both 8.0 and 7.1 components).

I will re-install the August '05 DS-PCE mailing (the last LV 7.1 mailing).

I do not plan on installing any LV 8.0 mailings unless I am determined to do the
application port without looking back (sigh).

Needed: a definitive application note for installing LV 8.0 DS-PCE, including
all toolkits and various pieces-parts in such a way that the LV 7.1 installation
remains fully intact! I can't be the only developer on the planet who needs to
have both systems functional on the same machine long enough to port everything
forward while still supporting bug fixes for my customer in the previous version...

Bob

[Megan B.]

Hi Bob,

I'm sorry that this has been such a frustrating process for you.  Unfortunately, we do not support installing toolkits in more than one version of LabVIEW.  I know that many customers have requested this functionality and I highly suggest that you submit a Product Suggestion.  These suggestion go right to decision-makers in R&D. 

There are workarounds to this limitation.  I saw that you posted about this toolkits issue several months ago and Ed Dickens replied with a link to a document he created on the LAVA forums.  I hope his suggestions will help you get things working to your satisfaction.

Let me know if you have other questions,
Megan B.
National Instruments

[bob_miller]

Thanks, Megan! I've calmed down now.

The optomux stuff caught me by surprise; I considered that
stuff part of the LV<x.x> driver install rather than the toolkit
stuff that I knew was problematic. But what do I know

I am now alive again; I had to worry my way through the
report generation toolkit stuff again for mystical reasons I do not
understand (I only re-installed 7.1 and the r.g. toolkit installed
itself in National Instruments>LabVIEW>vi.lib>utility instead of
in the LabVIEW7.1 directory). Once I figured that out, it was
fairly easy to go back and move things around per the
instructions lying around in the knowledge base and former
discussions. LV 7.1 is now fully alive, as far as I can tell.

I now have a nice collection of expensive LV 8.0 software which
is not installed anywhere; I figure I'll budget a quiet week to install,
port my application, figure out how to set up my RT app in
the "new" way, re-create the build/install script that doesn't port
into the new build environment, and archive away the 7.1
stuff and not look back...

Or pack the whole 7.1 system in a box, computer and all (just
in case I ever need it) and buy a new computer for 8.0. Computers
are cheap.

Bob