LabWindows/CVI User Group Blog

I am pleased to announce that LabWindows/CVI 2013 Service Pack 2 which includes 90 new bug fixes and several toolkits, is now part of your Standard Service Program and available to download.

Toolkits Now Included with LabWindows/CVI

Many toolkits are being added at no cost to LabWindows/CVI, and certain add-ons to help you be productive. You can activate these toolkits in any version of CVI provided you have access to LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP2. If you currently don't have access make sure to renew you membership in the Standard Service Program (SSP) to grant access. Use your existing LabWindows/CVI serial numbers to activate these toolkits. These changes are live as of August 2014.

The PID Control Toolkit is now included with LabWindows/CVI Base and Full versions and the SQL Toolkit in addition to the Execution Profiler Toolkit is included with LabWindows/CVI Full. In addition, the NI Real-Time Execution Trace Toolkit is now included with the LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module.

Notes:

• Once LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP2 is installed, a LabWindows/CVI serial number will activate both the development environment and the appropriate toolkit for LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP2 and all prior versions of LabWindows/CVI installed on the machine (LabWindows/CVI 2012 and prior).
• LabWindows/CVI Base customers will be able to purchase SQL Toolkit and Execution Profiler Toolkit separately.
• The Execution Profiler Toolkit has been licensed with LabWindows/CVI Full since 2012.

Changes to the LabWindows/CVI Release Cycle

Please note that as of 2014, LabWindows/CVI will follow a two-year release cycle.

Thanks and happy programming,

Anna Kozminski

LabWindows/CVI Marketing Manager

» Download LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP2

» See a list of Bug Fixes

I am pleased to announce that LabWindows/CVI 2013 Service Pack 1 which includes 137 bug fixes, is now part of your Standard Service Program and available to download.

In addition, the LabWindows/CVI release cycle will be modified this year to account for the large investment dedicated to LabWindows/CVI 2013. Following the extensive list of new features in LabWindows/CVI 2013, the focus of 2014 development is on quality.  As a result, we plan to release a second service pack update in August 2014, LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP2, with additional improvements to stability. The next major release will be LabWindows/CVI 2015  in August 2015.

Thanks and happy programming,

Anna Kozminski

LabWindows/CVI Marketing Manager

» Download LabWindows/CVI 2013 SP1

I am very proud to announce that the next release of LabWindows/CVI contains the first set of user-suggested features sourced from the LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange. Over 15 Idea Exchange features ranging from a better batch build dialog to new features for UI controls were implemented to better meet the needs of LabWindows/CVI developers. Thank you for submitting and voting for all the great feature ideas and helping us to improve and shape the future of LabWindows/CVI!

New to the Idea Exchange? The LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange is the most direct way to let us know about functionality that you would like to see in LabWindows/CVI or behavior that is bothersome or inconvenient. We launched the LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange in November 2010 to give  programmers an avenue to collaborate on feature ideas and communicate these suggestions to our own developers. If you would like to influence future versions of LabWindows/CVI, submit a new idea or vote on the ones you like. Please visit ni.com/cvi-ideas.

LabWindows/CVI 2012 Preannouncement: these features are not available until the release of LabWindows/CVI 2012 coming soon!

Environment Features

• Updated Batch Build Dialog To Allow for Resizing

  Submitted by Peter Prinzen (forum profile Peter Prinzen) (community profile Peter Prinzen), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Support for ‘Ctrl+Click-and-Drag’ To Copy Files Between Projects Within Same Workspace

Submitted by menchar (forum profile menchar) (community profile menchar), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Updated ADE Title Bar to Show Full Path of Currently Opened File

Submitted by tstanley (forum profile tstanley) (community profile tstanley), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Updated ADE To Automatically Add a Folder for Libraries to the Project Tree

Submitted by CVI-User (forum profile CVI-User), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Added ‘Save To Disk’ Symbol to the Status Line in the UI Editor

Submitted by Wolfgang  (forum profile Wolfgang) (community profile Wolfgang), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Allow Disable of Blinking Cursor in CVI Editor

Submitted by beattidp  (forum profile beattidp) (community profile beattidp), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

Events and Callbacks

• Added Support for Panel Minimize and Restore Events

Submitted by Wolfgang  (forum profile Wolfgang) (community profile Wolfgang), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Added  Coerce Event for Numerics

Submitted by vix (forum profile vix)(community profile vix), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Added ‘Generate’ and ‘View’ Panel Callback Menu Items to Right-Click Menu of Object Browser in UI Editor

Submitted by RobertoBozzolo (forum profile RobertoBozzolo) (community profile RobertoBozzolo), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

User Interface

• Ability to Dim or Hide Items in a Ring Control

Submitted by Wolfgang  (forum profile Wolfgang) (community profile Wolfgang), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Exposed the Hidden ATTR_PLOT_TYPE Attribute

Submitted by Wolfgang  (forum profile Wolfgang) (community profile Wolfgang), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Support for Resizing Panel and Control Scroll Bars

Submitted by vix (forum profile vix)(community profile vix), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Added Support for the ATTR_COLUMN_VISIBLE Attribute to Tables

Submitted by vix (forum profile vix)(community profile vix), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Updated Table Editor to More Clearly Indicate Rows and Columns

Submitted by Wolfgang  (forum profile Wolfgang) (community profile Wolfgang), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Support for Anti-Aliasing with Canvas Objects

Submitted by aghacker  (forum profile aghacker)(community profile aghacker), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Integrate UI Tooltips into GUI Editor

Submitted by Wolfgang  (forum profile Wolfgang) (community profile Wolfgang), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

Libraries

• Added the Option to Search a ListType by Descending Order

Submitted by tstanley (forum profile tstanley) (community profile tstanley), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

• Add Functions to Network Variable Library to Create and Configure Network Variable Folders

Submitted by vix (forum profile vix)(community profile vix), Kudos! See the submitted suggestion here: Idea

The NIWeek 2012 conference and exhibition hosts the engineering, academic, and industrial communities for three full days of interactive technical sessions, exhibitions, hands-on workshops, case study presentations, and panel discussions on the latest technologies for control design, measurement, automation, manufacturing, and test. Join key decision makers, developers, and visionaries to learn about trends and advancements in the measurement and automation world at this conference. The event also is and the perfect opportunity for attendees to network with leading engineers and scientists, share best practices and example code with fellow developers, and exchange information with NI product managers. 

At NIWeek 2012 you can:

• Network with more than 3,000 engineers, scientists, educators, industry leaders, and NI developers
• Choose from 250 advanced technical presentations, hands-on workshops, case studies, and panel discussions
• Learn about creating advanced test, control, and design solutions in daily keynotes
• Discover the latest technologies, see product demonstrations and solutions in more than 200 exhibitor booths including product pavilions and partner presentations
• Improve your LabWindows/CVI knowledge by attending the sessions and workshops described below.
  

Hands-On Lab: Introduction To LabWindows/CVI

Date: Wednesday Aug 8, 4:45pm

Speakers: Darren Bieal, Product Support Engineer

Abstract: Discover how C programmers performing instrument control, data acquisition, and control design are using LabWindows/CVI to create their applications. Also learn how you can use built-in LabWindows/CVI engineering and scientific tools to be a more productive C programmer.

Comments: This 1 hour introductory session is recommended for developers with ANSI C programming experience who are not familiar with LabWindows/CVI development environment and tools.

Technical Session: Latest Features of LabWindows/CVI 2012 for Future-Proof ANSI C Development

Date: Wednesday Aug 8, 3:30pm

Speakers: Anna Kozminski, Product Manager and Jonathan Newton, LabWindows/CVI Software Engineer

Abstract: LabWindows/CVI provides ANSI C programmers with a powerful yet streamlined and flexible IDE that lends itself as an efficient tool for writing test and measurement applications. LabWindows/CVI continues to evolve as we strive to advance usability, performance and platform support. We invite you to learn about the latest feature improvements of LabWindows/CVI 2012 and share with you our vision for the future of LabWindows/CVI.

Comments: In this session we will walk through the latest features releasing with LabWindows/CVI 2012 and provide examples of how each of these will benefit you as developers. If you work in a highly-regulated industry, you will find the side-by-side run-time feature particularly interesting. My favorite new features this release are the fifteen Idea Exchange features because these suggestions came directly from LabWindows/CVI developers all around the world. If you cannot attend this session, we will post new feature documentation on ni.com/lwcvi/whats_new. However we will not post information presented by Jonathan regarding the LabWindows/CVI roadmap for version 2013 and beyond so please attend the session if possible.

Intermediate Technical Session: Developing ANSI C Applications to Communicate with FPGAs in Secure Environments

Date: Thursday Aug 9, 10:30 am

Speakers: Anna Kozminski, Product Manager and Special Guest James Kneale, Fellow Engineer at Northrop Grumman Corporation

Abstract: Application development in highly regulated industries often requires integration of software within classified environments where only carefully-checked text source code is allowed to cross into the unclassified world. This presentation demonstrates how to use the C Interface to LabVIEW FPGA to program real-time processors on NI FPGA-based hardware using C tools such as LabWindows/CVI while also considering techniques that maintain configuration control when you need to work in both secure and unrestricted environments. The C Interface to FPGA gives engineers and scientists with C expertise the ability to take advantage of FPGAs within their designs to create high performance solutions and reuse existing embedded C code.

Comments: I am delighted to co-present this session with James Kneale. Jim Kneale is a Fellow Engineer at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, focusing on hardware and software development for radar test.  Interesting fact about Jim: he holds a patent for a method of simulating radar antennas.   He also has a unique perspective on mixing LabWindows/CVI and LabVIEW FPGA becuase most of the software he works on must pass between classified areas which lead him to find effecitve ways to consistently maintain security of code that includes LabVIEW FPGA and LabWindows/CVI C components.

LabWindows/CVI Developer Certification

Validate your skills or renew your  LabWindows/CVI certification at NIWeek at discounted rates. Simply register for these exams when you register for NIWeek. Learn more are ni.com/niweek/training

All NIWeek attendees: 35% off of list price

Alliance Partners: 50% off of list price

About the LabWindows/CVI Certification

NI Certified LabWindows/CVI Developers have demonstrated a solid understanding of the environment and its capabilities and the ability to develop functional applications while minimizing development time. You can use this certification to assess and validate an individual’s LabWindows/CVI development skills for the purpose of project staffing or career advancement.  For example, having Certified Developers on staff to provide technical leadership and guidance ensures that less-experienced developers are following best practices that will make them more competent and efficient developers. All National Instruments Alliance Partners at the Certified Partner level and above maintain at least one Certified Developer or Architect on staff, so that clients can be sure they are getting the best possible results.

• Requires a broad and complete understanding of LabWindows/CVI core features and functionality
• Valid for 2 years from date taken, recertification required to maintain credentials
• Benefits include use of certification logo and listing on ni.com

Recommended Experience Level

• 12 to 18 months of experience developing and deploying medium to large LabWindows/CVI applications

OR

• LabWindows/CVI Basics I and II with 6 months of LabWindows/CVI development experience

Exam Details

• Format: Application development
• Duration: 4 hours

I am pleased to inform you that the LabWindows/CVI Beta Program is now open for new registration requests. As a beta program member you will be among the first to use the next LabWindows/CVI release features, provide feedback to Nl, and get you a head start in learning the latest and greatest LabWindows/CVI features.

Be the first to test-drive LabWindows/CVI 2012 and the LabWindows/CVI 2012 Real-Time Module. Through the LabWindows/CVI Beta Program, you can download the software, report bugs, comment on and suggest features, track development progress, and access software documentation. Get an early look at new features like Side-by-Side Run-Time Engine, user interface (UI) tool tips, Idea Exchange features, and more.

Recent News on LabWindows/CVI Inside NI

LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange Turns 1 Year Old - In just one year, you have contributed over 170 ideas, each of which we reviewed and are proud to announce that a subset of these are already being implemented in LabWindows/CVI 2012!  Each new Idea starts in the New status, then once it has been reviewed, we will assign the status as Under Consideration, In Beta, Completed, Duplicate or Declined so that you can track the progress of your suggestions. Thank you for all your amazing suggestions and feature requests, be sure to look for yours in upcoming releases of CVI! Visit ni.com/cvi-ideas.

I also want to specially  thank our top kudoed CVI Idea Exchange contributors for acutely recognizing and documenting such well received ideas. Special thanks to Wolfgang, vix, Peter Prinzen, tstanley , Roberto Bozzolo and CVI-User!

New to the Idea Exchange? The CVI Idea Exchange is the most direct way to let us know about functionality that you would like to see in CVI or behavior that is bothersome or inconvenient. We launched the CVI Idea Exchange in November 2010 to give CVI programmers an avenue to communicate with our own developers because often times these ideas can be implemented fairly easily but we just didn't know about them. My recommendation is to review the ideas every so often so that you can give input by voting on the ones that you endorse and of course post your own! The easy-to-remember vanity URL is ni.com/cvi-ideas.

LabWindows/CVI at NI Week 2011 - If you were not able to attend NI Week this year, I invite you read the blog post about theLabWindows/CVI Showcase at NI Week and I hope to see you next year for the launch of LabWindows/CVI 2012!

AutoTest Conference in Baltimore, Sept 2011 - It was great to have met so many LabWindows/CVI developers at AutoTest Con this past September.  Thank you for stopping by the National Instruments booth and chatting with me about your CVI applications.  We had the CVI Structural Testing Demo on display to showcase LabWindows/CVI 2010 being used to test the structural integrity of an airplane wing.  If you missed it,  we recorded the short video below. If you would like to learn more about AutoTest Conference, visit www.autotestcon.com

Best Regards and Happy Holidays!

Anna Kozminski

LabWindows/CVI Product Manager

Thank you to all the attendees of today's LabWindows/CVI sessions and events!

It was wonderful to meet so many of you today at the LabWindows/CVI sessions and on the show the floor. I can now associate a face and a real person to your community personas and overall feel very welcome to the LabWindows/CVI user community. Thank you!

Highlights from Today's Events

LabWindows/CVI Sessions: "What's New in LabWindows/CVI 2010 and Beyond" and "Developing ANSI C Applications to Communicate with FPGAs"

"Look how far we have come" - today we took a look at the past and future of LabWindows/CVI. Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the product and we could not reach this milestone without the continued feedback and idea suggestions from our user base to help us keep improving and innovating. Luis Gomes, LabWindows/CVI R&D Group Manager spoke today about the LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange as the first place our developers look to in deciding what features we will be implementing next. All ideas on the idea exchange get considered and you can expect the top rated proposals to appear in upcoming versions of LabWindows/CVI. We also reiterated the benefits of LabWindow/CVI 2010 after whcih Luis gave us insight into the future technology investments for CVI. We want to thank you for all the great comments we received, our goal in providing you with the best tools possible means that your requests and opinions will help shape the future of the product. Thank you again for participating.

"I love the FPGA Interface C API so much, I could cry" - today's session literally brought me to tears today, though this is due in part to my allergies! In the "Developing ANSI C Applications to Communicate with FPGAs" session we discussed FPGA technology and its benefits, the NI RIO Platform and then broke down the entire development process from creating FPGA code to creating and deploying the ANSI C application that controls and pulls data back from the FPGA hardware. Kent Johnson, Senior Software Engineer for CompactRIO walked us through a live demo showing us how to use the LabVIEW FPGA module to program a PXI R Series RIO board and how to program the C Host application in LabWindows/CVI by using the FPGA Interface C API Generator built into CVI (Tools >> Launch FPGA Interface C API Generator). Again we had a lot of excellent questions that spawned some great discussions, we thank you for your attention and interest in this session!

-> Install the latest FPGA Interface C API 1.3

LabWindows/CVI Developers Lunch

Thanks to everyone that came out to the LabWindows/CVI developers lunch today. We sat down with CVI users (and some lost LabVIEW users) to chat and dine at the Peer2Peer tables in the NIWeek cafeteria. Table 1 was hosted by Nick Beer, CVI developer and Luis Gomes, CVI R&D Group Manager. Table 2 was hosted by Jeff Pautler, CVI RealTime Group Manager and Michael Harrison, Senior Software Engineer for CVI.

Best Regards,

Anna Kozminski

LabWindows/CVI Product Manager

Additions to the LabWindows/CVI Team

I am very excited to announce and introduce a new member of the LabWindows/CVI team. Please join me in welcoming Anna Kozminski as the new LabWindows/CVI Product Manager. Anna has undeniable passion for LabWindows/CVI and a deep technical knowledge and understanding of CVI user needs. Anna has been a part of the NI team for several years and comes from the Applications Engineering group in which she supported LabWindows/CVI developers like yourself! I have no doubts, that her background will add immense value to the LabWindows/CVI team  to help define innovate product features and continue to grow the LabWindows/CVI user base. I encourage you to come out to NIWeek 2011 and meet Anna for yourself!

As for my next move...I am embarking on a new challenge within NI, but I look forward to continued involvement with the LabWindows/CVI team and the users! I cannot thank you enough for making my job as the LabWindows/CVI Product Manager enjoyable and exciting!

Just a few more updates before passing the reigns on to Anna...

• Update on the LabWindows/CVI Developer Newsletter
  In the past 2 years, the newsletter has nearly doubled the number of users subscribed and we cannot thank you enough for your contied support!

• Introducing the LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange
  The LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange is a product feedback forum where NI R&D and users work together to submit ideas, collaborate on their development, and vote for the ones they like best ! This idea portal launched with LabWindows/CVI 2010 in November 2010 and over 120 ideas have already been submitted. The LabWindows/CVI team is committed to reviewing every idea submitted via the LabWindows/CVI Idea Exchange, so submit your idea today or vote on others and help define  the future of LabWindows/CVI!

Thanks again and happy developing,

Adri Kruger

Software Product Marketing

The schedule for LabWindows™/CVI Events at NI Week 2011 has been leaked! We welcome you to join us for a variety of LabWindows/CVI activities lined up on Tuesday, August 2nd. Check back here for updated information regarding LabWindows/CVI events.

What’s New in NI LabWindows™/CVI 2010 and Beyond

Tuesday August 2, 2011, 10:30-11:30

Presented by:

Anna Kozminski - Product Marketing Manager for LabWindows™/CVI

Luis Gomes - LabWindows/CVI Software Group Manager

At a time when the pace of innovation is more rapid than ever before, shortening the time to market of your products has never been more important. Our mission is to provide C programmers with a powerful and flexible IDE that lends itself as an efficient tool for writing test and measurement applications. LabWindows/CVI continues to evolve as we strive to advance usability, performance and platform support. We invite you to learn about the latest feature improvements and share with you our vision for the future of LabWindows/CVI.

LabWindows™/CVI Developers Lunch

Tuesday August 2, 2011 12:00-1:00

Come meet the CVI team! We are hosting an informal discussion forum over lunch on Tuesday August 2^nd. We welcome you to pull up a chair to dine and chat with other C developers. In attendance will be myself - Anna Kozminski, a handful of CVI R&D developers and many other CVI users. Just look for the designated tables in the NI Week dining area. We look forward to seeing you there!

Developing ANSI C Applications to Communicate With FPGAs

Tuesday August 2, 2011 1:00-2:00

Presented by:

Anna Kozminski - Product Marketing Manager for LabWindows™/CVI

Kent Johnson - CompactRIO Senior Software Engineer

The C Interface to FPGA gives engineers and scientists with C expertise the ability to take advantage of FPGAs within their designs without the burden of learning hardware design while also giving them the option to reuse their existing embedded C code. With the C Interface to LabVIEW FPGA, engineers and scientists can program the real-time processor on NI FPGA-based hardware using C tools such as NI LabWindows^™/CVI, Microsoft Visual Studio, or Wind River Workbench and interface to the LabVIEW FPGA code running on the FPGA.

Recent News on LabWindows/CVI Inside NI

• NI Week 2010 will be held on August 3-5 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas for three days of interactive technical sessions, targeted summits, hands-on workshops, and exhibitions on the latest developments for design, control, automation, manufacturing, and test. The conference also features keynote presentations and demonstrations that highlight how engineers and scientists can use NI graphical system design to test, measure, and fix inefficient products and processes to improve everyday life.
• NI Week mobile site provides iPhone and iPad users with a convenient way to get information on NIWeek 2010. Using the mobile site, you can view the conference schedule and search for sessions by day and time or by type of session. You also can view full abstracts and speaker names for the more than 200 technical sessions offered at NIWeek. Additionally, the mobile site provides links to the expo hall map, demo videos, and social media outlets that will help you stay connected during NI Week.
• LabWindows/CVI activities at NI Week are lined-up for on Day 1 (August 3). We hope you can join us for :
  • What’s New in LabWindows/CVI 2009 and Beyond - Tuesday, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM, Room 11B
    Explore the new features of LabWindows/CVI 2009 and LabWindows/CVI Real-Time 2009 that increase productivity, improve application reliability and enable users to start taking advantage of the latest advancing technologies. In this session you will also have the opportunity to share your feedback directly with LabWindows/CVI developers.
  • LabWindows/CVI and Measurement Studio Developers Lunch - Tuesday, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, Tables 2&3
    Come and enjoy lunch with members of the LabWindows/CVI development team and other users.
  • Using the C Interface for LabVIEW FPGA - Tuesday, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM, Room 16A
    Learn how to develop ANSI-C based applications that communicate with LabVIEW FPGA-based hardware using the FPGA Interface C API and explore tips on how to get started architecting applications.
  • Digital Protocol Emulation with NI LabWindows/CVI and LabVIEW™ FPGA - Test Pavilion

         Look for additional information on LabWindows/CVI NI Week activities on the LabWindows/CVI Community

A Few Additional Notes on LabWindows/CVI Inside NI

• LabWindows/CVI 2009 Service Pack 1 was recently announced to LabWindows/CVI customers around the World. 
• LabWindows/CVI Beta Program includes access to beta software for LabWindows/CVI 2010, LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module 2010 and LabWindows/CVI Linux Module 2010. 
• LabWindows/CVI Community has grown to over 80 members! Join today and start collaborating with LabWindows/CVI users around the world, get updates on new software releases, view tips and trick for development and read news blogs on activities surrounding LabWindows/CVI.