Can Network Shared Variables Communicate Between LabVIEW Versions?

Issue Details

I have two separate applications built in two different versions of LabVIEW and I would like them to communicate with each other using Network Shared Variables.  Are network shared variables compatible with different versions of LabVIEW?

Solution

LabVIEW Shared Variables are backwards compatible since LabVIEW 8.6.1 and can communicate successfully between different versions of LabVIEW and on separate computers on the same network. However, using different versions of LabVIEW requires communicating between multiple projects, so in order to achieve this, you can use programmatic communication with the Shared Variable API or you can bind the shared variable.

Refer to the Shared Variable.lvproj example project in the Example Finder, located in Browse (according to Task) » Networking » Shared Variables, and to Reading and Writing Shared Variables Programmatically in the LabVIEW Help for further details.

Another option is to bind the NI-PSP data item (shared variable on another computer) to the shared variable you would like to use in your project. For more information, refer to the Enable Aliasing section in the  Variable Page (Shared Variables Property Dialog Box) 

Additional Information

• If you are using LabVIEW 8.6.1, make sure that you have the LabVIEW 8.6.1 Shared Variable Patch installed before attempting this. 
• If you are using a LabVIEW version older than 8.6.1, refer to Shared Variables Backwards Compatibility for Old Versions of LabVIEW in the Related Links section.