How Can I Localize My Executable So That the Decimal Separator Is the Same on European Computers?

Updated Oct 22, 2020

Environment

Software

  • LabVIEW Full

I have built an executable which I will be exporting to a localized Windows other than English. I noticed that not all the languages use a dot (.) as a decimal separator. There is an option in the LabVIEW programming environment to change this but when I build an executable, this is not inherent on my application. How can I set this setting on the executable for someone who does not have LabVIEW and cannot change the options?

At present there is no straightforward way to do this except by modifying the .ini file that is created when the executable is run. When you are in the LabVIEW development environment, you are able to turn off the "Use Localized Decimal Point" option. However, when you build an executable, you will need to update this option on the .ini of the executable so that the executable uses the same options. The steps to do this are listed below. 
  1. Once you create your application (eg: Application.exe), run it once. This will create an *.ini (Application.ini) file in the same directory of the build.
  2. Open this .ini file, and you should notice the first line is the application name [Application]. Below this, enter useLocaleDecimalPt=False. This application should then use (.) as the default separator, like in your English systems.
  3. Go back to your project and add the *.ini (Application.ini) file to your project. Open your properties for your executable. On the Source Files Category, add myapp.ini to Always Included section.
  4. On the Advanced Category, un-check Use the default LabVIEW Configuration file and select the *.ini (Application.ini) file that you have just added to the project.
  5. Build the executable again.
You should now notice that this newly built executable works the same as it would work in the LabVIEW development environment.