Solution
The following are considerations:
- Make sure the VISA Runtime Engine is installed on the target machine. You can create an installer using the LabVIEW Application Builder that includes the VISA Runtime or Install the VISA Runtime Engine manually by downloading the desired version from NI Downloads VISA Runtime Engine. We recommend including the Runtime Engine in the installer as it will be sure to have the correct version for your application and is the most scalable solution.
LabVIEW 8.0 or later
From the Project Explorer window, right-click on Build Specifications, select New»Installer.
If you already created an installer, then right-click on your installer and select Properties... Navigate to the Additional Installers category and check NI-VISA Runtime. In some versions of LabVIEW, you may need to uncheck the Automatically select recommended installers check box before you can add additional installers. The NI-VISA Configuration Support is required to deploy VISA settings and configure VISA resources in NI MAX.
Note: The installer will include the LabVIEW Runtime Engine by default, which is necessary to run any application built using the LabVIEW Application Builder.
LabVIEW 7.1 or earlier
Click the Installer Settings tab, click the Advanced button, then place a check mark in the Serial Port Support checkbox. This will actually install the full serial portion of the NI-VISA Runtime Engine.
- Depending on your application, you may need to include your VISA settings in the installer. This can be done by including the NI MAX Hardware Configuration. For more information about how to do this, please see this KnowledgeBase article.
- If you are not able to see the usual alias for your VISA resource, such as COM1, you may see the resource by its explicit resource name, which should have the form: ASRLx::INSTR. You can use this as you would with an alias if you prefer.
- If you would like to give the resource an alias on a Windows machine (if it doesn't already have one), you can launch the Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) and select Tools»NI-VISA»VISA Options then click the word Aliases under the General Settings tree header. A list of resources will be shown and you can double click a resource to assign an alias, or use the Rename Alias button. You can also edit the alias directly in the visaconf.ini file usually found in the C:\VXIPNP\WinNT\NIvisa or C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\NIvisa directory, depending on your version of Windows. Using NI MAX is strongly recommended over altering visaconf.ini.