Display Images with NI Vision in LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI

Issue Details

Solution

There are several methods for displaying images using NI Vision software in LabVIEW and LabWindows™/CVI.

In LabVIEW you have the following options:

• Image Display Control in LabVIEW
  In LabVIEW 7.0 and later (and NI-IMAQ 2.6.1 and later), a native Image Display was integrated into LabVIEW. This control can be used to display images directly in a LabVIEW front panel.
• Refer to Display an Image - NI Vision for LabVIEW for instructions on how to use this control.
• The following are some common questions and issues with the Image Display control:
  • What is the Image Display Control in LabVIEW?
  • How Can I Programmatically Clear an Image Display Control?
  • Noisy Looking Image In LabVIEW Image Display
  • Updating an Main VI Image Display From a SubVI in LabVIEW

• IMAQ WindDraw and Associated VIs
  If you have the Vision Development Module (VDM) for LabVIEW, then you can use a palette of VIs that creates an external display window (Vision » Vision Utilities » External Display). This is only available if you have VDM installed on your machine. The following are some common questions and issues with the IMAQ Vision External Display VIs:
  • How Do I Zoom Out of an Image After Zooming in With the Zoom Tool?
  • Same Image Appears in all WindDraw Windows or Image Display Controls?
  • NI Vision - Image Display
  • IMAQ Vision Algorithms

• Picture Control or Intensity Graph
  If you are using an older version of LabVIEW (6.1 and prior) that does not contain the Image Display control, then there are two options for displaying the image in LabVIEW. If you have the Base version of LabVIEW, then you can use the LabVIEW Intensity Graph to display the image. If you have the Full or Professional versions of LabVIEW, then the Graphics and Sound palette will be available and you can use the Picture Control to display images. 
  
  For either of these displays, you will need to extract the 2D pixel array from the image and then use one of those indicators on the Front Panel. Refer to the following for additional help:
  • Import Pictures into a LabVIEW Picture Control
  • Intensity Graphs and Intensity Charts - LabVIEW User Manual
• The following are some common questions and issues with Intensity Graphs and Picture Controls:
  • Why Do My IMAQ Images Displayed in Picture Control Flicker?
  • Intensity Graph Not Displaying Data
  • Change the Color on an Intensity Graph or Chart

In LabWindows/CVI you have the following options:

• UIR Image Control
  If you have the Vision Development Module, you can access the Image Control by right clicking in an empty space of the UIR panel » Custom Controls » NI Vision » Image Control. An included example where this is displayed is OCR (with Image Control).

• imaqDisplayImage Function
  You may also choose to show your image in another window. The window becomes visible when you call the function. Furthermore, the window is associated with the image until you close the window, dispose of the image, or call this function again with the same window number. For more information regarding this function please consult page 6-11 of the IMAQ Vision for LabWindows/CVI Reference Manual. 
  
  Vision Examples for LabWindows/CVI can be found:
  <Program Files>\National Instruments\CVI2017\samples\More Samples\Vision
  which links to the following path:
  <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\CVI\Samples\Vision

Additional Information

Make sure that you have installed Vision Acquisition Software (VAS) in order to acquire images from your camera. VAS includes the drivers needed to connect and take images into your IDE.