How to View NI Device Documentation Without NI Help Viewer

Updated Mar 23, 2020

Reported In

Software

  • NI Help Viewer

Issue Details

When I go to search for a product manual, in some instances I get directed to a site that offers the option to Download Manual files in the new .nihelp format using the Required Offline Help Viewer. I can't access these files because I can't install the NI Help Offline Viewer on a secure machine. Where can I access the documents in Adobe PDF form?

Solution

Some information in the Online Help and .nihelp files may also be available in PDF format.
  • Note that the Offline Viewer is not required to view the manual. The manual can be viewed in your web browser, using the Table of Contents navigation pane on the left side of the page, or using the search bar to search This Manual.
  • Hardware specification sheets are also posted as PDF files on NI.com/manuals, although the information can also be found in some Online Help files. Additionally, the PDFs can be found by:
    • Choosing Manuals »  Document Type » Specifications on a hardware model page like this .
    • Choosing User Manuals »  Document Type » Specifications if you have searched NI.com for a specific model.

Additional Information

Manuals that are in .nihelp format can also help consolidate a collection of specification sheets and pinouts for a certain category of devices. For instance, the NI DMM manual has all the specs and pinouts for products in the PXI DMM catalog. NI Help Viewer contains the same information as the PDF Specifications, although they may be presented slightly differently

You can also use the NI Help Viewer to create PDFs of your desired information.