Configure TortoiseSVN to use LabVIEW Compare for Diff Viewing

Updated Jan 5, 2026

Environment

Software

  • LabVIEW

  • I am using TortoiseSVN as my source code control provider.  How can I configure it so I can view differences in the revisions?
  • I have configured the tortoise SVN to use for comparing different revision of file is from "C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\Shared\LabVIEW Compare\LVCompare.exe" %mine %base -nobdcosm - nobdpos. However, when I run the diff with previous version, it gives me an error: LVCompare was called with incorrect parameters.

You can configure TortoiseSVN to use LVCompare as the difference viewer.  To do this:

  1. Right-click in Windows Explorer, or on the Desktop and select TortoiseSVN»Settings.

     
  2. Under the External Programs category select Diff Viewer»Advanced.

     
  3.  Under the Advanced diff settings select Add.
  4. Type .vi in the Extension of mime-type box 
     
  5. In the External Program box, type the following and click OK:
    • 64-bit systems: "C:\Program Files\National Instruments\Shared\LabVIEW Compare\\LVCompare.exe  %mine %base -nobdcosm -nobdpos
    • 32-bit systems: "C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\Shared\LabVIEW Compare\LVCompare.exe"  %mine %base -nobdcosm -nobdpos
    • If you get an error in this step, (e.g. "LVCompare was called with incorrect parameters") make sure there are no extra spaces or characters.
  6. Repeat steps 3-6 but replace .vi with .ctl to compare control file types.

To compare a VI with the previous version in the repository right-click the VI in Windows Explorer and select TortoiseSVN»Diff With Previous Version.

Note: You must have TortoiseSVN installed to perform any of the above tasks.