No Errors Listed When Clicking the Broken Run Arrow in LabVIEW

Updated Nov 20, 2023

Reported In

Software

  • LabVIEW

Issue Details

  • My VI has a broken run arrow, but there are no errors in my error list in LabVIEW. Why is it broken if there are no errors?
  • The mass compile tool gets a broken arrow after mass compiling my project, and now I can't fix it.

Solution

This can be solved in different ways, depending on the cause:
  • Look for an undefined tunnel on a loop structure. This is represented as a black tunnel on the border of a While or For Loop. Delete the terminal to remove the broken arrow.
  • Force a recompile of the VI (Press Ctrl+Shift and left-click the Run arrow from LabVIEW). This often solves the problem.
  • This can also occur when you have multiple versions of a VI on your system. For example, if your top-level VI is saved in LabVIEW 2013 and one of the subVIs it calls is saved in LabVIEW 2018, you might see this behavior. To solve this problem, mass compile the directory containing your VIs, as described in the Detailed Help. You should receive an error during the mass compile that points to the subVI that is of an incompatible version. You then need to save this VI as the correct version, and relink it to your top-level VI by opening it. 
  • Internal errors can also cause this behavior. If mass compiling the relevant VIs does not correct the broken Run Arrow, please contact NI Technical Support. 
  • The mass compile tool could also get a broken arrow after mass compiling your project (as shown in the image below) if you have subVIs, dlls, controls or other files that were created in a previous LabVIEW version (for example 2013). If those files were taken from the LabVIEW folders instr.lib or vib.lib of the previous version of LabVIEW, this can potentially cause the broken arrow when mass compiling. To solve this, identify those subVIs or files and delete them from your project, and add the corresponding files from the current LabVIEW version you have installed (for example 2018).