Yes, it is possible to have the DAQ libraries integrated into multiple versions of LabWindows/CVI installed on the same PC.
DAQ libraries only install into the latest version of LabWindows/CVI since the DAQ installer doesn't search for all LabWindows/CVI versions on the system. For example, if both LabWindows/CVI 8.0 and 7.1 are installed on the system, the DAQ libraries will only be installed to the LabWindows/CVI 8.0 directories.
There are several options to include the DAQ libraries in the desired LabWIndows/CVI version. The options that follow copy files from 8.0 to 7.1; you can apply these options to copy files from a working version to another version.
Option 1 - Add the DAQ libraries to your Instrument folder inside the Library Tree
This option adds the DAQ libraries to your Instruments folder only for the current LabWindows/CVI session. This means that these loaded libraries will disappear when LabWindows/CVI is restarted.
To use this option, follow the steps below:
- Right-click on the "Instrument" folder inside the Library Tree and select Load Instrument....
- Navigate to the C:\Program Files\National Instruments\CVI80\bin directory.
- Change the "Files of Type" setting to All Files (*.*) and select NIDAQmx.lfp for the DAQmx library and dataacq.lfp for the Traditional DAQ library.
Option 2 - Add the DAQ libraries to your project
This option ensures that the DAQ libraries will load every time your project is opened. To add the DAQ libraries, right-click on the project name inside the Project Tree and select Add File.... Then follow steps 2 and 3 mentioned in "Option 1".
Option 3 - Add the DAQ libraries to the main LabWindows/CVI libraries
This method adds the DAQ libraries to the main LabWindows/CVI libraries. The advantage in using this option is that the .lfp files do not need to be added to a project. These DAQ libraries will automatically be loaded into the Library menu and the Libraries folder in the Library Tree. Therefore any LabWindows/CVI project created will have access to those libraries.
As of LabWindows/CVI 8.5, the directory structures have been modified where this should not be a problem any more. The necessary DAQ libraries are stored in the Program Files\National Instruments\Shared\CVI directory rather than Program Files\National Instruments\CVIXX (where XX is the version number). However, you may still want to copy files from the newer directories to the older directory structure to have DAQ support in earlier versions of CVI. The example below shows how to move the DAQ libraries from the new location to the older locations to allow for DAQ support in CVI 8.1.
DAQmx
1. Copy the following files (if they exist) from the Shared\CVI\bin directory to the CVI81\bin directory.
- nidaqmx_lvrt.lib
- nidaqmx.fpc
- NIDAQmx.lfp
- nidaqmx.lib
- NIDAQmx.sub
2. Copy any .lib files that start with NIDAQmx from Shared\CVI\bin\borland to CVI81\bin\borland.
3. Copy any .lib files that start with NIDAQmx from Shared\CVI\bin\msvc to CVI81\bin\msvc.
4. Copy the NIDAQmx.lib file (if it exists from Shared\CVI\extlib to CVI81\extlib.
5. Copy any .lib files that start with NIDAQmx from Shared\CVI\extlib \borland to CVI81\extlib \borland.
6. Copy any .lib files that start with NIDAQmx from Shared\CVI\extlib \msvc to CVI81\extlib \msvc.
7. Copy the NIDAQmx.h file from Shared\CVI\include to CVI81\include.
8. Copy any file in the Shared\CVI\toolslib\custctrl\ directory that starts with daqmxioctrl over to the CVI81\toolslib\custctrl\ directory.
Traditional NI-DAQ
Copy the following files from the Shared\CVI\bin directory to the CVI81\bin directory.
- easyio.lfp
- easyio.lib
- dataacq.lfp
- dataacq.lib
- dataacq.pth
Copy the easyio.h and dataacq.h header files from Shared\CVI\include to CVI81\include.