Create Tasks for NI-DAQmx Devices in NI MAX

This document is part of the Getting Started with NI-DAQmx Series.

This article will walk-through how to create tasks using simulated or physical NI-DAQmx devices in NI Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX). In order to determine if your device is simulated or real check the icon color. The icon color of all NI-DAQmx simulated devices are the yellow version of the physical devices. Some physical device colors can be green, black, or grey. Be sure to check for Simulated NI-DAQmx Device Considerations to confirm what you want to accomplish can be done with a simulated device.

1. Confirm that you have a physical DAQ device connected, the compatible N-DAQmx driver installed and you can see the device in NI MAX or have created simulated NI-DAQmx device available in MAX.
2. Launch NI MAX.
3. On the right-hand panel, navigate to My System >> Devices and Interfaces and right-click a device.
4. Click Create Task...

4. This will create the Create New NI-DAQmx Task... window where you will select the measurement type for the task.
5. Select the type of measurement type for the task. We will be choosing Acquire Signals » Analog Input » Voltage.

4. Once you click the measurement type it will automatically go to the next screen to choose the Supported Physical Channels. A few things to note:
   • The Supported Physical Channels will list all devices and channels that are available for the measurement type you had selected. There will be no distinction between physical/real devices or simulated devices.
   • For hardware that supports multiple channels in a task, you can select multiple channels to add to a task at the same time. Hold Ctrl key to select multiple channels individually, or Shift key to select a range of channels.
5. Once you have selected the channels you want part of your task. Click Next.

6. You will then be prompted to give the task a descriptive name. It is recommended to update the name.
7. Once the name is updated, click Finish.

8. Once finished, the task will now be available under My System >> Data Neighborhood >> NI-DAQmx Tasks and the task window will open in NI MAX to configure.

9. Based on your application needs you can configure timing, synchronization information, custom scaling , adding or deleting virtual channels, etc.
10. (Optional) If you want to add more measurement types, after configuring your task, click the Add Channels button near the top of the task or in the configuration tab. Alternatively, you can choose Remove Channels button next to it to remove any channels you don't want associated with the task. 

11. (Optional) Choose the second measurement type and the physical channels from which you are measuring. You cannot have multiple instances of the same channel in one task. Do the previous step and this step as many times to get to the number channels you need.

12. Once you are satisfied with your configuration, click Save in the toolbar at the top of the page in order to keep the task after the close of NI MAX. Make sure to save after any updates to the task.
13. Click Run in the toolbar at the top of the page. We had set the Acquisition Mode to N Samples, so it only runs it once.

Next Steps