Creating an NI-DAQmx Application Installer with LabVIEW

Using a LabVIEW project, you can create an executable from your NI-DAQmx application and bundle it into a distributable installer.  This installer can be configured to include you system's hardware and task configuration from NI MAX as well as the NI-DAQmx driver or one of the NI-DAQmx runtime distributions.

Creating an NI-DAQmx Executable

1. Open your LabVIEW project, right click on Build Specifications and choose New » Application (EXE)

2. In the Properties window, configure your application's name, destination directory, and description.

3. Click on the Source Files category to select which VI's you want to use in your application.  You must have at least one VI in your Startup VIs list.  Any VI's that are called dynamically should go into the Always Included VI's list.

4. In the Preview category, click on Generate Preview to see what files and executables will be created and where they will be located.  

5. Once you are satisfied with your build specifications, click the Build button.  Your executable will be automatically built and placed in the specified directory.

 

Building an NI-DAQmx Application Installer

1. Open your LabVIEW project, right click on Build Specifications and choose New » Installer

2. In the Properties window, configure your installer's name, destination directory, and version number.

3. In the Source Files category, move your application to the Destination View.  In this window, you can create new folders on the target system and configure where your application will be installed.  You can also choose other (not project related) files that will be installed on the target system.

4. In the Shortcuts category, you can create the shortcuts to your application that will be installed on the target system.  Some of the places you can create shortcuts in are the Start Menu, Startup Folder and Desktop.
5. In the Additional Installers category verify that the NI LabVIEW Run-Time Engine is selected as well as the NI-DAQmx driver.  If using NI-DAQmx 9.0 or later you will have different NI-DAQmx Run-Time options.  Some of these are slimmed down versions of NI-DAQmx used to decrease the size of the footprint left on the target machine.  Click on each of the NI-DAQmx Run-Time options for a detailed description on what is included. Deselect Automatically select recommended Installers as well as Only display runtime installers and select NI-DAQmx Application Development Support.

6. In the Hardware Configuration category, you can choose to include a hardware configuration from MAX that can include MAX channels, tasks and devices.  You can choose an existing file or launch the MAX Configuration Export Wizard by clicking the Configure button.