National Instruments recently released LabVIEW 2016. With a new version of LabVIEW comes new instructions on installing it. This tutorial will help guide you through the process of downloading and installing LabVIEW 2016 on a Windows computer.
- Labview Full Development System Price Guide
- Labview Full Development System Price Guide
- Labview Professional Development System Cost
- Labview Full Development System Price Comparison
LabVIEW System Requirements
LabVIEW enables you to immediately visualize results with built-in, drag-and-drop engineering user interface creation and integrated data viewers. To turn your acquired data into real business results, you can develop algorithms for data analysis and advanced control with included math and signal processing IP or reuse your own libraries from a.
The first thing you want to look at is whether your computer meets the minimum system requirements or not. Refer to the table below to determine if your PC can run LabVIEW 2016:
Windows | Run-Time Engine | Development Environment |
Processor | Pentium III/Celeron 866 MHz (or equivalent) or later (32-bit) Pentium 4 G1 (or equivalent) or later (64-bit) | Pentium 4M (or equivalent) or later (32-bit) Pentium 4 G1 (or equivalent) or later (64-bit) |
RAM | 256 MB | 1 GB |
Screen Resolution | 1024 x 768 pixels | 1024 x 768 pixels |
Operating System | Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12 Windows Server 2012 R21 Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12 | Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12 Windows Server 2012 R21 Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12 |
Disk Space | 620 MB | 5 GB (includes default drivers from the NI Device Drivers media) |
Color Palette | N/A | LabVIEW and the LabVIEW Help contain 16-bit color graphics. LabVIEW requires a minimum color palette setting of 16-bit color. |
Temporary Files Directory | N/A | LabVIEW uses a directory for storing temporary files. NI recommends that you have several megabytes of disk space available for this temporary directory. |
Adobe Reader | N/A | You must have Adobe Reader installed to search PDF versions of all LabVIEW manuals. |
1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.1. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates. 2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update. Note You cannot access LabVIEW using a Guest account on Windows. |
Basically, if you have a Windows Computer that was purchased in the last 5 – 8 years, then you should be able to run this software. However, it’s stillhighly recommended that you verify that your hardware meets the requirements.
Downloading the Software
- LabVIEW Full Development System; LabVIEW Control Design and Simulation Module; LabVIEW MathScript RT Module; all licensed for non-commercial, personal use for $49 and as part of hardware bundles from Sparkfun and Digilent. We're also working a community for Makers using LabVIEW at www.labviewmakerhub.com (formerly LabVIEW Hacker).
- The National Instruments LabVIEW 6.1 Full Development System Software is a system-design platform and development environment for a visual programming language.
You can download the installer from here. You’ll see two options listed, one for the NI Download Manager and another for the Standard Download. It is recommended that you use the NI Download Manager option. Click on the “2016LV-64WinEng_downloader.exe” link under the “NI Download Manager” section to begin the download.
Once the download is done, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the file to and right-click on it and choose “Run as Administrator”
A window will come up asking you where to save a file. Leave the settings default and choose “Save”
Now the installer will start to download. How long the download takes depends on your internet connection and NI’s servers at the time of download.
Once the downloader is done, click the “Open” button:
A window will come up telling you a self-extracting archive wants to create an image on your machine. Click “OK”.
On the window that comes up, click “Unzip”
This may take a while depending on your computer’s hardware.
Once it’s done extracting, it will tell you the files have extracted. Click “OK”.
Installing the NI LabVIEW Software
After you’ve finished the above steps, the installer should automatically open. Follow these steps to finish the installation:
- Click “Next” on the main window
- Fill out your name and organization. This information is mostly irrelevant. Hit Next when you are done
- Next, you will be asked for your serial #. You should have received your serial # from Studica. The serial # should look something like this: A12B34567. It’s a 9-digit series of letters and numbers. If you have a physical copy of LabVIEW, the serial # should be located on the DVD sleeve that the DVD came in.If you purchased a digital download version from Studica and you don’t know what your serial # is, follow these steps:
- Go to studica.com
- Click the “Log In” button at the top-right of the page
- Sign in with your account that you made with Studica and then click “Log In”
- Once you’re logged in, click the “My Downloads” option near the top of the page:
- You should see your LabVIEW product listed along with the serial #. You will want to take note of this serial # for future use.
- Once you have your serial #, copy and paste it into the “LabVIEW 2016 (Base/Full/Professional)” field.
- Once you have your serial #, copy and paste it into the “LabVIEW 2016 (Base/Full/Professional)” field.
- On the next window, you can leave the fields default and click “Next”.
- Leave the features on the next window default and click “Next”.
- You can leave the next window default if you want to be informed of updates for your product. If not, you can uncheck the box and click “Next”.
- Accept the license agreements on the next window and click “Next”.
- Accept the license agreements again on the next window and click “Next”.
- On the next window, I recommend Unchecking the box that wants you to disable Windows fast startup. This mostly applies to Windows 8 and newer computers that implement fast startup.
- Lastly, click “Next” on the final window to proceed to the installation.
![Labview full development system price comparison Labview full development system price comparison](/uploads/1/1/7/9/117943566/236189360.jpg)
At this point, the product will begin to install. LabVIEW is a moderately large program so it may take a while to install. How long it takes depends on your computer’s hardware. Expect it to take anywhere between 5 minutes to an hour.
Near the end of the installation, you may get a message like this:
Click on “Decline Support”
Once your installation is complete, you will want to restart your computer.
Activating the Product
Once the software is installed, you need to make sure it’s activated.
- Go to your start menu and type “NI License Manager”.
- Right-click the “NI License Manager” app and choose “Run as Administrator”
- Once the license manager is open, expand the “LabVIEW 2016” section → “Development System” → right-click on “Student Edition” and choose “Activate…”.
- On the window that comes up, leave everything default and click “Next”.
- Put in your Serial # and click “Next”.
- You will then be asked to sign into your NI account. If you do not have an NI account, you must create one. To do this, click the “Create a new account” option underneath the login boxes. Fill out any information that’s asked of you and create your account. Once it’s created, use your new login information to log into your account through the activation wizard.
- On the next window, leave the box checked and click “Next”
- Click next on the next window and your product will attempt to activate.
- It should finish activation without issue. Once the activation is done, you are ready to use your LabVIEW software. If you get a serial # error, you can contact Studica at 888-561-7521 and ask for support. If you are missing a LabVIEW icon from your desktop, then go to your start menu and type “LabVIEW”. You can then open the LabVIEW 2016 software from here by clicking on the icon:
Conclusion:
That should be all there is to installing National InstrumentsLabVIEW 2016 on Windows. If you have issues with the installation, feel free to contact us at 888-561-7521 Monday – Friday and ask for support. Thanks!
Blogger: Mark Philipp, Application Engineer at Studica
Home > Articles > Programming
␡- What Exactly Is LabVIEW, and What Can It Do for Me?
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This chapter is from the book Labview Full Development System Price Guide
LabVIEW for Everyone: Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun, 3rd Edition
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
LabVIEW for Everyone: Graphical Programming Made Easy and Fun, 3rd Edition
What Exactly Is LabVIEW, and What Can It Do for Me?
LabVIEW, short for Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench, is a programming environment in which you create programs using a graphical notation (connecting functional nodes via wires through which data flows); in this regard, it differs from traditional programming languages like C, C++, or Java, in which you program with text. However, LabVIEW is much more than a programming language. It is an interactive program development and execution system designed for people, like scientists and engineers, who need to program as part of their jobs. The LabVIEW development environment works on computers running Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. LabVIEW can create programs that run on those platforms, as well as Microsoft Pocket PC, Microsoft Windows CE, Palm OS, and a variety of embedded platforms, including Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and microprocessors.
Using the very powerful graphical programming language that many LabVIEW users affectionately call 'G' (for graphical), LabVIEW can increase your productivity by orders of magnitude. Programs that take weeks or months to write using conventional programming languages can be completed in hours using LabVIEW because it is specifically designed to take measurements, analyze data, and present results to the user. And because LabVIEW has such a versatile graphical user interface and is so easy to program with, it is also ideal for simulations, presentation of ideas, general programming, or even teaching basic programming concepts.
LabVIEW offers more flexibility than standard laboratory instruments because it is software-based. You, not the instrument manufacturer, define instrument functionality. Your computer, plug-in hardware, and LabVIEW comprise a completely configurable virtual instrument to accomplish your tasks. Using LabVIEW, you can create exactly the type of virtual instrument you need, when you need it, at a fraction of the cost of traditional instruments. When your needs change, you can modify your virtual instrument in moments.
Labview Full Development System Price Guide
LabVIEW tries to make your life as hassle-free as possible. It has extensive libraries of functions and subroutines to help you with most programming tasks, without the fuss of pointers, memory allocation, and other arcane programming problems found in conventional programming languages. LabVIEW also contains application-specific libraries of code for data acquisition (DAQ), General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB), and serial instrument control, data analysis, data presentation, data storage, and communication over the Internet. The Analysis Library contains a multitude of useful functions, including signal generation, signal processing, filters, windows, statistics, regression, linear algebra, and array arithmetic.
Figure 1.1 The Space Industries Sheet Float Zone Furnace is used for high-temperature superconductor materials processing research in a microgravity environment aboard the NASA KC-135 parabolic aircraft. LabVIEW controls the industrialized Mac OS-based system.
Because of LabVIEW's graphical nature, it is inherently a data presentation package. Output appears in any form you desire. Charts, graphs, and user-defined graphics comprise just a fraction of available output options. This book will show you how to present data in all of these forms.
LabVIEW's programs are portable across platforms, so you can write a program on a Macintosh and then load and run it on a Windows machine without changing a thing in most applications. You will find LabVIEW applications improving operations in any number of industries, from every kind of engineering and process control to biology, farming, psychology, chemistry, physics, teaching, and many others.
Dataflow and the Graphical Programming Language
The LabVIEW program development environment is different from standard C or Java development systems in one important respect: While other programming systems use text-based languages to create lines of code, LabVIEW uses a graphical programming language, often called 'G,' to create programs in a pictorial form called a block diagram.
Graphical programming eliminates a lot of the syntactical details associated with text-based languages, such as where to put your semicolons and curly braces. (If you don't know how text-based languages use these, don't worry. With LabVIEW, you don't need to know!)
Graphical programming allows you to concentrate on the flow of data within your application, because its simple syntax doesn't obscure what the program is doing. Figures 1.2 and 1.3 show a simple LabVIEW user interface and the code behind it.
Figure 1.3 Graphical code
LabVIEW uses terminology, icons, and ideas familiar to scientists and engineers. It relies on graphical symbols rather than textual language to define a program's actions. Its execution is based on the principle of dataflow, in which functions execute only after receiving the necessary data. Because of these features, you can learn LabVIEW even if you have little or no programming experience. However, you will find that a knowledge of programming fundamentals is very helpful.
How Does LabVIEW Work?
A LabVIEW program consists of one or more virtual instruments (VIs). Virtual instruments are called such because their appearance and operation often imitate actual physical instruments. However, behind the scenes, they are analogous to main programs, functions, and subroutines from popular programming languages like C or Basic. Hereafter, we will refer to a LabVIEW program as a 'VI' (pronounced 'vee eye,' NOT the Roman numeral six, as we've heard some people say). Also, be aware that a LabVIEW program is always called a VI, whether its appearance or function relates to an actual instrument or not.
![Labview Labview](/uploads/1/1/7/9/117943566/485762683.png)
A VI has three main parts: a front panel, a block diagram, and an icon.
- The front panel is the interactive user interface of a VI, so named because it simulates the front panel of a physical instrument (see Figure 1.4). The front panel can contain knobs, push buttons, graphs, and many other controls (which are user inputs) and indicators (which are program outputs). You can input data using a mouse and keyboard, and then view the results produced by your program on the screen.
- The block diagram is the VI's source code, constructed in LabVIEW's graphical programming language, G (see Figure 1.5). The block diagram is the actual executable program. The components of a block diagram are lower-level VIs, built-in functions, constants, and program execution control structures. You draw wires to connect the appropriate objects together to define the flow of data between them. Front panel objects have corresponding terminals on the block diagram so data can pass from the user to the program and back to the user.Figure 1.5 A VI block diagram
- In order to use a VI as a subroutine in the block diagram of another VI, it must have an icon with a connector (see Figure 1.6). A VI that is used within another VI is called a subVI and is analogous to a subroutine. The icon is a VI's pictorial representation and is used as an object in the block diagram of another VI. A VI's connector is the mechanism used to wire data into the VI from other block diagrams when the VI is used as a subVI. Much like parameters of a subroutine, the connector defines the inputs and outputs of the VI.
Virtual instruments are hierarchical and modular. You can use them as top-level programs or subprograms. With this architecture, LabVIEW promotes the concept of modular programming. First, you divide an application into a series of simple subtasks. Next, you build a VI to accomplish each subtask and then combine those VIs on a top-level block diagram to complete the larger task.
Modular programming is a plus because you can execute each subVI by itself, which facilitates debugging. Furthermore, many low-level subVIs often perform tasks common to several applications and can be used independently by each individual application.
Labview Professional Development System Cost
Just so you can keep things straight, we've listed a few common LabVIEW terms with their conventional programming equivalents in Table 1.1.
Labview Full Development System Price Comparison
Table 1.1. LabVIEW Terms and Their Conventional Equivalents
LabVIEW | Conventional Language |
VI | program |
function | function or method |
subVI | subroutine, subprogram, object |
front panel | user interface |
block diagram | program code |
G | C, C++, Java, Pascal, BASIC, etc. |
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