LabVIEW Materials, Tips and Tricks

Learning LabVIEW FPGA Scaling and Division

2025-12-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

The following two links helps to understand the LabVIEW FPGA scaling and division usage.

https://forums.ni.com/t5/Example-Code/LabVIEW-FPGA-Scaling-and-Division/ta-p/3996338

https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Dividing-in-FPGA/td-p/189324

Speedup the VI's running inside loop_Inline sub vi

2023-12-31T05:34:00.000-08:00

Calling the sub vi's continuously inside loop makes sub vi over head. This causes delay in execution speed. To over come this issue we can make the sub vi as inline vi ( Refer following articles and discussion forum for more details).

In one of our project we set both inline & subroutine VI properties (wherever possible) to increase the execution speed of sub vi.

https://www.ni.com/docs/en-US/bundle/labview/page/vi-execution-speed.html

https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Inline-subvi/td-p/1279078

Solving ActiveX- Excel error -2147319784 & Crash Issue

2022-09-28T05:55:00.006-07:00

I was upgrading LabVIEW 7.1 code to LabVIEW 2020 (32 bit) which has activeX excel report generation. Code upgraded for Win 10 OS 64 bit & Office 365 - 64 bitVersion. While executing the EXE in some other Win 10 OS with Office 365 version machine got Excel Error "-2147319784".

To solve this issue ActiveX function used VI properties->Execution->Preferred Execution System changed to User Interface based on the https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/What-is-error-2147417851/td-p/103921 forum suggestion.

EXE crashes while generating Excel report in Win10-64 bit OS with Office 2016-64 bit machine.

To solve this issue, we removed the “Save As” ActiveX function in code & replaced with Save function. After that it works in both Office 365 & 2016 (both 64 bit) with LabVIEW 2020 32 bit

Here development machine Office 365 version also important we used Version 1609

Hope this will help...

LabVIEW Actor Framework Study Materials Link-Articles-Examples

2021-11-12T03:59:00.005-08:00

Here are some links which helps to understand LabVIEW Actor Framework.

https://www.ni.com/en-in/innovations/videos/11/ni-labview-virtual-user-group--introduction-to-actor-framework.html

https://labviewwiki.org/wiki/Actor_Framework

https://labviewwiki.org/wiki/Actor_Framework_is_not_as_hard_as_you_think_and_here_is_why%E2%80%A6

https://www.ni.com/documentation/en/labview-comms/5.0/prog-pattern/actorframe/

https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Actor-Framework-for-Dummies/td-p/3637691?profile.language=en

https://labvolution.com/labview-actor-framework-basics/

https://www.mooregoodideas.com/actor-framework/basics/AF-basics-part-1/

https://www.bloomy.com/support/blog/getting-started-actor-framework-part-i

https://forums.ni.com/t5/Actor-Framework-Documents/Beginner-Tutorial-Very-Simple-3-Actor-System/ta-p/3509538?profile.language=en

https://forums.ni.com/t5/Actor-Framework-Documents/Actor-Framework-from-basic-to-PPL-plugins/ta-p/3776945?profile.language=en

LabVIEW ActiveX - Get the sender mail ID's from Outlook inbox .

2020-01-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

Use the following code snippet to get the sender mail ID's from Outlook inbox .

Add Enum Items programmatically

2019-03-05T19:36:00.002-08:00

I learned some trick in ni website to add the items programmatically in Enum control. I am aware to perform the same using panel control reference method using VI reference (https://forums.ni.com/t5/Example-Programs/Programmatically-Add-Elements-to-Enum-Ring/ta-p/3514584). But I preferred this method which is more simple & easy to code.
Here we need to add one Ring control & set the "Strings" property and run the code. Now Rig control will have the items which you set through "Strings" property. In front panel right click over Ring control and replace the it with Enum control. Now Enum will have the all the items which was added in Ring control.

Get Window Handle reference using windows API

2018-12-16T19:03:00.001-08:00

We can get any windows task handle reference using user32.dll. For that we need to use the window title as a input for the user32 windows dll (We can call user32 dll using call library function node). I attached the code snippet & step by step instruction pictures for reference. Using the Window Handle reference we can programmatically perform some task in that window like minimize, maximize & close the window etc...

Tip of Case Structure using string selector

2017-05-23T19:14:00.001-07:00

Today I learned a new trick about case structure. As we know, once we connect the numeric number in the “case selector” & if we use 1...4 in “selector label” that case will work for 1, 2, 3 & 4 inputs. Similarly if we connect string in “case selector” & if we use a..d in “selector label” that case will work for a, b & c inputs (not for d). Screenshot attached for this condition. One more point is, this will work on capital letters & small letters if we selected “Case Insensitive Match” option.

Automate text update in BookMark of MsWord using LabVIEW

2016-09-28T21:03:00.001-07:00

I am uploading the VI snippet to automate the text update in the defined bookmark field of the Ms Word document.

LabVIEW Keyboard Shotcut for Objects & Movement

2015-12-06T22:23:00.002-08:00

Today I learned one hidden trick to scroll through the Event, Case Structure & Stacked Sequence. Most of us know Ctrl + Mouse Wheel shortcut used to scroll through the Event, Case Structure & Stacked Sequence states one by one. But if we use Ctrl + Shift + Mouse Wheel it scrolls through every 5th case/Event/Sequence state (Like 5,10...) from the beginning state (0 state). It will work only if we have more than 5 case/Event/Sequence states. I verified this Keyboard Shotcut in LabVIEW 2009

Moving (Running) Average using LabVIEW function without loop

2015-11-25T20:05:00.001-08:00

Today I learned one trick from NI discussion forum to calculate the Moving (Running) Average without using loop. FIR filter LabVIEW function used for this calculation. See the attached screenshot & VI snippet code below.

Strip a path using Build Path function

2014-11-24T00:14:00.001-08:00

Today I learned one LabVIEW trick from my colleague Balaji. He showed me how to strip a path using build path function. I attached code snippets of the trick below.

Remove duplicate element & Sort the Array

2014-10-30T21:03:00.002-07:00

Using varient function we can remove the duplicate elements & sort the elements of the array (Numeric,String array...). You can find the varient functions like "Set Variant Attribute"," Get Variant Attribute" in block digraram-> Function Palatte-> Cluster,Class & Varient -> Varient (LabVIEW 2009). By using those function without implementing anyother logics we can achieve removing duplicate element & sort array. It will work in String,Numeric & reference array also. See the simple exampleVI snippet attached below.
Front Panel :

Block Diagram :

Automate Powerpoint Macro execution using LabVIEW ActiveX

2014-10-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Using LabVIEW ActiveX functions we can call the powerpoint library to execute the macro of the opened Powerpoint file (*.ppt). Example code attached as a VI snippet. This VI module is tested using MS-Office 2003.

Multiple Patterns in LabVIEW File Dialog Tool

2013-12-25T02:30:00.002-08:00

To display the multiple pattern files in File Dialog window use the string format (In File dialog tool-> Pattern terminal) as shows in the below picture.This Example picture shows the text & document file pattern configuration.

Learn Xcontrols - Basic Tutorial & Example links

2012-09-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

Tutorials :
http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3198/en
http://zone.ni.com/wv/app/doc/p/id/wv-2695
http://prolucid.ca/xcontrols-2/
http://labviewwiki.org/XControl
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-3623

Examples :
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-7391
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-22536
https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-1180#comment-1111

Useful links to learn SQL & LabVIEW integration

2011-05-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.1keydata.com/sql/sqlorderby.html

http://www.blackwasp.co.uk/SQLForeignKeys.aspx

http://sqlcourse.com/select.html

http://sqlzoo.net/select

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&thread.id=433683&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/LabVIEW-DataBase-Connectivity-Toolkit-Cheat-Sheet/m-p/847481?jump=true

Launch the system module window using LabVIEW

2011-04-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

In LabVIEW, to launch the system module windows like regional & language option,Date & time properties use the "System Exec.vi" function. See the example VI snippet (LV 2009) for launch the regional & language option window.The non-connected string constant displays the command for launch Date & Time properties window.

Useful Links for LabVIEW Software Configuration Management

2011-01-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

Use Graphical Merge To Combine Individual LabVIEW VIs
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/6212
Using new LabVIEW Merge Tool LVMerge With TortoiseSVN
http://expressionflow.com/2007/08/28/using-new-labview-merge-tool-lvmerge-with-tortoisesvn/
Using Source Code Control with LabVIEW 7.x and Perforce
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4631
How do I use Subversion (SVN) and TortoiseSVN for source code controlling LabVIEW projects
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/C751F800E258087B86257535006DB160
LabVIEW & Mercurial
http://www.labviewwiki.org/Mercurial
Removing svn folders from a working copy with tortoisesvn
http://thinkinging.com/2008/09/23/removing-svn-folders-from-a-working-copy-with-tortoisesvn/
Source Code Control and Group Development Practices in LabVIEW for Advanced Configuration Management Tasks
http://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-2936
The easiest way to use TortoiseSVN in your LabVIEW™ projects
http://jki.net/tortoisesvn-tool
Integrate Graphical Diff with Subversion Source Code Control
https://decibel.ni.com/content/groups/large-labview-application-development/blog/2011/03/16/integrate-graphical-diff-with-subversion-source-code-control#comment-16435

Find Average(Mean) for 2D array values

2010-07-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

There is an easy way to find the mean(average) for 2D array values without using any loop. The function name is A x B.vi which is located in the mathematics->Linear Algebra->A x B.vi.

See the picture to find the average for Row of 2D array values.To find the average for column of 2D array values just use Transpose 2D Array function on the 2D array input.

LabVIEW Tips- Format into String function

2010-06-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

Format into string function has an option to change the order of the Inputs appear in the resulting string by giving “n$” specifier in the format string terminal. ‘ n‘ denotes order of the appearance in the resulting string .See the attached Picture.

Split string characters without using Loop

2010-05-13T03:41:00.000-07:00

We can split the characters based on the length.Using this method we can split the string & convert it into array it will be useful on string which does not have delimiters.Search & Replace string function is used to split the string characters.We need to select the "Regular expression" option by right click on the Search & Replace string function.Check the picture for split the string by length 4.Just change the number "4" on search string terminal & give your length of characters to split.Replace String terminal displayed in '\' codes display.

Find used Row & Column size of excel file using LabVIEW

2010-04-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

Using LabVIEW ActiveX tools we can find the used row & column size of the excel file. See the attached VI snippet (In LV 2009) for the ActiveX code.

LabVIEW 2009-Tips to create automatic controls & indicators for functions

2010-04-01T03:55:00.000-07:00

In LabVIEW 2009, i came to know one interesting feature to create terminal controls & indicators for function. That is as follows,
For example,
1. Keep & select any one function in block diagram(eg: Add function)

2.Select that function.(Now it will be highlight)
3.Use key strokes Ctrl + Space.
4.Next use another key stroke Ctrl+ D (Use Ctrl+Shift+D to create constants).
5.Now you can see the magic .The terminal controls & indicators of that function should be created automatically.

This feature available only in LabVIEW 2009. I tried with some premitive functions & standard VI's its works fine.

Dynamic Event-Example for multiple controls value change event

2009-11-24T01:55:00.000-08:00

See the simple example picture to know how to use dynamic event for multiple controls value change event. Using this method user can give only one value change event for all the referenced controls.