LabVIEW Changelog

What's new in LabVIEW 2015 15.0

• The Idea Exchange icon denotes a new feature that originates from a product feedback suggestion on the NI Idea Exchange discussion forums at ni.com.
• Refer to the LabVIEW 2015 Upgrade Notes for a complete list of new features and changes, for information about upgrade and compatibility issues specific to different versions of LabVIEW, and for upgrading instructions.
• Refer to the readme.html file in the labview directory for known issues, a partial list of bugs fixed, additional compatibility issues, and information about late-addition features in LabVIEW 2015.
• Adding Custom Items to Shortcut Menus:
• You can add custom items to the shortcut menu of front panel and block diagram objects by creating shortcut menu plug-ins. You can create shortcut menu plug-ins that appear when you right-click edit-time front panel and block diagram objects or when you right-click run-time block diagram objects.
• To create a shortcut menu plug-in, open the following utility VI and follow the instructions on the VI front panel: labview\resource\plugins\PopupMenus\Create Shortcut Menu Plug-in From Template.vi
• The utility VI generates the files you need for your plug-in. Customize the files to build the shortcut menu and execute the plug-in.
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following plug-ins:
• Change To Array Or Element—Converts a scalar value to an array of that type, or converts an array to a scalar of its element type. This plug-in affects controls, indicators, control and indicator terminals, and constants. This plug-in supports multi-object selection. [Idea submitted by NI Discussion Forums member David_L.]
• Empty Listboxes—Removes all rows from a listbox or multicolumn listbox. This plug-in affects listboxes and multicolumn listboxes on the front panel. This plug-in supports multi-object selection.
• Explore—Navigates to the file location on disk of a subVI, class, or typedef. This plug-in affects subVIs, class controls and indicators, class control and indicator terminals, class constants, typedef controls and indicators, typedef control and indicator terminals, and typedef constants.
• Remove and Rewire Objects—Removes the selected block diagram object and any wires and constants connected to the selected object, and connects wires of identical data types that were wired to the inputs and outputs of the deleted object. This plug-in affects any block diagram object that you can delete. This plug-in supports multi-object selection.
• Size Array Constants To Contents—Resizes the width of an array constant to match the width of the widest element in the array. This plug-in affects array constants. [Idea submitted by NI Discussion Forums member blawson.]
• Transpose 2D Array—Transposes the contents of a 2D array. This plug-in affects 2D array controls, indicators, and constants. This plug-in supports multi-object selection. [Idea submitted by NI Discussion Forums member moderator1983.]
• Wire All Unwired Terminals—Creates controls, indicators, or constants for all unwired inputs and outputs of the selected block diagram object. This plug-in affects any block diagram object you can wire. This plug-in supports multi-object selection.
• Improvements to Adding or Reducing Space on the Front Panel or Block Diagram:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes usability improvements that make adding space easier and allow you to reduce space from the front panel or block diagram.
• To increase the space between tightly grouped objects, press and drag in the direction you want to add space. (OS X) Press . To reduce space between scattered objects, press and drag in the direction you want to decrease the space. (OS X) Press . The objects move in real time as you drag the mouse. If the direction in which you drag is primarily vertical or horizontal, the operation snaps to the dominant direction.
• Probe Enhancements:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to probes.
• Most probe displays scale to fit the Probe Display subpanel of the Probe Watch Window.
• Generic probes for array data display multiple elements. Scrollbars display if elements do not fit the Probe Display subpanel.
• The default probe for string data is a custom probe. Right-click a wire and select Custom Probe»Default String Probe from the shortcut menu to use the default string probe. You can choose the string display types by clicking the gray bar on the left of the Probe Display subpanel.
• Hyperlinks in Free Labels:
• In LabVIEW 2015, LabVIEW detects URLs in free labels and converts them to hyperlinks underlined in blue text. You can click and open a hyperlink in the default web browser. LabVIEW 2015 enables hyperlinks by default. To disable hyperlinks in front panel labels, right-click the free label and deselect Enable Hyperlinks in the shortcut menu. You cannot disable hyperlinks in block diagram labels.
• Creating Actor Framework Actor and Message Classes
• To create Actor Framework actor and message classes, you no longer need to load a project that uses the Actor Framework. You can use the new shortcut menu options in the Project Explorer window to create Actor Framework actor and message classes. The shortcut menu options in the Project Explorer window replace the Actor Framework Message Maker dialog box.
• To create an actor class, right-click a target in the Project Explorer window and select New»Actor from the shortcut menu.
• To create a message class, right-click a public method VI of an actor class and select Actor Framework»Create Message from the shortcut menu. You also can right-click multiple public method VIs and select Actor Framework»Create Messages from the shortcut menu to create a message class for each public method VI that you select.
• To create a message class for each public method VI of an actor class, right-click an actor class and select Actor Framework»Create Messages for Actor from the shortcut menu. You also can right-click multiple actor classes and select Create Messages for Actors from the shortcut menu to create a message class for each public method VI of the actor classes that you select.
• To create an abstract message class for an actor class, right-click an actor class and select Actor Framework»Create Abstract Message for Caller from the shortcut menu. The abstract message class defines only the message data but not the actor class to receive the message class.
• You must create an abstract message class before you can create a child message class of the abstract message class. To create a child message class, right-click a public method VI of the actor class that will receive the abstract message class and select Actor Framework»Create Child of Abstract Message. The actor class that receives the abstract message class can use the new child message class to communicate with the actor class that sends the abstract message class. The actor class that sends the abstract message class does not have to know which actor class will receive the abstract message class and how the actor class will receive the message class.
• To rebuild an existing message class after the connector pane of the corresponding method VI changes, right-click a message class and select Actor Framework»Rescript Message from the shortcut menu.
• Front Panel Enhancements:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to the front panel.
• Skipping Error In Clusters When Tabbing
• In LabVIEW 2015, the new error in clusters by default include a checkmark in the Skip this control when tabbing option in the Key Navigation page of the Properties dialog box. When you press on a running VI, LabVIEW skips the error in cluster controls. To include the error in clusters in the tabbing order, remove the checkmark from this option.
• Note For error in clusters upgraded from previous versions of LabVIEW, you must manually enable this option to skip the controls when tabbing.
• Environment Enhancements:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to the LabVIEW environment.
• Improvements to Compiler Optimizations
• In LabVIEW 2015, compiler optimizations improve the execution performance of large VIs above the VI code complexity threshold. These improvements may slow the compile time. You can adjust the complexity threshold in the Compiler section on the Environment page of the Options dialog box. Changing the complexity threshold will continue to influence the compiler optimizations profile used when compiling VIs based on the VI code complexity relative to the threshold.
• Listing Missing Components After Loading VIs:
• When loading VIs, LabVIEW no longer prompts you to locate VIs from missing components, such as LabVIEW modules, toolkits, and drivers, and third-party add-ons. After LabVIEW loads the VIs, you can click Show Details in the Load Warning Summary dialog box or the Save for Previous Warning Summary dialog box or select View»Load and Save Warning List to display the Load and Save Warning List dialog box. The Load and Save Warning List dialog box includes the new Missing Components section, which lists the missing components that LabVIEW needs when loading the VIs.
• Miscellaneous Environment Enhancements:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous environment enhancements:
• You can use the Error Ring in a subVI that is inlined into its calling VIs.
• LabVIEW 2015 includes an upgraded version of Math Kernel Library (MKL) 11.1.3 software for Windows and Linux. MKL is third-party software that LabVIEW uses to improve performance of linear algebra VIs. For more information regarding MKL, refer to the Intel Developer Zone website at software.intel.com/en-us/intel-mkl.
• Miscellaneous Dialog Box Enhancements:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous dialog box enhancements:
• The Additional Installers page of the Installer Properties dialog box includes the new Only display runtime installers checkbox, which filters the run-time installers to display. Place a checkmark in this checkbox to view run-time installers only. This option is enabled by default.
• The Find Project Items dialog box includes the new Export button. Click this button to export search results to a text file.
• New and Changed VIs and Functions:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following new and changed VIs and functions.
• New VIs and Functions:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following new VIs and functions.
• Advanced TDMS VIs and Functions:
• The Advanced TDMS palette includes the new TDMS In Memory subpalette, which you can use to open, close, read from, and write to .tdms files in memory. This subpalette includes the following functions:
• TDMS In Memory Close
• TDMS In Memory Open
• TDMS In Memory Read Bytes
• The Advanced TDMS palette also includes the new TDMS Delete Data function. Use this function to delete data from a channel or multiple channels in a group.
• Data Type Parsing VIs:
• The Variant palette includes the new Data Type Parsing subpalette, which includes the following VIs:
• Check for Contained Data Type
• Disconnect Type Definitions
• Get Array Information
• Get Cluster Information
• Get Fixed-Point Information
• Get LabVIEW Class Information
• Get Numeric Information
• Get Polymorphic VI Information
• Get Refnum Information
• Get Tag Information
• Get Type Definition Path
• Get Type Information
• Get User-Defined Refnum Information
• Get User-Defined Tag Information
• Get VI Information
• Get Waveform Information
• Is or Contains Type Definition
• Use the Data Type Parsing VIs to retrieve the data type of a variant and information about the data type. You also can check whether the data type of a variant matches a specific data type.
• Reading from and Writing to Delimited Spreadsheets:
• The File I/O palette includes the following new VIs:
• Read Delimited Spreadsheet—Reads from delimited text files. This VI replaces the Read From Spreadsheet File VI.
• Write Delimited Spreadsheet—Converts data to a delimited text string and writes the string to a file. This VI replaces the Write To Spreadsheet File VI.
• Miscellaneous New VIs and Functions:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous new VIs and functions:
• The Discrete Math palette includes the new Check Prime VI. Use this VI to check whether a number is a prime number.
• The Advanced File palette includes the new Create File with Incrementing Suffix VI. Use this VI to create a file and append an incrementing number suffix to the filename if the file already exists at a specified path.
• The Dialog & User Interface palette includes the new Write to System Log VI. Use this VI to write error log messages to the nierrlog system log. You can view the messages using the system log viewer for your operating system. (NI Linux Real-Time) Open the System Log Viewer page of NI Web-based Configuration & Monitoring.
• Miscellaneous VI and Function Changes:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following miscellaneous VI and function changes:
• Get File Extension—This VI includes the new unmodified file extension output, which returns the extension of the file you specify in file, without the period (.).
• Application Builder Enhancements:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following enhancements to the LabVIEW Application Builder and build specifications.
• (Windows) Building Shared Libraries with Type Libraries:
• LabVIEW 2015 provides an updated Application Builder that allows you to explicitly specify whether to embed a type library when you build shared libraries (DLLs). If you use TestStand or the LabVIEW Call Library Function Node, you must manually enable this option by placing a checkmark in the Include a type library for TestStand or Call Library Nodes checkbox on the Advanced page of the Shared Library Properties dialog box. The TestStand C/C++ DLL Adapter, LabWindows/CVI Adapter, and the LabVIEW Call Library Function Node use the type library to display a list of functions in the shared library, including the parameters and data types for the functions. You must install additional tools to embed a type library. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code DownloadMSDTBuildTools to access the additional tools.
• Improving Load Time for LabVIEW-Built Applications and Shared Libraries:
• You can build stand-alone applications (EXE) and DLLs that load faster by using the fast file format in LabVIEW.
• To use the fast file format, place a checkmark in the Use fast file format checkbox on the Advanced page of the Shared Library Properties dialog box or the Application Properties dialog box. This option is disabled by default. When you enable the fast file format, LabVIEW does not use the Application Builder object cache. Therefore, stand-alone applications and shared libraries may take longer to build.
• Note To use the fast file format, ensure that the Enable debugging checkbox on the Advanced page does not contain a checkmark.
• New and Changed Classes, Properties, Methods, and Events
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following new and changed classes, properties, methods, and events.
• VI Server Properties and Methods:
• LabVIEW 2015 includes the following new VI Server properties and methods:
• Enable Hyperlinks property (class: Text)—Reads or writes the setting that controls whether Text detects URLs in free labels and converts them to a hyperlink underlined in blue text.
• Disconnect Terminal method (class: Wire)—Disconnects a terminal from the wire without removing the loose end.
• Found Dependency Names property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the qualified names of all external file dependencies that are loaded into memory of an object. For example, a control may have a dependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is in memory, its qualified name is included in the array.
• Found Dependency Paths property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the paths of all the external file dependencies that are loaded into memory of an object. For example, a control may have a dependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is in memory, its path is included in the array.
• Missing Dependency Names property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the qualified names of all the external file dependencies that are missing of an object. For example, a control may have a dependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is missing, its qualified name is included in the array.
• Missing Dependency Paths property (class: GObject)—Reads an array of the paths of all the external file dependencies that are missing of an object. For example, a control may have a dependency upon a .ctl or a .xctl file. If that dependency is missing, its path is included in the array.
• Missing VI Name property (class: SubVI)—Reads the qualified name of the VI that a subVI node calls if and only if that VI is missing. Otherwise, returns an empty string.
• Missing VI Path property (class: SubVI)—Reads the path of the VI that a subVI node calls if and only if that VI is missing. Otherwise, returns an empty string.
• Value (Undoable) property (class: Control)—Has the same effect as writing the Value property of a control except the scripting transaction system registers the write, which allows you to undo the value change. This property is write only.
• Default Value (Undoable) property (class: Control)—Has the same effect as writing the Default Value property of a control except the scripting transaction system registers the write, which allows you to undo the value change. This property is write only.