Using LabVIEW Templates and

Sample Projects for Desktop

Applications
Brian Reiche
Account Manager, Eastern Virginia

Mark Lewis
Account Manager, Navy and NASA

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Agenda

Lunch and Networking

Presentation on Design Templates in LabVIEW 2012
LabVIEW Coding Challenge

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What Are Templates and Sample Projects?

Template
Boilerplate project, code,
documentation, and folder
structure

Sample Project
A working application that is a
starting point for customization
Typically based on a template
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Why Use a Template or a Sample Project?

Increase efficiency

Reduce errors
Increase reuse

Shorten learning curves

When you develop applications with LabVIEW

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LabVIEW 2012 Templates/Sample Projects

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Simple State Machine

Covered in this
Queued Message Handler
presentation
Finite Measurement
Continuous Measurement and Logging
Actor Framework
Feedback Evaporative Cooler
Continuous Measurement and Logging (NI-DAQmx)
Finite Measurement (NI-DAQmx)
LabVIEW Real-Time Control (NI-DAQmx)
LabVIEW Real-Time Waveform Acquisition and Logging (NI-DAQmx)
LabVIEW FPGA Control on CompactRIO
LabVIEW FPGA Waveform Acquisition and Logging on CompactRIO
LabVIEW Real-Time Control on CompactRIO (RIO Scan Interface)
LabVIEW FPGA Project
Instrument Driver Project
Robotics Project
Touch Panel Project
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Desktop Templates
Template

Description

Blank Project
Blank VI
Simple State Machine

Customizable execution sequence for sections of

code

Queued Message Handler

Sections of code running in parallel and sending

data or messages between them

Actor Framework

Multiple, independent tasks that communicate

with each other (uses LV Classes extensively)

Instrument Driver Project

Create new instrument driver project wizard

present in previous versions of LabVIEW

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Desktop Sample Projects

Template

Root Template

Finite Measurement

Simple State Machine

Continuous Measurement and Logging

Queued Message Handler

Feedback Evaporative Cooler

Actor Framework

DAQmx variants of sample projects are installed by NI-DAQmx installer

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Create Project Dialog

Open
documentation
in new window

Filter by
type or
target

Filter by
keyword
search

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More Information

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Configuring Your Project

Optional prefix
helps keep files
distinctly
named

Project
name
used in
folder
and file
names

Icon overlay
visually
associates
created VIs
with this
project

Root must be
an empty
folder

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Simple State Machine

Project
organized using
folders

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<Replace Me> text lets you

know which controls to replace
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Simple State Machine Block Diagram

Blue Code
Needed
comments tell
you where to
make changes

Comments
give high
level
insight
about the
code
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Simple State Machine Block Diagram

Event structure
instead of
polling in wait
state

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Finite Measurement
Sample Project

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Finite Measurement
Sample Project
Initialize
Copy Graph
Stop

Export Data

Wait for Event

Save Data

Load Data

Acquire
Acquire

Configure
Configure

Update UI

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Analyze
Analyze

Clear Data

Queued Message Handler

Template

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Queued Message Handler

Template

UI event capture loop

Message handling loop

Queue
setup

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Queued Message Handler

Template

UI event capture loop

Message handling loop

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Create queue for message communication and user

event to stop event loop
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Queued Message Handler

Template

Event structure
in its own loop

String messages
added to a queue

Message handling loop

Queue
setup

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Queued Message Handler

Template

UI event capture loop

Subsequent
operations
added to
queue

Queue
setup

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Message strings dequeued and passed

to case structure
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Continuous Measurement and Logging

Sample Project

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Continuous Measurement and Logging

Sample Project

UI event capture loop

Queue,
event,
and
notifier
setup

UI message handling loop

Acquisition message loop

Logging message loop
Data display loop

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Continuous Measurement and Logging

Sample Project
Command via queue

UI event capture loop

Data via queue

Data via notifier

Queue,
event,
and
notifier
setup

UI message handling loop

Acquisition message loop

Logging message loop
Data display loop

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Continuous Measurement and Logging

Sample Project

UI event capture loop

Queue,
event,
and
notifier
setup

UI message handling loop

Data display loop

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Acquisition and logging

loops encapsulated in
subVIs

Continuous Measurement and Logging

Sample Project

UI event capture loop

Queue,
event,
and
notifier
setup

UI message handling loop

Data display loop

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Acquisition and logging

loops encapsulated in
subVIs

Continuous Measurement and Logging

Sample Project

UI event capture loop

UI message handling loop

Acquisition message loop

Logging message loop
Data display loop uses
notifier rather than a
queue
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Templates and Sample Projects

What AreTemplates and Sample Projects?

Why Use aTemplate or a Sample Project?

Increase efficiency

Template
Boilerplate project, code,
documentation, and folder
structure

Reduce errors
Increase reuse

Sample Project

Shorten learning curves

A working application that is a

starting point for customization
Typically based on a template

When you develop applications with

LabVIEW

Try them next time you start a new project

Post in the forums (forums.ni.com) if you have questions

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