Select Tools»Instrumentation»Import CVI Instrument Driver to display the Select a CVI Function Panel File dialog box in which you select the function panel (FP) file to convert. After you select an FP file, the CVI Function Panel Converter dialog box appears.
This dialog box includes the following components:
Select a Destination Directory or VI LibrarySpecifies the destination directory or VI library for the converted file. The text box automatically displays a suggested destination. Click Browse to specify a different path.
Instrument PrefixShows the instrument prefix that the function panel file applies. LabWindows/CVI adds this prefix to all C function names in the FP tree. The converter likewise adds this prefix to the names of VIs it generates. The suggested prefix is shown, based on the DLL name, but you can change or delete this string.
Select a Shared Library or DLLAllows you to select the library that corresponds to the FP file that you are converting. If you do not enter a path to a shared library or DLL, the conversion process continues, but the converter does not specify a library path in the Call Library Function Node.
Select Function Panel Items to ProcessContains the selection of function panel items to convert. This listbox contains all items in the function panel tree, indented hierarchically by their classes in LabWindows/CVI. The class names appear as well but are dimmed and not selectable. Initially, all nodes found in the FP file are selected. A checkmark indicates a selected item, a blank space indicates non-selected items, and a rectangle indicates class names.
Double-click an item to toggle your selection. Click an item once to highlight that item, click Rename, and enter a new name in the dialog box that appears.
Note All LabWindows/CVI .dll files require run-time support. You must install the LabWindows/CVI Run-time Engine to use VIs that the conversion process creates. This engine comes as part of the standard LabVIEW installation.
Note The CVI Function Panel Converter dialog box is designed to work with function panels for instrument drivers that use the standard set of VXIplug&play and IVI (Interchangeable Virtual Instruments) data types. Conversion might not work for function panels that use data types that exist outside that standard.
The following sequence of events takes place during the conversion of a function panel.
Click the OK button in the CVI Function Panel Converter dialog box.
A status dialog box lists the name of each new VI as it is created. The converter saves this list to a log file named prefix.out, which also contains any warning or error messages from the conversion.