TOPICS

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National Instruments 
Corporate headquarters
in Austin, TX
Leader in data acquisition technology with 
Offices in nearly 50
innovative modular instruments and countries
LabVIEW graphical programming 
35,000+ companies
software
served annually

Approx. 7,100 employees

More than 1,000 products
 600 Alliance Partners

Dr. James Truchard

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Platform-Based
Approach

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 Navigating LabVIEW

TOPICS
A. What Is LabVIEW? F. Searching for Controls,
B. Project Explorer VIs and Functions
C. Parts of a VI G. Selecting a Tool
D. Front Panel H. Dataflow
E. Block Diagram I. Building a Simple VI

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A. What Is LabVIEW?

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 Laboratory Virtual
Instrumentation Engineering
Workbench
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 What Is LabVIEW?
—A graphical programming environment used to
develop sophisticated measurement, test and
control systems.
LabVIEW:
• Interfaces with
wide variety of
hardware
• Scales across
different targets
and OSs
• Provides built-in
analysis libraries

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 B. Project Explorer
Project Explorer Window
Files Types
Project Folders

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Project Explorer
• Find, access, and
organize project files
• Prevent, detect, and
resolve incorrect links
• Deploy or download files
to targets
• Manage code for build
options
- Executables, installers,
and zip files
• Integrate with source
code
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 LabVIEW Files

Common LabVIEW file

extensions:

LabVIEW project —.lvproj

Virtual instrument (VI)
— .vi Custom control — .ctl

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 Adding Folders to a Project
• Virtual folder
- Organizes project items
and does not represent
files on disk
• Auto-populating folder
- Adds a directory on disk
to the project
- LabVIEW continuously
monitors and updates
the folder according to
changes made in the
project and on disk

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 C. Parts of a VI
Front Panel
Block Diagram
Icon
Connector
Pane

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 Parts of a VI
VIs have 3 main components:
Icon/Connector pane

Front panel

Block diagram

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 Parts of a VI – Front Panel
Front Panel – User interface for
the VI

You
build the front
panel with
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(outputs).
 Parts of a VI – Block Diagram
Block Diagram – Contains the
graphical source code

Front
panel objects
appear as
terminals on the
block diagram.

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 Parts of a VI – Icon/Connector Pane
Icon – Graphical representation
of a VI

Connector Pane – Map of the

inputs and outputs of a VI
Icons and connector panes are necessary to
use a VI as a subVI.
- A subVI is a VI that appears on the block
diagram of
another VI.
- A subVI is similar to a subroutine or function in a
text- based programming language.
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 D. Front Panel
Controls and Indicators
Object Styles
Object Types
Boolean
Numeric
String
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 Front Panel

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 Controls and Indicators
Controls Indicators
- Input devices - Output devices
- Knobs, buttons, slides - Graphs, LEDs
- Supply data to the block - Display data the block
diagram diagram acquires or generates

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 Numeric Controls and Indicators

The numeric data in a control or indicator can

represent numbers of various types, such as
integer or floating-point.

Numeric
Increment/Decrement control
buttons

Numeric
indicator

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 Boolean Controls and Indicators
• The Boolean data type represents data that has
only two options, such as True/False or On/Off.
• Use Boolean controls and indicators to enter
and
display Boolean (TRUE/FALSE) values.
• Boolean objects simulate switches, push buttons
and LEDs.
Boolean Boolean
control indicator

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 Strings
• The string data type is a sequence of ASCII
characters .
• Use string controls to receive text from the
user.
• Use string indicators to display text to the user.

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 E. Block Diagram
Terminal
s Nodes
Wires
Help

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 Block Diagram

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 Block Diagram
Block diagram items:
• Terminals
• Constants
• Nodes
- Functions
- SubVIs
- Structures
• Wires
• Free labels

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 Terminal
s

Same label name

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 Terminals for Front Panel Objects
• Terminals are:
– Entry and exit ports that exchange
information between the front panel and block
diagram.
– Analogous to parameters in text-based
programming languages.
• Double-click a terminal to locate the
corresponding front panel object.

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 View Terminals as Icons

• By default, View as Icon

option enabled.
• Deselect View as Icon for a
more compact view.

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 Nodes
Nodes are objects on the block diagram that have
inputs and/or outputs and perform operations
when a VI runs.

Nodes

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 Function Nodes

• Functions are:
- Fundamental operating elements of LabVIEW.
- Do not have front panels or block diagrams, but
do have connector panes.
- Has a pale yellow background on its icon.
• Double-clicking a function only selects the
function.
• Functions do not open like VIs and
subVIs.

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 SubVI Nodes
• SubVIs :
- Are VIs that you use on the block diagram
of another VI.
- Have front panels and block diagrams.
- Use the icon from the upper-right corner of the
front panel as the icon that appears when you
place the subVI on a block diagram.
• When you double-click a subVI, the front panel
and block diagram open.
• Any VI has the potential to be used as a
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 Express VIs
• Express VIs:
- Are a special type of subVI.
- Require minimal wiring because
you configure them with dialog
boxes.
- Save each configuration as a subVI.
• Icons for Express VIs appear on the block
diagram as icons surrounded by a blue
field.

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 Structures

• Structures in LabVIEW have the form of frames.

• Other nodes (functions, subVIs, more structures)

can be inserted into the frames.

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 Wires
• Wires transfer data between block diagram objects.
• Wires are different colors, styles, and
thicknesses, depending on their data types.
Floating-point Integer String
Boolean
Scalar
1-D
Array 2-
D Array

•A
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 Constants

• Constants are the source of values just as control

terminals, but their value is fixed in the code.

• You can create a constant of each data type.

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 Free labels
• A free label is a label (a text box) not attached to
any object.
• Free labels can be put on the front panel or
block diagram. They are created by double-
clicking on empty space in the window.
• They can serve as comments or
instructions to
the user of the application.

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 Context Help
• Displays basic
information about wires
and nodes when you
move the cursor over an
object.
• Can be shown or hidden
in the following ways:
- Select Help»Show
Context Help from the
LabVIEW menu.
- Press <Ctrl-H>.
- Click the following
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 LabVIEW Help
• Contains detailed descriptions and instructions for
most palettes, menus, tools, VIs, and functions.
• Can be accessed by:
- Selecting Help»
LabVIEW Help from the
menu.
- Clicking the Detailed
help
link in the
Context Help window.
- Right-clicking an object
and selecting Help from
the shortcut menu.
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 Examples
• LabVIEW includes
hundreds of example VIs.
• Use NI Example Finder
to browse and search
installed examples.
- Select Help»Find
Examples in the
menu.
• Click the example
buttons in LabVIEW
Help
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 F. Searching for Controls,
VIs
and Functions
Palettes
Quick Drop
NI Global Search

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 Searching for Controls,
VIs and
Functions
Ways to find controls, VIs, and functions:
• Search or navigate the palettes.
- Controls palette
- Functions palette
• Search by name of object.
- Quick Drop dialog box
• Search palettes, LabVIEW Help, and ni.com.
- Search text box in toolbar

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 Controls Palette

• Contains the controls

and indicators you use
to create the front
panel.
• Navigate the
subpalettes or use the
Search button to
search the Controls
palette.

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 Functions Palette

• Contains the VIs,

functions, and constants
you use to create the
block diagram.
• Navigate the subpalettes
or use the Search button
to search the Functions
palette.

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 Searching with Quick Drop

• Lets you quickly find

controls, functions, VIs,
and other items by
name.
• Press the <Ctrl-Space>
keys to display the
Quick Drop dialog box.

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 Global Search

Use the Search bar in the top right of the front

panel and block diagram windows to search
palettes, LabVIEW Help, and ni.com.

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 G. Selecting a
Tool a Tool
Selecting
Block Diagram Clean-Up

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Selecting a
Tool
• A tool is a special operating mode of
the mouse cursor.
• Create, modify, and debug VIs
using the tools provided by
LabVIEW.
• By default, LabVIEW automatically
selects tools based on the context
of the cursor.
• If you need more control, use the
Tools palette to select a specific
tool.
- Select View»Tools Palette
to open the Tools palette.
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 Wiring
Tips
• Press <Ctrl-B> to delete broken wires.
• Right-click and select Clean Up Wire to reroute
the wire.

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TOPICS

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 Implementing a VI

TOPICS
A. Designing Controls and E. Timing a VI
Indicators F. Data Feedback in Loops
B. LabVIEW Data Types G. Case Structure
C. While Loop
D. For Loop

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 A. Designing Controls
and Indicators

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Labels & Options
Make sure to label controls and indicators clearly
and set a default value if necessary.

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B. LabVIEW Data Types
Shortcut Menu and Properties Dialog Box
Numeric
Types Boolean
Types String
Types
Enums and
Other Types
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 LabVIEW Data
Types
Terminals visually communicate information
about the data type represented.

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 Iteration
C. Whileand Conditional
Loop Terminals
Tunnels
Error Checking

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 While Loop

Repeat (code);
Until Condition met;
End;

LabVIEW While Loop Flowchart Pseudo Code

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 While Loop
Iteration terminal Conditional terminal
• Defines when the loop stops.
• Returns number of times
• Has two options:
loop has executed.
- Stop if True
• Is zero-indexed.
- Continue if True.

Iteration Terminal Conditional Terminal

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 While Loop –
Tunnels
• Tunnels transfer data into and out of structures.
• When a tunnel passes data into a loop, the
loop executes only after data arrive at the
tunnel
(at all tunnels,
if there is more
than one).
• Data pass out of
a loop after the
loop terminates.

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 While Loop – Error Checking and Error
Handling
Use an error cluster in a While Loop to stop the
While Loop if an error occurs.

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Conditional
D. For LoopTerminal
Comparison with While Loop
Numeric Conversion for Count Terminal

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 For Loop

N=100;
i=0;
Until
i=N:
Repeat (code;i=i+1);
End;

LabVIEW For Loop Flowchart Pseudo Code

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 For Loop
• Create a For Loop the same way you create
a While Loop.
• You can replace a While Loop with a For Loop
by right-clicking the border of the While Loop
and selecting Replace with For Loop from the
shortcut menu.
• The value in the count terminal (an input
terminal) indicates how many times to repeat
the subdiagram in the For Loop.

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 For Loop – Conditional
Terminal
You can add a conditional terminal to configure a
For Loop to stop when a Boolean condition is true or
an error occurs.
This is similar
to a ‘break’
statement in
text-based
programming
languages.

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 For Loop – Conditional
Terminal
For Loops configured with a conditional terminal
have:
• A red glyph next to the count terminal
• A conditional terminal in the lower right corner.

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For Loop / While Loop Comparison
For Loop While Loop
• Executes a set number of • Stops executing only if the
times unless a conditional value at the conditional
terminal is added. terminal meets the condition.
• Can execute zero times. • Must execute at least once.
• Tunnels automatically • Tunnels automatically
output an array of data. output the last value.

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 For Loop – Numeric Conversion
• The number of iterations a For Loop executes must be
specified in non-negative integers.
• If you wire a double-precision, floating-point numeric
value to the count terminal, LabVIEW converts the
numeric value to a 32-bit signed integer.

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E. Timing a VI
Reasons To Use Timing
Wait Functions and Express
VIs

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 Timing a VI

Why do you need timing in a VI?

• To control the frequency at
which a loop executes.
• To provide the processor
with time to complete other
tasks, such as processing
the user interface or running
other applications.

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 Wait Functions
A wait function inside a loop:
• Allows the VI to sleep for a set amount of time.
• Allows the processor to address other tasks
during the wait time.
• Uses the operating system millisecond clock.

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 Elapsed Time Express
VI
• Determines how much time elapses after some
point in your VI.

• Keeps track of time while

the VI continues to execute.

• Does not provide the processor

with time to complete other tasks.

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 F. Data Feedback in Loops
Shift Registers
Initializing Shift Registers
Default for Unwired
Values Compound Shift
Registers

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 Data Feedback in Loops
• When programming with loops, you often need to
know the values of data from previous iterations
of the loop.
• Shift registers transfer values from one loop
iteration
to the next.

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 Shift
Registers
• Right-click the border and select Add Shift
Register from the shortcut menu.
• Right part of shift register stores data on
completion of an iteration.
• Left part of shift
register provides
stored data at
the beginning
of the next
iteration.

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 Initializing Shift
Registers
Run once VI Run again
finishes
Block Diagram 1st run 2nd run
Initialized Output = 5 Output = 5
Shift
Register

Not Output = 4 Output = 8

Initialized
Shift
Register

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 Default Value if Unwired
Default values vary by data type:
Data Type Default Value

Numeric 0

Boolean FALSE

String Empty

Uninitialized shift registers use default values for

the first run. At the beginning of next runs, they
remember the last value they stored.

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 G. Case Structures
Parts of a Case Structure
Enum Case Structures
Error Case Structures
Input and Output
Tunnels

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 Case Structures
• Have two or more subdiagrams (cases).
• Use an input value to determine which case
to execute.
• Execute and display only one case at a time.
• Are similar to case statements or
if...then...else
statements in text-based programming
languages.

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 Case Structures
• Case Selector Label
- Contains the name of the current case.
- Has decrement and increment arrows.
• Selector Terminal Case Selector Label
- Lets you wire an input
value, or selector, to
determine which case
executes.

Selector
Terminal
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Case Structures
Selector terminal data
types:
• Boolean
- True case and False
Case
• Error Cluster
- Error Case and No Error
Case
• Integer, string or
enum
- Structure can have any
number of cases
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to avoid listing every
 Shortcut Menu
Use the shortcut
menu of a Case
structure to:
- Customize the
structure
and diagrams.
- Remove or
replace the
structure.
- Add, duplicate, remove
or rearrange cases.
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 Enum Case Structure
• Gives users a list of items from which to select.
• The case selector displays a case for each item
in the enumerated type control.

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 Error Case Structure
Use Case structures inside VIs to execute the
code if there is no error and skip the code if there
is an error.

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