LabVIEW Core 1 TM

Exercises

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 Exercise 1-1 Concept: Exploring a VI
Goal
As a class, identify the parts of an existing VI.

Description
You received a VI from an employee that takes the seconds until a plane arrives at an airport and converts the time into a combination of
hours/minutes/seconds. You must evaluate this VI to see if it works as expected and can display the remaining time until the plane arrives.

1. Open Flight Delays.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Exploring A VI directory.

2. Open Seconds Breakdown.vi from the Project Explorer window.

3. On the front panel, identify the following items. How many can you find of each item?

 Controls

 Indicators

 Free labels

 Run button

 Icon

 Connector pane

4. Press <Ctrl-T> to view the front panel and block diagram at the same time or select Window»Tile Up and Down or Window»Tile Left and Right.

Tip To switch between the front panel window and the block diagram without tiling the windows, press <Ctrl-E>.

5. On the block diagram, identify the following items. How many can you find of each item?

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

 Controls

 Indicators

 Constants

 Free labels
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 6. Use the Context Help to learn more about the items on the block diagram.
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Lesson 1
 Press <Ctrl-H> to open the Context Help window or select Help»Show Context Help.
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Move the Context Help window to a convenient area where the window does not hide part of the block diagram.

Navigating LabVIEW
 Place your cursor over each of the different color wires to see which data type they represent.

 The Context Help window content changes to show information about the object that your mouse is over.

7. Get detailed help for the Quotient & Remainder function.

 Place your cursor over the Quotient & Remainder function. Read the Context Help window and click the Detailed Help link to launch the LabVIEW
Help and learn more about this function.
 8. Refer to Figures 1-1 and 1-2 to verify that you identified all items correctly.

Figure 1-1. Front Panel Items

3 4 5

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

1 Indicators 2 Control 3 Run Button 4 Connector Pane 5 Icon

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 Figure 1-2. Block Diagram Items
1-18

Lesson 1
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2
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Navigating LabVIEW
1

3
5

1 Free Labels 2 Control 3 Indicators 4 String Constants 5 Numeric Constants

 9. Test the Seconds Breakdown VI using the values given in Table 1-1.

 Enter an input value in the Total Time in Seconds control.

 Click the Run button.

 For each input, compare the given outputs to the outputs listed in Table 1-1. If the VI works correctly, they should match.

Table 1-1. Testing Values for Seconds Breakdown.vi

Input Numeric Indicators LED Indicator String Indicator

0 seconds 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds Off Delay less than 1 hour

60 seconds 0 hours, 1 minute, 0 seconds Off Delay less than 1 hour

3600 seconds 1 hour, 0 minutes, 0 seconds On Delay 1 hour or longer

3665 seconds 1 hour, 1 minute, 5 seconds On Delay 1 hour or longer

10. Save and close the VI and the LabVIEW Project.

End of Exercise 1-1

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 1-19
 Exercise 1-2 Concept: Locating Controls, Functions, and VIs
1-22

Lesson 1
Goal
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Learn to use the palettes and search for controls, functions, and VIs.

Navigating LabVIEW
Description
1. Open a blank LabVIEW project.

 Click the Create Project button in the LabVIEW Getting Started window and then click Blank Project.

 Click Finish.

2. Create a blank VI and add it to the project.

 Right-click My Computer in the Project Explorer window and select New»VI from the shortcut menu.

3. Select View»Controls Palette from the menu of the VI front panel window.

4. Customize the Controls palette.

 Click the Customize button and select Change Visible Palettes.

 Select the following palettes to add them to the Controls palette and click the OK button. Do not deselect any palettes.

– Silver

– Control & Simulation

– Signal Processing

 Notice that the three palettes you just selected now appear in the Controls window.

5. Explore the Controls palette.

Use palettes to locate controls and functions when you want to explore the options available to you or when you are not sure of the name of the control
or function you need.

 Click the Search button.

 Type string control in the search text box.

 Click String Control (Silver) in the search results and drag it to the front panel window to place the object.
 6. Open the block diagram and right-click anywhere on the block diagram to display the Functions palette.

 Click the pin in the upper left-hand corner to keep the palette open.

Tip You can customize the Functions palette just like you customized the Controls palette.

7. Explore the Functions palette.

 Locate trigonometric functions.

– Click the Search button.

– Search for the term cosine.

– In the search results, double-click Cosine <<Trigonometric Functions>> to display the function on the palette.

 Locate file I/O functions.

– Search for the term file i/o.

– Double-click File I/O in the search results to display the File I/O palette.

– Drag the Write To Text File function from the palette to the block diagram.

8. Practice using the Quick Drop feature.

Use the Quick Drop feature when you know the name of the function or VI you want to use.

 Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick Drop dialog box.

 Type Bundle By Name and double-click Bundle By Name in the search results. The cursor changes to a hand with the Bundle By Name function.

 Click on the block diagram to place the Bundle By Name function.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Open the Quick Drop dialog box again.
© National Instruments

 Search for the Wait Until Next ms Multiple.

 Double-click the function in the search results and place the function on the block diagram.

9. Practice using the global search feature.

 Type Random in the Search bar in the upper right hand corner of the block diagram.
| 1-23

Note As you type, the global search automatically looks for matches in the LabVIEW Help and LabVIEW palettes. It also searches for online
material related to your query.
  Hover the mouse over the first result in the Palette section, Random Number (0-1). You now see the following three options:
1-24

Lesson 1
– Drop—Allows you to place this function immediately on the block diagram
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– Find—Locates the function on the Functions palette

Navigating LabVIEW
– Help—Brings up the help topic for this function.

 Click each of these options to observe the different behaviors.

10. Practice accessing similar functions.

 Place an Add function on the block diagram.

 Right-click the Add function and notice that Numeric palette is available from the shortcut menu.

 Practice placing functions from the Numeric palette on the block diagram.

11. Close the VI and LabVIEW project. You do not need save the files.

End of Exercise 1-2

 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Exercise 2-1 Selecting a Tool

Goal
Become familiar with automatic tool selection and the Tools palette in LabVIEW.

Description
During this exercise, you complete tasks in a partially built front panel and block diagram. These
tasks give you experience using the automatic tool selection.

1. Open Using Temperature.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Using

Temperature directory.

2. Open Using Temperature.vi from the Project Explorer window.

3. Select View»Tools Palette from the menu to display the Tools window.

Tip Press <Shift> and right-click the front panel to open the Tools palette
temporarily.

Figure 2-5 shows an example of the front panel as it appears after your modifications. In steps 4
through 9 you increase the size of the waveform chart, rename the numeric control, change the
value of the numeric control, and move the knob.

Figure 2-5. Using Temperature VI Front Panel

© National Instruments | 2-13

Lesson 2 Creating Your First Application

4. Expand the waveform chart horizontally using the Positioning tool.

 Move the cursor to the right edge of the Chart waveform chart until you see the resizing
nodes appear around the chart.

 Move the cursor to the middle right resizing node until the cursor changes to a double
arrow, as shown in Figure 2-6.

Figure 2-6. Resize Waveform Chart

 Drag the repositioning node until the waveform chart is the size you want.

5. Rename the waveform chart using the Labeling tool.

 Double-click the word Chart. LabVIEW highlights the word and automatically selects
the Labeling tool in the Tools window.

 Enter the text Temperature Chart.

 Complete the entry by clicking outside the control label or clicking the Enter Text button
on the toolbar.

 Notice that LabVIEW automatically returns to the Positioning tool in the Tools window.
The Positioning tool is the default tool. If LabVIEW does not switch back to the
Positioning tool, click the Automatic Tool Selection button in the Tools window to
enable automatic tool selection.

6. Rename the Numeric control to Number of Measurements using the Labeling tool.

 Double click the word Numeric.

 Enter the text Number of Measurements.

 Complete the entry by clicking outside the control or clicking the Enter Text button on
the toolbar.

7. Change the value of the Number of Measurements control to 100 using the Labeling tool.

 Move the cursor to the interior of the Number of Measurements control.

 When the cursor changes to the Labeling tool icon, click the mouse button.

 Enter the text 100.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

 Complete the entry by clicking outside the control, clicking the Enter Text button on
the toolbar, or pressing the <Enter> key on the numeric keypad,

 Change the value of the Delay Multiplier knob using the Operating tool.

 Move the cursor to the knob.

 When the cursor changes to the Operating tool icon, press the mouse button and drag
to the value you want.

 Set the value to 1.

8. Change the color of the Delay Multiplier knob using the Coloring tool.

 Click the background square in the Coloring button and select a color from the color
picker.

 When the cursor changes to a paintbrush, click the Delay Multiplier knob.

 Click the Automatic Tool Selection button again to turn on automatic tool selection.

9. Try changing the value of objects, resizing objects, and renaming objects until you are
comfortable with using these tools.

10. Open the block diagram of the VI.

Figure 2-7 shows an example of the block diagram as it appears after your modifications.
Steps 11 through 12 instruct you on how to update the block diagram to move the Number
of Measurements terminal and wire the terminal to the count terminal of the For Loop.

Figure 2-7. Using Temperature VI Block Diagram

11. Move the Number of Measurements terminal using the Positioning tool.

 Move the cursor to the Number of Measurements terminal.

 Move the cursor over the terminal until the cursor changes to an arrow.

 Click and drag the terminal to the new location as shown in Figure 2-7.

© National Instruments | 2-15

Lesson 2 Creating Your First Application

12. Wire the Number of Measurements terminal to the count terminal of the For Loop using the
Wiring tool.

 Move the cursor to the Number of Measurements terminal.

 Move the cursor to the right of the terminal, stopping when the cursor changes to a
wiring spool.

 Click to start the wire.

 Move the cursor to the count (N) terminal of the For Loop.

 Click the count terminal to end the wire.

13. Try moving other objects, deleting wires and rewiring them, and wiring objects and wires
together until you are comfortable with using these tools.

14. Automatically clean up the entire block diagram.

 Click the Clean Up Diagram button on the LabVIEW toolbar.

 Press <Ctrl-Z> to undo the clean-up.

Tip You can also select specific objects to clean up, such as wires or individual
nodes. <Shift>-click to select multiple objects and then click the Clean Up Diagram
button. LabVIEW cleans up only the objects that you select and not the entire block
diagram. Configure how LabVIEW cleans up objects by selecting Tools»Options from
the menu, clicking the Block Diagram category, and changing the options in the
Block Diagram Cleanup section.

15. Change the Boolean text of the Stop button.

Note Boolean controls and indicators have Boolean text labels in addition to their
control labels. Boolean text labels change depending on the value of the control or
indicator. The label for the control or indicator does not change depending on the
value of the control or indicator.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

 Right-click the Stop Button terminal and select Properties from the shortcut menu. Set
the properties as shown in Figure 2-8.

Figure 2-8. Changing the Boolean Text for the Stop Control

1 Control label—This text identifies the terminal of the Boolean control for programming
purposes. This text does not appear on the front panel unless you select Visible.
2 Boolean text—This text appears only on the front panel, and by default, appears in the
center of the Boolean control.

 Click the OK button to close the dialog box.

 Right-click the Stop Button terminal and select Find Control from the shortcut menu.
Notice the control label is Stop Button and the button text is End.

Tip You can also double-click the Stop Button terminal to find the button control
on the front panel.

16. Click the Run button to run the VI.

The time required to execute this VI is equivalent to Number of Measurements times Delay
Multiplier. When the VI is finished executing, the Temperature Chart displays the data.

17. Close the VI and click the Don’t Save - All button. You do not need to save the VI.

End of Exercise 2-1

© National Instruments | 2-17

 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Exercise 2-2 Simple AAV VI

Goal
Create a simple VI that acquires, analyzes, and displays data.

Scenario
You need to acquire a sine wave for 0.1 seconds, determine and display the average value, log
the data, and display the sine wave on a graph.

Design
The input for this problem is an analog channel of sine wave data. The outputs include a graph
of the sine data, a file that logs the data, and an indicator that displays the average data value.

Flowchart
The flowchart in Figure 2-9 illustrates the data flow for this design.

Figure 2-9. Simple AAV VI Flowchart

ACQUIRE ANALYZE VISUALIZE

Acquire Data Display Data

Log Data

Determine Display Average

Average Value Value

Implementation
1. Prepare your hardware to generate a sine wave. If you are not using hardware, skip to
step 2.

 Find the BNC-2120 and visually confirm that it is connected to the DAQ device in your
computer.

 Using a BNC cable, connect the Analog In Channel 1 to the Sine Function Generator,
as shown in Figure 2-10.

 Set the Frequency Selection switch and the Frequency Adjust knob to their lowest
levels.

© National Instruments | 2-23

Lesson 2 Creating Your First Application

Figure 2-10. Connections for the BNC-2120

ANALOG INPUTS NATIONAL

+
_ Floating
Source (FS)
Ground Ref.
Source (GS)
+
_ INSTRUMENTS
AI 3 PWR
! BNC-2120
1 RES BNC
TIMING I/O
2

3
PFI 0 / P1.0
4

1. RES+
2. AI GND
3. AI SENSE
4. RES-

Temp. Thermo Quadrature

BNC Ref.
BNC couple Encoder
96 Pulses /Rev

PULSES

UP / DN
AI 0 AI 1
PFI 1 / P1.1
FS GS FS GS
PFI 2 / P1.2

PFI 3 / P1.3

PFI 4 / P1.4

PFI 5 / P1.5

AI 2 AI 3
PFI 6 / P1.6
FS GS FS GS
PFI 7 / P1.7

PFI 8 / P2.0

PFI 9 / P2.1

PFI 12 / P2.4

AI 4 AI 5 PFI 13 / P2.5

FS GS FS GS
PFI 14 / P2.6

+5 V

D GND

AI 6 AI 7 USER-DEFINED
SIGNALS*
FS GS FS GS

ANALOG OUTPUTS

USER 1

USER 2
AO

AO 0 AO 1

FUNCTION GENERATOR *For BNC connections, wire

anyTiming I/O or Digital I/O
Frequency Selection screw terminals here.

DIGITAL I/O

0.1-10 kHz 1-100 kHz 13-1000 kHz P0.7

P0.6

P0.5

P0.4

P0.3
Sine /Triangle TTL Square Wave

P0.2

P0.1

P0.0

D GND
LO HI LO HI
Amplitude Adjust Frequency Adjust

2. Open LabVIEW.

3. Create a blank project. Save the project as Simple AAV.lvproj in the

<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Simple AAV directory.

4. Add a new VI to the project from the Project Explorer window and save the VI as Simple
AAV.vi in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Simple AAV directory.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

In steps 5 through 6 you will build a front panel similar to the one in Figure 2-11.

Figure 2-11. Simple AAV VI Front Panel Window

5. Add a waveform graph to the front panel window to display the acquired data.

 Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick Drop dialog box.

 Type Waveform in the text box and double-click Waveform Graph (Silver) in the search
results list.

 Place the graph in the front panel window.

6. Add a numeric indicator to the front panel window to display the average value.

 Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick Drop dialog box.

 Type Numeric Indicator in the text box and double-click Numeric Indicator (Silver)
in the search results list.

 Place the indicator in the front panel window.

 Change the numeric indicator label to Average Value.

© National Instruments | 2-25

Lesson 2 Creating Your First Application

In the steps 7 through 14 you build a block diagram similar to the one in Figure 2-12.

Figure 2-12. Simple AAV VI Block Diagram

7. Open the block diagram of the VI by selecting Window»Show Block Diagram.

Note The terminals corresponding to the front panel window objects appear on the
block diagram.

8. Acquire a sine wave for 0.1 seconds by following the instructions in Table 2-1. If you have
hardware installed, follow the instructions in the Hardware Installed column to acquire the
data using the DAQ Assistant. If you do not have hardware installed, follow the instructions
in the No Hardware Installed column to simulate the acquisition using the Simulate Signal
Express VI.

Table 2-1. Instructions for Acquiring or Simulating Data

Hardware Installed No Hardware Installed

1. Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick 1. Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick
Drop dialog box. Drop dialog box.

2. Type DAQ Assist in the text box and 2. Type Simulate Signal in the text
double-click DAQ Assistant in the box and double-click Simulate Signal in
search results list. the search results list.

3. Place the DAQ Assistant on the block 3. Place the Simulate Signal Express VI on
diagram. the block diagram.

4. Wait for the DAQ Assistant dialog box 4. Wait for the Simulate Signal dialog box
to open. to open.

5. Select Acquire Signals»Analog Input» 5. Select Sine for the signal type.
Voltage for the measurement type.

6. Select ai1 (analog input channel 1) for 6. Set the signal frequency to 100.
the physical channel.

7. Click the Finish button. 7. In the Timing section, set the Samples
per second (Hz) to 1000.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Table 2-1. Instructions for Acquiring or Simulating Data (Continued)

Hardware Installed No Hardware Installed

8. In the Timing Settings section, select 8. In the Timing section, deselect

N Samples as the Acquisition Mode. Automatic for the Number of samples.

9. In the Timing Settings section enter 9. In the Timing section, set the Number
100 in Samples To Read. of samples to 100.

10. Enter 1000 in Rate (Hz). 10. In the Timing section, select the
Simulate acquisition timing option.

11. Click the OK button. 11. Click the OK button.

Tip Reading 100 samples at a rate of 1,000 Hz retrieves 0.1 seconds worth of
data.

9. Use the Statistic Express VI to determine the average value of the data acquired.

 Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick Drop dialog box.

 Type statistics in the text box and double-click Statistics [NI_ExpressFull.lvlib] in

the search results list.

 Place the Statistics Express VI on the block diagram to the right of the DAQ Assistant
(or Simulate Signal Express VI).

 Wait for the Statistics Express VI dialog box to open.

 Place a checkmark in the Arithmetic mean checkbox.

 Click the OK button.

10. Log the generated sine data to a LabVIEW Measurement File.

 Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick Drop dialog box.

 Type write to measurement in the text box and double-click Write to Measurement
File in the search results list.

 Place the Write to Measurement File Express VI on the block diagram below the
Statistics Express VI.

 Wait for the Write to Measurement File Express VI dialog box to open.

 Leave all configuration settings in the Write to Measurement File dialog box as default.

 Click the OK button.

Note Future exercises do not detail the directions for finding specific functions or
controls in the palettes. Use Quick Drop, the palette search feature, or the global
search to locate functions and controls.

11. Wire the data from the DAQ Assistant (or Simulate Signal Express VI) to the Statistics
Express VI.

 Place the mouse cursor over the data output of the DAQ Assistant (or the Sine output
of the Simulate Signal Express VI) at the location where the cursor changes to the
Wiring tool.

 Click the mouse button to start the wire.

© National Instruments | 2-27

Lesson 2 Creating Your First Application

 Place the mouse cursor over the Signals input of the Statistics Express VI and click the
mouse button to end the wire.

12. Wire the data to the graph indicator.

 Place the mouse cursor over the data output wire of the DAQ Assistant (or the Sine
output of the Simulate Signal Express VI) at the location where the cursor changes to
the Wiring tool.

 Click the mouse button to start the wire.

 Place the mouse cursor over the Waveform Graph indicator and click the mouse button
to end the wire.

13. Wire the Arithmetic Mean output of the Statistics Express VI to the Average Value numeric
indicator.

 Place the mouse cursor over the Arithmetic Mean output of the Statistics Express VI
at the location where the cursor changes to the Wiring tool.

 Click the mouse button to start the wire.

 Place the mouse cursor over the Average Value numeric indicator and click the mouse
button to end the wire.

14. Wire the data output to the Signals input of the Write Measurement File Express VI.

 Place the mouse cursor over the data output wire of the DAQ Assistant (or the Sine
output of the Simulate Signal Express VI) at the location where the cursor changes to
the Wiring tool.

 Click the mouse button to start the wire.

 Place the mouse cursor over the Signals input of the Write Measurement File Express
VI and click the mouse button to end the wire.

Note Future exercises do not detail the directions for wiring between objects.

15. Save the VI.

Test
1. Switch to the front panel window of the VI.

2. Set the graph properties to be able to view the sine wave.

 Right-click the waveform graph and select X Scale»Autoscale X to remove the

checkmark and disable autoscaling.

 Use the labeling tool to change the last number on the Time scale of the waveform
graph to .1.

3. Save the VI.

4. Click the Run button on the front panel toolbar to run the VI. The graph indicator should
display a sine wave and the Average Value indicator should display a number around zero.
If the VI does not run as expected, review the implementation steps.

5. Close the VI.

End of Exercise 2-2

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 Exercise 3-1 Debugging
Goal
Use the debugging tools built into LabVIEW.

Description
The VIs in this exercise check the validity of a triangle and then calculate the area. For a triangle to be valid, all three sides must have a length that is greater
than zero. The subVI in this exercise uses Heron’s formula to calculate the area of a triangle. You can use this method when you know the lengths of all
three sides of a triangle.

Heron’s formula

A = s( s – a)( s – b)(s – c )
where

a+b+c
s = ----------------------
2
The default values, which you will use to debug and test this VI, are Side A = 6, Side B = 8, Side C = 10. Therefore the correct values are as follows:

6 + 8 + 10
s = ------------------------ = 12
2

A = 12 × 6 × 4 × 2 = 24
You might want to refer to this calculation as you debug the VI.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Complete the following sections to identify and fix edit-time and run-time issues. Use single-stepping and execution highlighting to step through the VI. Use
© National Instruments

breakpoints and probes to determine if the calculations are correct and figure out where an error originates.
| 3-9
 Edit-Time Errors
3-10

Lesson 3
Locate and correct errors that prevent the VI from running.
|

1. Open and examine the area and validity of a triangle VI.

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Troubleshooting and Debugging VIs

 Open Debug.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Debugging directory.

 Open Area and Validity of a Triangle VI from the Project Explorer window.

Figure 3-1. Area and Validity of a Triangle VI Front Panel

 Notice the Run button on the toolbar appears broken, indicating that the VI is broken and cannot run.
 2. Display and examine the block diagram of Area and Validity of a Triangle VI shown in Figure 3-2.
This VI takes input values for each of the three sides of a triangle, passes the values into a subVI that determines the area, and checks that the values
entered are valid for a triangle.

Figure 3-2. Area and Validity of a Triangle VI Block Diagram

3. Find and fix each error.

 Click the broken Run button to display the Error list window, which lists all the errors.

 Select an error description in the Error list window. The Details section describes the error and in some cases recommends how to correct the error.

 Click the Help button to display a topic in the LabVIEW Help that describes the error in detail and includes step-by-step instructions for correcting
the error.

 Click the Show Error button or double-click the error description to highlight the area on the block diagram that contains the error.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

 Use the Error list window to fix each error.

Tip For errors in the Area of a Triangle subVI, double-click to open it. In the Area of Triangle VI, notice that the formula for calculating the area
of a triangle requires the sum of the sides be divided by 2. Right-click the y input of the Divide function and select Create»Constant and enter a
value of 2.

4. Save both VIs.

| 3-11
 Run-Time Errors
3-12

Lesson 3
Identify and correct errors that cause the VI to behave unexpectedly and return incorrect responses.
|

1. Test the VI.

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Troubleshooting and Debugging VIs

 Display the front panel by clicking it or by selecting Window»Show Front Panel.

 Use the default values for each side. These values are valid measurements for a triangle.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that although the numbers you entered are valid, the LED is not illuminated and the Area of a Triangle indicator displays NaN.

2. Animate the flow of data through the block diagram.

 Display the block diagram.

 Click the Highlight Execution button on the toolbar to enable execution highlighting.

 Click the Retain Wire Values button on the toolbar so you can see the last value passed on a wire.

 Run the VI.

Notice that you can see how data flows through the wires. At the output of each node, you can see the data value displays momentarily. Because
you have enabled the Retain Wire Values button, you can probe the last value in the wire.
 3. Probe the wire values.

 Right-click each of the input wires to the Compound Arithmetic Function and select Probe. This displays the Probe Watch Window.

 Notice that one of the wire values is False as shown in Figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3. Probe Wires

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

 Because you are checking to see that all three sides of the triangle have positive lengths, either the input value is invalid or the logic is incorrect.
The input values were all positive numbers, so that means the logic is incorrect.

Notice that the node returning a value of False is a Less than Zero? function, but this section of code should be checking to see if the value is
greater than zero.

 Right-click the Less than Zero? function and select Replace»Comparison Palette»Greater than Zero?.
| 3-13
 4. Test the VI.
3-14

Lesson 3
 Run the VI.
|


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Notice that all the probe values are all True.

Troubleshooting and Debugging VIs

 Display the front panel. Notice that the Valid Triangle? LED is illuminated, but the Area of Triangle indicator is still returning NaN.

 The area of the triangle is calculated in the subVI, so you must continue debugging in the Area of a Triangle subVI.

5. Continue debugging the subVI.

 Display the block diagram of the Area and Validity of a Triangle VI.

 Click the Step Into button to start single-stepping through the VI. Execution highlighting shows the flow of data on the block diagram from one node
to another. Nodes blink to indicate they are ready to execute.

 Click the Step Over button after each node to step through the entire block diagram until you get to the subVI. Each time you click the Step Over
button, the current node executes and pauses at the next node.

 When you get to the subVI, click the Step Into button to open the block diagram of the Area of Triangle subVI. The subVI is paused.

 Turn on Execution Highlighting and Retain Wire Values in the subVI.

  Right-click the output of the Square Root function and select Breakpoint»Set Breakpoint as shown in Figure 3-4.

Figure 3-4. Set Breakpoint

1 The breakpoint stops the VI after the Square Root node executes and before the value is output to the Area of Triangle indicator.

6. Click the red pause button to resume the execution of the VI.

 The VI continues executing until the breakpoint and then pauses again.

7. Examine the values on the wires

 Move the cursor to hover over the input wire of the Square Root function. You should see a tip strip with a value of -576. You cannot take the
square root of a negative number, which is why the Area of Triangle indicator returns NaN.

Tip If you cannot see the tip strip, you can click the wire to open the Probe Watch window to see the value.

 Hover over other wires or use the Probe Watch window to examine other intermediate values.

 Notice that the value on the (S-B) wire is also a negative number. If you look more closely, you notice that the inputs for the subtract function are
reversed.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide


© National Instruments

Click the Abort button to stop the VI.

 Switch the inputs for the (S-B) Subtract function.

Tip Press <Ctrl> and click one of the inputs to switch them. When you press <Ctrl> and hover over an input, you see the cursor change.

8. Save the VI.

| 3-15
 9. Test the Area of Triangle VI.
3-16

Lesson 3
 Run the VI again.
|


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Check the intermediate values as the VI runs or hover over the wires after it pauses at the breakpoint and verify that the values returned are correct.

Troubleshooting and Debugging VIs

The square root function should return a value of 24.

 Right-click the breakpoint and select Breakpoint»Clear Breakpoint.

 Turn off execution highlighting in the Area of Triangle VI and the Area and Validity of a Triangle VI.

 Save both VIs.

Test
1. Test the Area and Validity of a Triangle VI using the values for Side A, Side B, and Side C in Table 3-1. For each set of test values, record the area you
get when you run the VI.

Table 3-1. Area and Validity of a Triangle Test Values

Side A Side B Side C Area

24 30 18

12 12 12

15 20 25

Table 3-2. Area and Validity of a Triangle Test Values - Area Answers

Side A Side B Side C Area

24 30 18 216

12 12 12 62.35

15 20 25 150

2. Save and close the VI when you are finished testing.

End of Exercise 3-1

 Exercise 4-1 Pass Data Through Tunnels
4-8

Lesson 4
|

Goal
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Use a While Loop and an iteration terminal and pass data through a tunnel.

Using Loops
Scenario
Create a VI that continuously generates random numbers between 0 and 1000 until it generates a number that matches a number selected by the user.
Determine how many random numbers the VI generated before generating the matching number.

Design
Use the following flowchart and input/output list to create the VI for this exercise. The flowchart in Figure 4-1 illustrates the data flow for this design.
 Figure 4-1. Auto Match Flowchart

Generate a
Random Number No
Between 0 and 1

Multiply by 1000

Add 1 to
Round to Nearest Display Value = Number
Yes Iteration
Integer Value to User to Match?
Terminal

Display Number
of Iterations

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 4-9
 Inputs and Outputs
4-10

Lesson 4
The following table describes the inputs and outputs for this exercise.
|

Table 4-1. Auto Match VI Inputs and Outputs

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Using Loops
Type Name Properties

Numeric control Number to Match Double-precision, floating-point between 0 and 1000, coerce to nearest whole
number, default value = 50

Numeric indicator Current Number Double-precision, floating-point

Numeric indicator Number of Iterations Integer

Implementation
1. Create a blank project and save it as Auto Match.lvproj in the <Exercises>LabVIEW Core 1\Auto Match directory.

2. Create a new VI in the project and save it as Auto Match.vi in the same directory as the project.

3. Build the front panel shown in Figure 4-2.

Figure 4-2. Auto Match VI Front Panel

1 Set the default value of the Number to Match control to 50—Enter 50 in the Number to Match control and then right-click the control and select Data
Operations»Make Current Value Default.
2 Set Number of Iterations indicator to output a signed, long integer—Right-click the indicator and select Representation»I32.
 4. Set the properties for the Number to Match control so that the data type is a 32-bit unsigned integer, the data range is from 0 to 1000, the increment
value is 1, and the digits of precision is 0.

 Right-click the Number to Match control and select Representation»U32 from the shortcut menu.

 Right-click the Number to Match control and select Data Entry from the shortcut menu. Set the properties on the Data Entry and Display Format
tabs as shown in Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-3. Number to Match Numeric Properties

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

1 2

1 Number to Match—Data Entry Properties 2 Number to Match—Display Format Properties

| 4-11
 5. Set the representation of the Current Number indicator to an unsigned, 32-bit integer and set the digits of precision for the Current Number output to 0.
4-12

Lesson 4
 Right-click the Current Number indicator and select Representation»U32 from the shortcut menu.
|


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Right-click the Current Number indicator and select Display Format. Set the properties as shown in Figure 4-4.

Using Loops
Figure 4-4. Current Number Indicator Display Format Properties
 6. Create the block diagram shown in Figure 4-5.

Figure 4-5. Auto Match VI Block Diagram

1 2 9

3 4 5 6 7 8

1 Random Number (0–1)—Generates a random number between 0 and 1.

2 Multiply—Multiplies the random number by the y input to produce a random number between 0 and y.
3 Numeric Constant—Right-click the y input of the Multiply function and select Create»Constant. Enter a value of 1000. Because the Random Number
(0-1) function generates a double-precision, floating point number between 0 and 1, multiplying the number by 1000 produces a range of numbers
between 0 and 1000.
4 Round To Nearest—Rounds the random number to the nearest integer.
5 Equal?—Compares the random number with Number to Match and returns FALSE if the numbers are not equal. Otherwise, it returns TRUE.
6 While Loop—Repeats the algorithm until the Equal? function returns TRUE because the Equal? function is wired to the conditional terminal, which is
set to Stop if True.
7 Iteration terminal—Each time the loop executes, the iteration terminal increments by one.
8 Increment—Adds 1 to the While Loop count because the iteration starts at 0.
9 Coercion dots—Red coercion dots appear on block diagram nodes when you connect a wire of one numeric type to a terminal of a different numeric
type. In this case, the output from Round To Nearest is a double-precision, floating point but Current Number is an integer.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

Tip Coercion dots can cause a VI to use more memory and increase its run time, so try to keep data types consistent in the VIs you create.
| 4-13
 7. Update the VI to remove the coercion dots.
4-14

Lesson 4
 Right-click the wire coming from the Round To Nearest function and select Insert»Numeric Palette»Conversion»To Unsigned Long Integer as shown
|

in Figure 4-6. This inserts the To Unsigned Long Integer function on the wire.
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Using Loops
Figure 4-6. Inserting the To Unsigned Long Integer Function on a Wire

1 Right-click the wire to display the shortcut menu.

 8. Notice that converting the output from the Round To Nearest function removes all the coercion dots on the block diagram, as shown in Figure 4-7.

Figure 4-7. Completed Auto Match VI

9. Display the front panel.

10. Right-click the Current Number indicator and select Advanced»Synchronous Display.

Note If synchronous display is enabled, then every time the block diagram sends a value to the Current Number indicator, the block diagram
stops executing until the front panel has updated the value of the indicator. In this exercise, you enable the synchronous display, so you can see
the Current Number indicator get updated repeatedly on the front panel. Typically, the synchronous display is disabled to increase execution
speed since you usually do not need to see every single updated value of an indicator on the front panel.

11. Save the VI.

Test
1. Change the number in the Number to Match control to a number that is in the data range, which is 0 to 1000 with an increment of 1.

2. Run the VI.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

3. Change the Number to Match value and run the VI again. Current Number updates at every iteration of the loop because it is inside the loop.
Number of Iterations updates upon completion because it is outside the loop.

4. To see how the VI updates the indicators, enable execution highlighting.

 On the block diagram toolbar, click the Highlight Execution button to enable execution highlighting.
| 4-15
 5. Run the VI and observe the data flow.
4-16

Lesson 4
6. Turn off execution highlighting to quickly finish executing the VI.
|
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7. Try to match a number that is outside the data range.

Using Loops
 Change the Number to Match value to a number that is out of the data range, 0 - 1000.

 Run the VI.

 Notice LabVIEW coerces the out-of-range value to the nearest value in the data range you specified in step 4 of the Implementation section.

8. Close the VI.

End of Exercise 4-1

 Exercise 4-2 Calculating Average Temperature
Goal
Use a While Loop and shift registers to average data.

Scenario
The Temperature Monitor VI acquires and displays temperature. Modify the VI to average the last five temperature measurements and display the running
average on the waveform chart.

Design
Figure 4-8 shows the Temperature Monitor VI front panel and block diagram.

Figure 4-8. Temperature Monitor VI Front Panel and Block Diagram

To modify this VI, you need to retain the temperature values from the previous four iterations of the While Loop and average the values. To accomplish this,
you modify this VI as follows:
Use a shift register with additional elements to retain data from the previous four iterations.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

•
© National Instruments

• Initialize the shift register with a reading from the simulated thermometer.
• Calculate and chart only the average temperature.
| 4-21
 Implementation
4-22

Lesson 4
1. Test the VI.
|

 Open Temperature Monitor.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Temperature Monitor directory.

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Using Loops
 Open Temperature Monitor VI from the Project Explorer window.

 Run the VI. Notice the variation in the simulated temperature reading.

2. Stop the VI by clicking the Stop button on the front panel.

3. Modify the VI to reduce the number of temperature spikes.

 Display the block diagram.

 Modify the block diagram as shown in Figure 4-9.

Figure 4-9. Temperature Monitor VI Block Diagram—Average Temperature

1 3 4

1 Shift Registers—Stacked shift registers collect multiple temperature readings. Right-click the border of the While Loop and select Add Shift Register.
Drag the lower resizing handle of the shift register to display four shift registers.
2 Create a copy of the Thermometer (Demo) VI—Press <Ctrl> while dragging the subVI outside the While Loop to create a copy. The Thermometer
(Demo) VI returns one temperature measurement and initializes the left shift registers before the loop starts.
3 Compound Arithmetic—Returns the sum of the current temperature and the four previous temperature readings. Resize the function to have five
terminals.
4 Divide—Returns the average of the last five temperature readings.
 Note You can create stacked shift register terminals on the left side of a loop to remember multiple previous iterations and carry those values
to the next iterations. This technique is useful for averaging data points. Stacked shift registers can occur only on the left side of the loop because
the right terminal transfers the data generated from only the current iteration to the next iteration.

4. Save the VI.

Test
1. Run the VI.

During each iteration of the While Loop, the Thermometer (Demo) VI takes one temperature measurement. The VI adds this value to the last
four measurements stored in the left terminals of the shift register. The VI divides the result by five to find the average of the five measurements—the
current measurement plus the previous four. The VI displays the average on the waveform chart. Notice that the VI initializes the shift register with a
temperature measurement.

2. Stop the VI by clicking the Stop button on the front panel.

3. Save and close the VI and the project.

End of Exercise 4-2

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 4-23
 Exercise 4-3 Temperature Monitor VI—Plot Multiple Temperatures
4-26

Lesson 4
|

Goal
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Plot multiple data sets on a single waveform chart and customize the chart view.

Using Loops
Scenario
Modify the VI from Exercise 4-2 to plot both the current temperature and the running average on the same chart. In addition, allow the user to examine a
portion of the plot while the data is being acquired.

Design
Figure 4-10 shows the front panel for the existing Temperature Monitor VI and Figure 4-11 shows the block diagram.

Figure 4-10. Temperature Monitor VI Front Panel

 To allow the user to examine a portion of the plot while the data is being acquired, display the scale legend and the graph palette for the waveform chart.
Also, expand the legend to show additional plots.

To modify the block diagram in Figure 4-11, you must modify the chart terminal to accept multiple pieces of data. Use a Bundle function to combine the
average temperature and the current temperature into a cluster to pass to the Temperature History terminal.

Figure 4-11. Original Temperature Monitor VI Block Diagram

Implementation
1. Open the Temperature Monitor VI you created in Exercise 4-2.

 Open Temperature Monitor.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Temperature Monitor directory.

 Open Temperature Monitor.vi from the Project Explorer window.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 4-27
 2. Modify the block diagram so that it resembles Figure 4-12.
4-28

Lesson 4
Figure 4-12. Temperature Monitor VI Block Diagram—Plotting Multiple Temperatures
|
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Using Loops
1 Bundle—Passes the current temperature and average temperature to the Temperature History chart.
 3. Modify the front panel so that it resembles Figure 4-13.

Figure 4-13. Temperature Monitor VI Front Panel—Plotting Multiple Temperatures

1 Show both plots in the plot legend—Use the positioning tool to resize the plot legend to show two objects. Double-click the label to edit the plot names.
The order of the plots listed in the plot legend is the same as the order of the items wired to the Bundle function on the block diagram.
2 Change the plot type of Current Temperature—Use the Operating tool to select the plot in the plot legend. Click the plot icon, select Common Plots
from the menu, and choose the plot you want.
3 Display Graph Palette—Right-click the Temperature History chart and select Visible Items»Graph Palette.
4 Display Scale Legend—Right-click the Temperature History chart and select Visible items»Scale Legend.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

4. Save the VI.

Test
1. Run the VI. Use the tools in the scale legend and the graph palette to examine the data as it generates.

2. Close the VI and project when you are finished.

End of Exercise 4-3

| 4-29
 Exercise 5-1 Manipulating Arrays
5-12

Lesson 5
|

Goal
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Manipulate arrays using various LabVIEW functions.

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

Description
You are given a VI and asked to enhance it for a variety of purposes. The front panel of this VI is built. You complete the block diagram to practice several
different techniques to manipulate arrays.

Implementation
1. Open Manipulating Arrays.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Manipulating Arrays directory.

2. Open Array Manipulation VI from the Project Explorer window. The front panel, shown in Figure 5-1, is already built for you.

Figure 5-1. Array Manipulation VI Front Panel

 3. Open the block diagram and complete each of the cases that correspond to the tabs on the front panel as shown in Figures 5-2 through 5-8.

Figure 5-2. Array Manipulation VI—Concatenate Channels Case

2 1

1 Build Array—Expand this node to accept two inputs, and then right-click and select Concatenate inputs from the shortcut menu.
2 Wire the sine wave and square wave outputs to the Build Array function to create a 1D array with both waveforms.

4. Switch to the front panel and test the Concatenate Channels case.

 On the front panel, click the Concatenate Channels tab.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

 Run the VI and notice that the sine wave is concatenated with a square wave.
© National Instruments

5. Stop the VI.

6. Switch to the block diagram and select the Add/Subtract Channels case.
| 5-13
 7. Complete the Add/Subtract Channels case as shown in Figure 5-3 and Figure 5-4.
5-14

Lesson 5
Figure 5-3. Array Manipulation VI—Add/Subtract Channels True Case
|
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Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

1 2

1 Subtract?—Wire this to the case selector terminal so that the correct case executes when you click the Subtract? button on the front panel.
2 Case Structure—Place a Subtract function in the True case, so that the VI subtracts the elements of the array when the Subtract? button on the front
panel is pressed.

Figure 5-4. Array Manipulation VI—Add/Subtract Channels False Case

1 When the value of the Subtract? Boolean control is False, the array elements are added.
 Note This case demonstrates polymorphic functionality by adding and subtracting elements of the array.

8. Switch to the front panel and test the Add/Subtract Channels case.

 On the front panel, click the Add/Subtract Channels tab.

 Run the VI.

 Click the Subtract? button and observe the behavior of subtracting the square wave from the sine wave.

9. Stop the VI.

10. Switch to the block diagram and select the Select a Channel case.

11. Complete the Select a Channel case as shown in Figure 5-5.

Figure 5-5. Array Manipulation VI—Select a Channel

1 2

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

1 Build Array—Combines the sine and square waves into one 2D array.
2 Index Array—Extracts row 0 or 1 from the 2D array. The output from this function is a 1D array and is the waveform you select with the Select Channel
control. The waveform is displayed on the Single Channel of Data Waveform Graph and the Single Channel of Data Array indicator.
3 Select Channel—Wire to the row input of the Index Array function.
4 Array Size—Because you are using a 1D array, this function outputs a scalar value.
| 5-15
 Note The Select a Channel case uses a property node to change the color of the graph plot. You learn about Property Nodes LabVIEW Core 2.
5-16

Lesson 5
12. Switch to the front panel and test the Select a Channel case.
|
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 On the front panel, click the Select a Channel tab.

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

 Run the VI.

 Switch between Channel 0 and Channel 1 and notice the different values shown in the Single Channel of Data Array indicator.

13. Stop the VI.

14. Switch to the block diagram and select the Waveform Data case.

15. Complete the Waveform Data case block diagram as shown in Figure 5-6.

The waveform datatype is a special kind of cluster that contains additional timing information about the waveform.

Figure 5-6. Array Manipulation VI—Waveform Data

1 Add—Uses the value from the Offset control to modify the value of the waveform in the waveform datatype. Notice the value from the Offset control
must be coerced to be used with the waveform datatype.

Note Polymorphism is the ability of VIs and functions to automatically adapt to accept input data of different data types, including arrays,
scalars, and waveforms. VIs and functions are polymoprhic to varying degrees.
 16. Switch to the front panel and test the Waveform Data case.

 On the front panel, click the Waveform Data tab.

 Run the VI.

 Change the value of the Offset control and notice the square wave move on the Waveform Data chart.

17. Stop the VI.

18. Switch to the block diagram and select the All Data Channel case.

19. Complete the All Data Channel case as shown in Figure 5-7.

Figure 5-7. Array Manipulation VI—All Data

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

2 3 4

1 Add—Modify the same data in one array by adding the value of the Channel 1 Offset to each element of the array.
2 For Loop—Extracts each element of the array using auto indexing so that the Add function in the For Loop can add the scalar value.
3 Build Array—Takes the two 1D arrays and builds a 2D array. Each 1D array becomes a row in the 2D array.
4 Array Size—Outputs a 1D array where each element shows the size of each dimension. In this exercise, you have 2 elements of data for the number
| 5-17

of rows and columns.

5 All Data Channel and Data Channel Array indicators display the same data.
 Note The polymorphic functionality of LabVIEW functions allows you to perform the same operation on each element without extracting the
5-18

Lesson 5
array elements, as you do with the two Add functions in the All Data Channel case.
|

20. Switch to the front panel and test the All Data Channel case.
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Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

 On the front panel, click the All Data Channel tab.

 Run the VI.

 Change the value of the Channel 1 Offset control and observe the behavior.

21. Stop the VI.

22. Switch to the block diagram and select the Waveform Subset case.

23. Complete the Waveform Subset case as shown in Figure 5-8.

Figure 5-8. Array Manipulation VI—Waveform Subset

2 1

1 Array Subset—Extracts a subset of an existing array. In this exercise, you use this function to zoom in on a subset of the waveform you generated.
2 Numeric Constant—These constants specify that the function extract the first two rows starting at element 0.
3 Start Value—Sets the start index. The default value is set to start at element 0.
4 Length—Sets the number of elements to extract. The default value is set to output 1000 elements.
 24. Switch to the front panel and test the Waveform Subset case.

 On the front panel, click the Waveform Subset tab.

 Run the VI.

 Change value of the Start Value and Length sliders and notice that the Subset Data waveform graph x-axis starts at zero and finishes at the number
of elements in the new array. The x-axis starts at zero because the VI creates a brand new array and the graph does not know where the data was
located in the original array.

25. Stop the VI.

Using the NI Example Finder to Learn More about Arrays

Use the NI Example Finder to browse or search examples installed on your computer or on the NI Developer Zone at ni.com/zone. Example VIs can show
you how to use specific functions and programming concepts such as arrays and polymorphism.

Complete the following steps to use the NI Example finder to locate example VIs that demonstrate different ways to use the Array function.

1. Select Help»Find Examples to start the NI Example Finder.

2. Click the Search tab and enter the keyword array.

3. Click the Search button to find VIs using that keyword.

4. Click one of the example VIs in the search results list and read the description.

5. Double-click an example VI to open it.

6. Read through the comments on the front panel and block diagram to learn more about what this example VI demonstrates.

7. Run the example, examine the different cases, and click the Stop button to exit.

8. Close the VIs and the NI Example Finder when you are finished.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

End of Exercise 5-1

| 5-19
 Exercise 5-2 Temperature Warnings VI—Clusters
Goal
Create a cluster datatype containing the data to be passed around an application and, in the process, create scalable, readable code.

Scenario
Another developer has created a VI that displays temperature warnings. This VI is part of the temperature weather station project studied throughout this
course. Your task is to update this VI to use clusters instead of individual terminals for inputs and outputs.

Design
The flowchart in Figure 5-9 illustrates the data flow for the design of the Temperature Warnings VI.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 5-25
 Figure 5-9. Temperature Warnings VI Flowchart
5-26

Lesson 5
|
ni.com

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

Current Temp
>= Max Temp? No

Yes

Warning Text =
Warning Text =
Heatstroke
No Warning
Warning

Current Temp
No
<= Min Temp?

Yes

Warning Text = Pass current value

Freeze Warning of Warning Text

Warning
Text = No No
Warning?

Yes

Warning ? = False Warning ? = True

 Create a cluster which contains the data used by the Temperature Warnings VI. You modify the Temperature Warnings VI to receive and return data in the
form of that same cluster as shown in Figure 5-10. The modified VI works in a more modular fashion with other subVIs in the overall application.

Figure 5-10. Temperature Warnings VI with Clusters Front Panel

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 5-27
 Implementation
5-28

Lesson 5
1. Open Weather Warnings.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings directory.
|

2. Open Temperature Warnings VI from the Project Explorer window.

ni.com

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

3. Place existing controls and indicators in a cluster named Weather Data as shown in Figure 5-11.

Figure 5-11. Create Cluster

1 3

1 Cluster—Use the Cluster control from the Silver palette and change the label to Weather Data.
2 Select controls and indicators to include in the cluster. <Shift>-click to select multiple objects.
3 Drag the controls and indicators into the Weather Data cluster.
 4. Resize the cluster so that all the elements are visible and arranged vertically as shown in Figure 5-12.

Figure 5-12. Resize Cluster Control

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

1 Autosize cluster—LabVIEW can rearrange and resize the cluster for you. Right-click the border of the Weather Data cluster and select AutoSizing»
© National Instruments

Arrange Vertically.
| 5-29
 5. Reorder the items in the cluster as shown in Figure 5-13.
5-30

Lesson 5
Figure 5-13. Reorder Cluster
|
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Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

3

1 Right-click the edge of the cluster and select Reorder Controls in Cluster.
2 Click the controls to toggle the order of the items in the cluster.
3 Click the Confirm button to save the changes.
 6. Modify the VI to receive and return cluster data.

Figure 5-14. Temperature Warnings—Weather Data In and Weather Data Out Clusters

1
2

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

1 Weather Data—<Ctrl>-click the Weather Data cluster and drag it to create a copy. Rename the copy Weather Data In.
2 Weather Data—Right-click the original cluster and select Change to Indicator. Rename the indicator Weather Data Out.
| 5-31
 7. Modify the block diagram as shown in Figure 5-15 to extract data from the input cluster.
5-32

Lesson 5
Figure 5-15. Temperature Warnings with Clusters Block Diagram
|
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Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

1

1 Unbundle By Name—Wire the Weather Data In control and expand the Unbundle By Name function to display three items. Wire the outputs of the
Unbundle By Name function to the broken wires in the order shown. Because you moved individual controls and indicators into a single cluster, you
must use the Unbundle By Name function to wire the internal controls and indicators independently of each other.
2 Bundle By Name—Wire the Weather Data In cluster around the analysis code to the input cluster of the Bundle by Name function. Display two elements
and use the Operating tool to select Warning? and Warning Text elements. Connect the broken wires to the Unbundle By Name inputs as shown.

Note If the order of the elements in the Unbundle By Name and the Bundle By Name functions is different than what you want, you can use
the Operating tool to change the order.
8. Save and close the Temperature Warnings VI.

Test
1. Enter values in the Current Temperature, Max Temperature and Min Temperature controls in the Weather Data In cluster.
2. Run the VI and verify that the Weather Data indicator displays correct values.
3. Save and close the VI

End of Exercise 5-2

 Exercise 5-3 Temperature Warnings VI—Type Definition
Goal
To improve the scalability of your application by using type definitions made from custom cluster controls, indicators, and constants of a particular data type.

Scenario
As a LabVIEW developer, you can encounter situations where you need to define your own custom data types in the form of clusters and enums. A challenge
associated with using custom data types is that you may need to change them later in development. In addition, you may need to change them after they
have already been used in VIs. For example, you create copies of a custom data type and use them as controls, indicators, or constants in one or more VIs.
Then you realize that the custom data type needs to change. You need to add, remove, or change items in the cluster data type or the enum.

As a developer you must ask yourself the following questions:

• What should happen to the copies of the custom data types used in VIs that are already saved?
• Should the copies remain unchanged or should they update themselves to reflect changes to the original?

Usually, you want all the copies of the custom data type to update if you update the original custom data type. To achieve this you need copies of the
custom data types to be tied to a type definition, which is defined as follows:

Type definition—A master copy of a custom data type that multiple VIs can use.

Implementation
In this exercise, you modify the Temperature Warnings VI that you revised in Exercise 5-2 in such a way that the changes to the Weather Data custom data
type propagate through the application.

When complete, the Weather Station application monitors temperature and wind information. This exercise modifies the Temperature Warnings VI. In the
Challenge exercise, you modify the Windspeed Warnings VI.

1. Open Weather Warnings.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings directory.

2. Open Temperature Warnings VI from the Project Explorer window.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

3. Experiment with changing an existing cluster.

 Place a File Path Control (Silver) in the Weather Data In cluster control.

 Notice that the Temperature Warnings VI is broken. This is because the Weather Data In and Weather Data Out clusters are no longer the same
data type.

 Open the block diagram and notice the broken wire connected to the Weather Data Out terminal.
| 5-35

 Press <Ctrl-Z> to undo the addition of the File Path Control.

 4. Make a type definition.
5-36

Lesson 5
 Right-click the border of the Weather Data In control and select Make Type Def.
|


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On the block diagram, the Weather Data In terminal now has a black triangle on the corner indicating that it is connected to a type definition.

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

 Right-click the border of the Weather Data In control and select Open Type Def to display the Custom Control Editor window as shown in
Figure 5-16.
The window looks like the front panel of a VI but it does not have a block diagram.

Figure 5-16. Custom Control Editor Window

1 The control type is Type Def, which maintains the link between this file and the custom control copies used in VIs.

 Save the custom control as Weather Data.ctl in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings directory and close the control editor
window.

 On the block diagram of the Temperature Warnings VI, notice the coercion dot on the Weather Data Out indicator terminal. This indicates that the
indicator is not tied to the type definition.
 5. Tie the Weather Data Out indicator to the type definition.

 Right-click the border of the Weather Data Out indicator on the front panel and select Replace»Select a Control from the shortcut menu.

 Browse to and select the Weather Data.ctl file you just created.

Note You can no longer add or remove elements to or from the cluster control and indicator on the front panel. You must open the type
definition and add or remove the element from the control editor window.

 Save the Temperature Warnings VI.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 5-37
 6. Edit the Weather Data type definition to include unit information.
5-38

Lesson 5
 Right-click the border of the Weather Data In control and select Open Type Def from the shortcut menu.
|


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Modify the front panel as shown in Figure 5-17.

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

Figure 5-17. Weather Data Type Definition with Temperature Units

1 Enum (Silver)—Place an enum in the cluster and rename it Units. Right-click the enum and select Edit items. Create an item for Celsius and
Fahrenheit.

 Save the Weather Data type definition and close the control editor window.

 Notice that the Weather Data In control and Weather Data Out indicator on the Temperature Warnings VI have been updated with the changes you
made to the Weather Data type definition. Arrange the front panel of the VI as shown in Figure 5-18.
 Figure 5-18. Temperature Warnings VI with Type Def Controls and Indicators

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

7. Run and Save the Temperature Warnings VI.

Challenge
In this challenge exercise, you modify the Windspeed Warnings VI to augment the Weather Station application.

1. Add the Windspeed Warnings VI to the Weather Warnings project.

 In the Project Explorer window, right click My Computer and select Add»File from the shortcut menu.
| 5-39

 Navigate to <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings\Support VIs and select Windspeed Warnings.vi.
 2. Open the Windspeed Warnings VI.
5-40

Lesson 5
3. Copy the Weather Data In cluster from the Temperature Warnings VI to the Windspeed Warnings VI.
|
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4. Right-click the Weather Data In cluster and select Open Type Def from the shortcut menu.

Creating and Leveraging Data Structures

5. Modify the Weather Data type definition with windspeed controls as shown in Figure 5-19.

Figure 5-19. Windspeed Warnings VI Type Definition Controls and Indicators

 6. Modify the block diagram of the Windspeed Warnings VI to use the new Weather Data type definition instead of individual controls and indicators, as
shown in Figure 5-20.

Figure 5-20. Windspeed Warnings VI Using Type Definitions

7. Open Temperature Warnings VI and notice that the Weather Data In control and Weather Data Out indicator is updated to include the Windspeed data.

8. Save and close the VI and the project.

End of Exercise 5-3

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 5-41
 Exercise 6-1 Temperature Warnings With Error Handling
6-8

Lesson 6
|

Goal
ni.com

Modify a VI to use a Case structure to make a software decision.

Using Decision-Making Structures

Scenario
You created a VI where a user inputs a temperature, a maximum temperature, and a minimum temperature. A warning string generates depending on the
relationship of the given inputs. However, a situation could occur that causes the VI to work incorrectly. For example, the user could enter a maximum
temperature that is less than the minimum temperature. Modify the VI to generate a different string to alert the user to the error: Upper Limit < Lower
Limit. Set the Warning? indicator to TRUE to indicate the error.

Design
Modify the flowchart created for the original Temperature Warnings VI as shown in Figure 6-3.

Figure 6-3. Modified Temperature Warnings Flowchart

Output
MinTemp
Min Temp>= No Current
Min TempTemp
>= No Current Temp No No Warning
Max Temp MaxTemp
Max Temp Min Temp and
FALSE

Yes Yes Yes

Output Output
Heatstroke Freeze Warning
Create Error
Warning and and
TRUE TRUE

Output
Upper Limit
< Lower Limit
and TRUE

You must add a Case structure to the Temperature Warnings VI to execute the code if the maximum temperature is less than or equal to the minimum
temperature. Otherwise, the VI does not execute the code. Instead, the VI generates a new string and the Warning? indicator is set to TRUE.
 Figure 6-4. Original Temperature Warnings VI Block Diagram

Implementation
1. Open Weather Warnings.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings directory.

2. Open Temperature Warnings.vi from the Project Explorer window.

3. Open the block diagram and create space to add the Case structure.

 Select the Weather Data In type-defined cluster terminal, the Unbundle by Name function, and the Error In terminal.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

Tip To select more than one item press the <Shift> key while you select the items.

 While the objects are still selected, use the left arrow key on the keyboard to move the controls to the left.

Tip Press and hold the <Shift> key to move the objects in five pixel increments.

Tip Press the <Ctrl> key and use the Positioning tool to drag out a region of the size you want to insert.

 Select the Weather Data Out type-define cluster terminal, the Bundle by Name function, and the Error Out terminal.
| 6-9
  While the terminals are still selected, use the right arrow key on the keyboard to move the indicators to the right.
6-10

Lesson 6
 Select the wire connecting the Weather Data In terminal and the Bundle by Name function.
|


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While the wire is still selected, use the up arrow key on the keyboard to move the wire upward.

Using Decision-Making Structures

4. Modify the block diagram similar to that shown in Figure 6-5, Figure 6-6, and Figure 6-7. This VI is part of the temperature weather station project.

Figure 6-5. Temperature Warnings VI Block Diagram—No Error, False Case

1 Less?—Compares the Max Temperature and Min Temperature. Make sure the Less? function is outside the Case structure.
2 Case Structure—Do not include the Weather Data In, Error In, Weather Data Out, or Error Out terminals in the Case structure because these controls
and indicators are used by both cases.
3 Set True and False cases—With the True case visible, right-click the border of the Case structure and select Make this Case False.
4 Case Structure—Wire the Error In terminal to the selector terminal to create No Error and Error cases. By default, the Case structure has True and False
cases. These cases change to Error and No Error cases only after you wire Error In to the selector terminal.
 Figure 6-6. Temperature Warnings VI—No Error, True Case

1 True case—If the Max Temperature is set lower than the Min Temperature, the True case executes. Click the case selector label to choose the True
case.
2 True Constant—When the True case executes, the Temperature Warning? LED illuminates in the Weather Data Out cluster.
3 String Constant—If the Max Temperature is set lower than the Min Temperature, the warning Upper Limit < Lower Limit displays on the front
panel. Enter the text in the String Constant.

5. Predict the values for Temperature Warning Text and Temperature Warning? given each set of inputs.

Table 6-1. Predict Values for Temperature Warnings VI

Current Temperature Max Temperature Min Temperature Temperature Warning Text Temperature Warning?

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

30 30 10

25 30 10

10 30 10

25 20 30
| 6-11
 6. Create the Error case in the outer Case structure so this VI can be used as a subVI.
6-12

Lesson 6
Figure 6-7. Temperature Warnings VI—Error Case
|
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Using Decision-Making Structures

7. Save the VI.

Test
1. Switch to the front panel of the VI.

2. Test the VI by entering values from Table 6-2 in the Current Temperature, Max Temperature, and Min Temperature controls and running the VI for each
set of data.
 Table 6-2 shows the expected Temperature Warning Text and Temperature Warning? Boolean value for each set of data.

Table 6-2. Testing Values for Temperature Warnings VI

Current Temperature Max Temperature Min Temperature Temperature Warning Text Temperature Warning?

30 30 10 Heatstroke Warning True

25 30 10 No Warning False

10 30 10 Freeze Warning True

25 20 30 Upper Limit < Lower Limit True

 Do these values match the values that you predicted?

 What happens if you set the value for all three inputs to 10?

 How could you address this problem?

3. Test the Error case. To use this VI as a subVI, the VI must be able to handle an error coming into the VI. Test the Error case to make sure that this VI
can output the error information it receives.

 On the front panel, use the Operating tool to click the status Boolean indicator inside the Error In cluster so that the indicator turns red and enter 7
in the code control.

 Run the VI. The error information you entered passes through the Error case in the VI and is output in the Error Out cluster.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

 Display the block diagram, select the No Error case, highlight execution, and then run the VI again to see the error pass through the Error case.

 On the front panel, right-click the border of the Error Out cluster and select Explain Error to display information about the error that was returned.

4. Save and close the VI.

End of Exercise 6-1

| 6-13
 Exercise 6-2 Converting a Polling Design to an Event Structure Design
6-18

Lesson 6
|

Goal
ni.com

To convert a polling-based application to an event-based application and compare the different in performance.

Using Decision-Making Structures

Description
First you observe the behavior of a polling VI.

Next, you modify the polling VI to create a more efficient, event-driven VI and observe the changes in behavior.

Finally, you add different types of events to the VI.

Table 6-3 lists the events you will implement in the UI Event Handler VI you create.

Table 6-3. User Interface Events

Event Event Description

“Stop”: Value Change Stops the While Loop.

“Time Check”: Value Change Displays a time stamp when you click the Time Check button.

“Pane”: Mouse Down Displays the coordinates of the front panel point you click.

Panel Close? Handles the event in which the user tries to close the running VI by clicking the window close button.

“Stop”: Mouse Enter Produces a beep when the mouse cursor moves over the Stop button.

Observing the Polling VI Behavior

1. Open and run Polling.vi.

 Open the Events.lvproj file in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Events directory and open the Polling VI from the project.

2. Examine the performance of a polling VI using the Windows Task Manager.

 Press the <Ctrl-Alt-Delete> keys and select Start Task Manager from the menu.

 Click the Performance tab in the Windows Task Manager window.

 Run the VI.

  Notice how high the CPU usage is.

 Stop the VI and notice how the CPU usage drops.

3. Open the block diagram, turn on execution highlighting, and run the VI again.

4. Notice how often the Time Check terminal sends data to the Case structure and how often the While Loop iterates.

5. Stop the VI and turn off execution highlighting.

Modifying the Polling VI to Use Events Instead of Polling

1. Save Polling VI as UI Event Handler.vi so you can modify it.

 Select Open additional copy and add the copy to the project.

2. Close Polling.vi.

3. Open the block diagram of UI Event Handler.vi and move the Stop terminal and the Time Check terminal outside the While Loop. You move these
terminals into the appropriate event cases later in this exercise.

4. Delete the Case structure and clean up any broken wires.

5. Place an Event structure inside the While Loop between the iteration terminal and the conditional terminal.

6. Right-click the Event structure and select Edit Events Handled by This Case from the shortcut menu.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 6-19
 7. Configure the event as shown in Figure 6-8.
6-20

Lesson 6
Figure 6-8. Configuring the "Stop": Value Change Event
|
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Using Decision-Making Structures

2

1 Click Stop in the Event Sources panel.

2 Click Value Change in the Events panel.

8. Click OK to close the dialog box.

 9. Place a True constant inside the new "Stop": Value Change event and wire it to the conditional terminal of the While Loop as shown in Figure 6-9.

Figure 6-9. Event Structure with "Stop": Value Change Event

1 NewVal event data—Resize the event data items list so that only one item displays. Click the item and select NewVal.

Observing the Behavior of the Event-Driven VI

1. Run the VI.

2. Notice that the Iteration indicator does not increment.

3. Switch to the block diagram and enable execution highlighting.

4. Notice that the While Loop is executing the first iteration. The Event structure is waiting for an event.

5. Disable execution highlighting and switch back to the front panel.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

6. Click the Stop button to stop the VI.
© National Instruments

7. Notice that the VI stops running even though the Stop button is disconnected.

8. Notice that the Stop button stays depressed even though the mechanical action is set to Latch When Released. The reason the button stays depressed
is because the VI stopped running after you clicked the button.

9. Reset the Stop button by clicking it again.

| 6-21
 10. Drag the terminal of the Stop button into the "Stop": Value Change event as shown in Figure 6-10.
6-22

Lesson 6
Figure 6-10. “Stop”: Value Change Event with Stop Button Terminal
|
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Using Decision-Making Structures

11. Run the VI and click the Stop button again.

12. Notice this time the VI stops and the button resets.
 Programming the "Time Check": Value Change Event
1. Add a new event case and create a “Time Check”: Value Change event as shown in Figure 6-11.

 Right-click the event structure and select Add Event Case.

Figure 6-11. Event Structure with "Time Check": Value Change Event

1 In the Edit Events window, select Time Check in the Event Sources panel and Value Change in the Events panel.
2 Move the Time Check terminal from outside the While Loop into the "Time Check": Value Change event case.
3 Get Date/Time In Seconds—Creates a time stamp in memory.
4 Indicator—Displays the current time output of the Get Date/Time In Seconds function.

2. Run the VI.

3. Click the Time Check button to see the current time display in the current time indicator.

4. Display the Task Manager window and notice that CPU usage has decreased when you use events instead of polling.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

5. Stop the VI.

| 6-23
 Adding More Notify Events to the VI
6-24

Lesson 6
1. Add a new event case and create a Mouse Down event as shown in Figure 6-12.
|

Figure 6-12. Event Structure with "Pane": Mouse Down Event

ni.com

Using Decision-Making Structures

1

1 In the Edit Events window, select Panes»Pane in the Event Sources panel and Mouse»Mouse Down in the Events panel.
2 Coords event data—Click the event data node and select Coords»All Elements.
3 Coords indicator—Right-click the output of the Coords event data item and select Create»Indicator from the shortcut menu.

2. Run the VI.

3. Click on different parts of the front panel.

 Notice that the Coords indicator displays the coordinates for each point you click.

 Notice that the other events continue to behave as before.

4. Stop the VI.

 Adding Filter Events to the VI
1. Add a new event case and create a Panel Close? event as shown in Figure 6-13.

Figure 6-13. Event Structure with Panel Close? Event

1
4

5
3

1 After you add the event, in the Edit Events window, select <This VI> in the Event Sources panel and Panel Close? in the Events panel.
2 Event data node—Click the Event Data Node and select Source from the menu.
3 Two Button Dialog function and Not function—Wire the T button? output to the Not function and wire the Not function to the Discard? event filter node.
4 String constant—Wire Are you sure you want to close the window? to the message input.
5 Yes and No string constants—Wire Yes to the T button name ("OK") input and wire No to the F button name ("Cancel") input.
2. Save and run the VI.

3. Click the “X” at the top-right of the window of the front panel.

4. Notice that clicking the No button cancels the event and returns to the VI.

5. Clicking the Yes button stops and closes the VI.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

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6. Stop the VI if necessary.

Challenge
1. If you have a sound card, add an event that produces a sound when the cursor is over the Stop button.

Tip Use Quick Drop to find the Beep VI.

End of Exercise 6-2

| 6-25
 Exercise 7-1 Temperature Warnings VI—As SubVI
7-12

Lesson 7
|

Goal
ni.com

Create the icon and connector pane for a VI so that you can use the VI as a subVI.

Modularity
Scenario
You have created a VI that determines a warning string based on the inputs given. Create an icon and a connector pane so that you can use this VI as a subVI.

Design
The Temperature Warnings VI contains the following inputs and outputs:

Table 7-1. Temperature Warnings VI Inputs and Outputs

Inputs Outputs

Weather Data In Weather Data Out

Error In Error Out

Use the standard connector pane terminal pattern to assure room for future expansion.

Implementation
1. Open Weather Warnings.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings directory.

2. Open Temperature Warnings VI from the Project Explorer window.

3. Connect the inputs and outputs to the connector pane as shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1. Connector Pane Connections for Temperature Warnings VI

1 2

1 Connector Pane—Located in the upper right corner of the VI window, the connector pane displays potential terminals for the VI. The connector pane
shown here displays the standard pattern of terminals. You can right-click the connector pane and select Patterns to choose different terminal designs.
2 Connections—The Context Help window displays the connections for the VI.
  Using the Wiring tool, click the upper-left terminal of the connector pane.

 Click the corresponding front panel control, Weather Data In.

 Notice that the connector pane terminal fills in with a color to match the data type of the control connected to it.

 Click the bottom-left terminal of the connector pane.

 Click the corresponding front panel control, Error In.

 Continue wiring the connector pane until all controls and indicators are wired, and the Context Help window matches that shown in Figure 7-1.

4. Create an icon.

 Right-click the icon and select Edit Icon.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 7-13
  Use the tools in the Icon Editor dialog box to create an icon. Make the icon as simple or as complex as you want, however, it should be representative
7-14

Lesson 7
of the function of the VI. Figure 7-2 shows a simple example of an icon for this VI.
|

Figure 7-2. Sample Warning Icon

ni.com

Modularity
Tip Double-click the Selection tool to select the existing graphic. Press the <Delete> key to delete the graphic. Then, double-click the rectangle
tool to automatically create a border for the icon.

Tip Double-click the Text tool to modify fonts. You can select Small Fonts to choose fonts smaller than 9 points in size.

Tip Select the Glyphs tab and filter the glyphs by the keyword temperature, then drag a thermometer glyph onto your icon. And then filter
by the keyword warning and drag a warning glyph onto your icon.

5. Click OK when you are finished to close the Icon Editor dialog box.

6. Save and close the VI.

 Test
Test the Temperature Warnings VI as a SubVI.

1. Add files to the Weather Warnings LabVIEW project as shown in Figure 7-3.

Figure 7-3. Weather Warnings Project

 Add an auto-populating folder to the Weather Warnings LabVIEW project. LabVIEW continuously monitors auto-populating folders and updates the
folder in the Project Explorer window according to changes made in the project and on disk.

– Right-click My Computer in the Weather Warnings project and select Add»Folder (Auto-populating) from the shortcut menu.

– Navigate to <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Shared Files and click the Select Folder button.
The Shared Files folder contains shared files that you use in this and future exercises.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide


© National Instruments

Add SubVI Tester.vi to the project.

– Right-click My Computer and select Add»File from the shortcut menu.

– Navigate to <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Warnings\Test VIs\SubVI Tester.vi and click Add File.
| 7-15
 2. Open the SubVI Tester VI and complete the block diagram as shown in Figure 7-4.
7-16

Lesson 7
Figure 7-4. Test SubVI Block Diagram
|
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1 2 3 4 5 6

Modularity
1 Initialize shift register—Right-click the left shift register and select Create»Constant to initialize the shift register. Right-click the cluster and select View
Cluster as Icon.
2 Enum Constant—Right-click the Units (0:Celsius) input of the Thermometer (Demo) VI and select Create»Constant. Creating the enum constant from
the Thermometer (Demo) VI automatically populates the enum with the appropriate choices. Use the Operating tool to select Celsius.
3 Thermometer (Demo)—Locate this VI in the Shared Files folder in the Project Explorer window, drag it to the block diagram and wire it as shown. This
VI generates sample temperature values.
4 Wire the Units (0:Celsius) constant to the Units element of the Bundle By Name function.
5 Bundle By Name—Expand the node to display four elements. Use the Operating tool to select Units.
6 Temperature Warnings—Because of the modifications you made to Temperature Warnings VI, you can use it as a subVI. Wire the Temperature Warnings
VI using the connections you just created.
 3. Arrange the front panel as shown in Figure 7-5.

Figure 7-5. SubVI Tester Front Panel

4. On the front panel of the SubVI Tester VI, enter test values for the Max Temperature and Min Temperature controls.

5. Run the VI.

The Thermometer (Demo) VI generates sample temperatures, which the SubVI Tester VI displays on the Current Temperature indicator.

6. Notice how Temperature Warning Text indicator changes as the temperature rises and falls.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

7. After you have finished testing, save and close the VI.

End of Exercise 7-1

| 7-17
 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Exercise 8-1 Using NI MAX to Examine a DAQ

Device
Goal
Use MAX to examine, configure, and test a device.

Implementation
Complete the following steps to examine the configuration for the DAQ device in the computer
using MAX. Use the test routines in MAX to confirm operation of the device. If you do not have
a DAQ device, you can simulate a device using the instructions in step 3.

Note Portions of this exercise can only be completed with the use of a real device
and a BNC-2120, shown in Figure 8-1. Some of these steps have alternative
instructions for simulated devices.

1. Launch MAX by selecting Start»Programs»NI MAX or by double-clicking the NI MAX icon

on your desktop. MAX searches the computer for installed National Instruments hardware
and displays the information.

2. If you have a DAQ device installed, skip step 3 and go to the Examining the DAQ Device
Settings section.

3. Create an NI-DAQmx simulated device to allow you to complete the exercises without
hardware.

 Right-click Devices and Interfaces and select Create New from the shortcut menu.

 In the Create New dialog box, select Simulated NI-DAQmx Device or Modular
Instrument.

 Click the Finish button.

 In the Create Simulated NI-DAQmx Device dialog box, select M Series DAQ»
NI PCI 6225.

 Click the OK button.

© National Instruments | 8-5

Lesson 8 Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

BNC-2120 Terminal Block

A terminal block consists of screw or spring terminals for connecting signals or other sensors.
A cable transports the signal from the terminal block to the DAQ device.

Figure 8-1. BNC-2120

1
ANALOG INPUTS NATIONAL
+
_ Floating
Source (FS)
Ground Ref.
Source (GS)
+
_ INSTRUMENTS
1 RES
AI 3
! BNC-2120 PWR
24
BNC
TIMING I/O
2
2 3
PFI 0 / P1.0
4 23
3 1. RES+
2. AI GND
3. AI SENSE
4 4. RES-

Temp. Thermo Quadrature

BNC BNC Encoder
Ref. couple
96 Pulses /Rev 22
5
6
PULSES

UP/DN
21
AI 0 AI 1
PFI 1 / P1.1
FS GS FS GS
PFI 2 / P1.2

PFI 3 / P1.3

PFI 4 / P1.4

PFI 5 / P1.5

AI 2 AI 3
PFI 6 / P1.6
FS GS FS GS
7 PFI 7 / P1.7

PFI 8 / P2.0
20
8 PFI 9 / P2.1

PFI 12 / P2.4

AI 4 AI 5 PFI 13 / P2.5

FS GS FS GS
PFI 14 / P2.6

+5 V

D GND

AI 6 AI 7 USER-DEFINED
SIGNALS*
FS GS FS GS

ANALOG OUTPUTS 19
USER 1
18
9 AO
USER 2

AO 0 AO 1

FUNCTION GENERATOR *For BNC connections, wire

anyTiming I/O or Digital I/O
Frequency Selection screw terminals here.

10 DIGITAL I/O
17
0.1-10 kHz 1-100 kHz 13-1000 kHz P0.7

P0.6
11 P0.5

P0.4
12
Sine /Triangle TTL Square Wave
P0.3
16
P0.2
13
P0.1

14 P0.0

D GND
15 LO HI LO HI
Amplitude Adjust Frequency Adjust

1 RES/BNC Switch (AI 3) 13 Sine/Triangle Waveform Switch

2 Resistor Measurement Screw Terminals 14 Frequency Adjust Knob
3 Thermocouple Input Connector 15 Amplitude Adjust Knob
4 Temperature Reference 16 Digital I/O Screw Terminals
5 BNC/Temp. Ref. Switch (AI 0) 17 Digital I/O LEDs
6 BNC/Thermocouple Switch (AI 1) 18 User-Defined Screw Terminals
7 Analog Input BNC Connectors 19 User-Defined BNC Connectors
8 FS/GS Switches 20 Timing I/O Screw Terminals
9 Analog Output BNC Connector 21 Quadrature Encoder Screw Terminals
10 Frequency Range Selection Switch 22 Quadrature Encoder Knob
11 Sine/Triangle BNC Connector 23 Timing I/O BNC Connector
12 TTL Square Wave BNC Connector 24 Power Indicator LED

8-6 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Examining the DAQ Device Settings

1. Expand the Devices and Interfaces section.

2. Select the device that is connected to your machine. Green icons represent real devices and
yellow icons represent simulated devices. You might have a different device installed, and
some of the options shown might be different.

MAX displays National Instruments hardware and software in the computer. The device
alias appears in quotes following the device type. The Data Acquisition VIs use this device
alias to determine which device performs DAQ operations. MAX also displays the attributes
of the device such as the system resources that the device uses. Figure 8-2 shows the
simulated PCI-6225 device.

Make sure the device you use is named Dev 1. To rename a device, right-click the device
and select Rename from the shortcut menu.

Figure 8-2. MAX with Device and Interfaces Expanded

Tip The Show Help/Hide Help button in the top right corner of MAX is available for
certain items. Click the Show Help/Hide Help button to hide online help or show the
DAQ device information.

3. Select the Device Routes tab at the bottom of MAX to see detailed information about the
internal signals that can be routed to other destinations on the device, as shown in
Figure 8-3. This is a powerful resource that gives you a visual representation of the signals

© National Instruments | 8-7

Lesson 8 Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

that are available to provide timing and synchronization with components that are on the
device and other external devices.

Figure 8-3. Device Routes

4. Select the Settings tab, as shown in Figure 8-4, to see information about the last time the
device was calibrated both internally and externally. Not all devices contain calibration
information.

Figure 8-4. Calibration

5. If you are using a physical device, right-click the NI-DAQmx device in the configuration tree
and select Self-Calibrate to update the built-in calibration constants and calibrate the DAQ
device using a precision voltage reference source. When the device has been calibrated,

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

information in the Self-Calibration section updates. Skip this step if you are using a
simulated device.

Testing the DAQ Device Components

1. Click the Self-Test button in MAX to test the device. The device should pass the test
because it is already configured.

2. Click the Test Panels button to test the individual functions of the DAQ device, such as
analog input and output. The Test Panels dialog box appears.

 Use the Analog Input tab to test the various analog input channels on the DAQ device.
Click the Analog Input tab. Click the Start button to acquire data from analog input
channel 0 and click the Stop button when you finish.

– If you are using the BNC-2120, make sure the switch over the AI 0 connector is
in the Temp. Ref. position to connect the temperature sensor to ai0. Place your
finger on the sensor to see the voltage rise.

– If you are using a simulated device, a sine wave is shown on all input channels.

 Use the Analog Output tab to set up a single voltage or sine wave on one of the DAQ
device analog output channels. Click the Analog Output tab.

– Select Sinewave Generation in the Mode drop-down menu and click the Start
button. MAX generates a continuous sine wave on analog output channel 0.

– If you have hardware installed, you can read the sine wave that channel 0 outputs.
On the BNC-2120, wire Analog Out Ch0 to Analog In Ch1. Click the Analog Input
tab in the Test Panels dialog box and select Dev1/ai1 from the Channel Name
drop-down menu. Click the Start button to acquire data from analog input channel
1. MAX displays the sine wave from analog output channel 0.

 Use the Digital I/O tab to test the digital lines on the DAQ device. Click the Digital I/O
tab.

– In the Select Direction section, set lines 0 through 3 as output as shown in

Figure 8-5.

Figure 8-5. Digital I/O Line Direction

– Click Start to begin the digital output test, then toggle the switches in the Select
State section shown in Figure 8-6. If you have a BNC-2120, toggling the switches
turns the LEDs on or off. Notice that the LEDs use negative logic.

Figure 8-6. Digital I/O Switches

– Click Stop to stop the digital output test.

 Use the Counter I/O tab to determine if the DAQ device counter/timers are functioning
properly. Click the Counter I/O tab.

© National Instruments | 8-9

Lesson 8 Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

– If you have hardware installed, you can verify counter/timer operations by selecting
Edge Counting from the Mode drop-down menu and clicking the Start button. The
Counter Value indicator increments rapidly. Click Stop to stop the counter test.

 Click the Close button to close the Test Panel dialog box and return to MAX.

End of Exercise 8-1

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 Exercise 8-2 Programming with the DAQmx API
8-14

Lesson 8
|

Goal
ni.com

Explore a DAQmx example program that continuously acquires data, and modify it to wait on a digital trigger.

Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

Scenario
Explore a DAQmx example program that continuously acquires a voltage signal on channel analog input 1 (AI1) of a DAQ device. Modify the VI to use a
digital trigger. The VI begins measuring when the user sends a digital trigger to the device. In this exercise, the user sends a trigger by turning the Quadrature
Encoder knob on the BNC-2120. The VI stops measuring when the user clicks the Stop button on the front panel of the VI.

Implementation—External Connections
1. If you are using the BNC-2120, connect the Sine/Triangle output on the function generator to channel AI 1 with a BNC cable, and make sure the switch
on the function generator is set to the sine wave. Also, ensure that there is a wire connecting the UP/DN screw terminal to the PFI 1 screw terminal in
the Timing I/O section.

Note The UP/DN terminal on the BNC-2120 outputs a high or a low signal indicating the rotation direction of the Quadrature Encoder knob.
When you rotate the Quadrature Encoder knob clockwise, the UP/DN terminal outputs a high signal. When you rotate the Quadrature Encoder
knob counterclockwise, the UP/DN terminal outputs a low signal. In this exercise, this signal triggers the VI to start acquiring data.

Open and Run a DAQmx Example

1. Open Voltage - Continuous Input.vi in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Using DAQmx directory. This VI demonstrates how to acquire a
continuous amount of data from a DAQ device.

2. Select File»Save As to save the VI as <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Triggered Analog Input\Trigger AI Acquisition.vi. When prompted,
select Copy - Substitute copy for original.
 3. Open and explore the block diagram as shown in Figure 8-7.

Figure 8-7. Block Diagram of Original Voltage - Continuous Input VI

1 DAQmx Create Virtual Channel VI—Click the pull-down menu and notice it is set to Analog Input»Voltage.
2 Press <Ctrl-H> to open the Context Help window. Hover over each of the DAQmx functions to learn about each function.
3 Property Node—Gets or sets properties for a reference. You can learn more about Property Nodes in LabVIEW Core 2 or refer to the LabVIEW Help.

4. Set the default values and settings on the front panel.

 Select Dev1\ai1 from the Physical Channel control.

 Set Max Voltage to 1.

 Set Min Voltage to -1.

5. Run the VI. The VI should begin acquiring data continuously.

 Use the Frequency Selection switch and the Frequency Adjust knob on the BNC-2120 to change the frequency of the generated and acquired signal.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

6. Click the Stop button to stop the VI.

| 8-15
 Add Triggering to the Example Program
8-16

Lesson 8
1. Modify the block diagram as shown in Figure 8-8 to add trigger functionality. After you modify this VI, the VI waits for a trigger before acquiring data.
|

Figure 8-8. Trigger AI Acquisition VI Block Diagram

ni.com

Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

3

2 1

1 DAQmx Trigger VI—Place to the right of the DAQmx Configure Logging VI. Delete the task out and error out wires from the DAQmx Configure Logging
VI and then wire them through the DAQmx Trigger VI to the DAQmx Start Task VI.
2 Configure the trigger—Click the DAQmx Trigger VI pull-down menu and select Start»Digital Edge.
3 Create controls—Right-click the source input and the edge input of the DAQmx Trigger VI and select Create»Control.
4 Free label—Create a label and enter Trigger Settings.
 2. Modify the front panel and set the default settings as shown in Figure 8-9.

Figure 8-9. Trigger AI Acquisition VI Front Panel

2 3 4 1

1 Move the Acquired Data group—Select all the items in the Acquired Data group and shift them to the right. <Shift>-click to select multiple items and
press <Shift-arrow key> to move them.
2 Create Trigger Settings group—Copy a container from another group, label the copy Trigger Settings, and place the edge and source controls in it.
3 Select Rising in the edge control.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

4 Select Dev1/PFI1 in the source control.
© National Instruments

3. Save the VI.

4. Run the VI. Turn the Quadrature Encoder knob on the BNC-2120 counterclockwise then clockwise to begin the acquisition.

5. Stop and close the VI.

End of Exercise 8-2

| 8-17
Lesson 8 Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

Exercise 8-3 Instrument Configuration with NI

MAX
Goal
Learn to use MAX to examine and communicate with an instrument using GPIB interface
settings.

Set Up
This exercise uses the NI Instrument Simulator to simulate an instrument. Before MAX can
recognize the NI Instrument Simulator as a device with a GPIB interface, you must configure the
NI Instrument Simulator using the Instrument Simulator Wizard.

Complete the following steps to configure the NI Instrument Simulator to have a GPIB interface.

1. Configure the NI Instrument Simulator.

 Power off the NI Instrument Simulator.

 Set the configuration switch on the rear panel to CFG, as shown in Figure 8-10.

Figure 8-10. NI Instrument Simulator

 Power on the NI Instrument Simulator using the power switch on the front of the unit.

 Verify that the PWR LED is lit and the RDY LED is flashing.

 Launch the NI Instrument Simulator Wizard from Start»All Programs»National

Instruments»Instrument Simulator»Instrument Simulator Wizard.

Note This wizard is installed with the NI Instrument Simulator Software, available
for download at ni.com.

 Click Next.

 Click Next.

 On the Select Interface page, select GPIB Interface and click Next.

 Select Change GPIB Settings and click Next.

 Select Single Instrument Mode and click Next.

 Set GPIB Primary Address to 1.

 Set GPIB Secondary Address to 0(disabled).

 Click Next.

 Click Update.

 Click OK when you get the message that the update was successful.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

 Power off the NI Instrument Simulator using the power switch on the front of the unit.

 Set the configuration switch on the rear panel to NORM.

 Power on the NI Instrument Simulator using the power switch on the front of the unit.

 Verify that both the PWR and RDY LEDs are lit.

Implementation
1. Launch MAX by either double-clicking the icon on the desktop or by selecting Tools»
Measurement & Automation Explorer in LabVIEW.

2. View the settings for the GPIB interface.

 Expand the Devices and Interfaces section to display the installed interfaces. If a GPIB
interface is listed, the NI-488.2 software is correctly loaded on the computer.

 Select the GPIB interface.

 Examine but do not change the settings for the GPIB interface.

3. Communicate with the GPIB instrument.

 Make sure the GPIB interface is still selected in the Devices and Interfaces section.

 Click the Scan for Instruments button on the toolbar.

 Expand the GPIB interface selected in the Devices and Interfaces section. An
instrument named Instrument Simulator appears.

 Click Instrument Simulator to display information about it in the right pane

of MAX. Click the Attributes tab. Notice the NI Instrument Simulator has a GPIB
primary address.

 Click the Communicate with Instrument button on the toolbar. An interactive window
appears. You can use it to query, write to, and read from that instrument.

 Enter *IDN? in the Send String text box and click the Query button. The instrument
returns its make and model number in the String Received indicator as shown in
Figure 8-11. You can use this communicator window to debug instrument problems or
to verify that specific commands work as described in the instrument documentation.

Figure 8-11. Communication with the GPIB instrument

 Enter MEASURE:VOLTAGE:DC? in the Send String text box and click the Query button.
The NI Instrument Simulator returns a simulated voltage measurement.

© National Instruments | 8-21

Lesson 8 Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

 Click the Query button again to return a different value.

 Click the Exit button when done.

4. Set a VISA alias of devsim for the NI Instrument Simulator so you can use the alias instead
of having to remember the primary address.

 While Instrument Simulator is selected in MAX, click the VISA Properties tab.

 Enter devsim in the VISA Alias on My System field. You use this alias later in the
course.

 Click Save.

5. Select File»Exit to exit MAX.

6. Click Yes if prompted to save the instrument.

End of Exercise 8-3

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Exercise 8-4 Exploring Instrument Drivers

Goal
Install an instrument driver and explore the example programs that accompany it.

Implementation
Install the instrument driver for the NI Instrument Simulator. After installation, explore the VIs
that the instrument driver provides and the example programs that are added to the NI Example
Finder.

Figure 8-12. NI Instrument Simulator

Install Instrument Driver and Open Project—Download from Internet

If you have internet access and have, or want to create, a user profile on ni.com, complete the
following steps. Otherwise, install the driver from the course CD following the instructions in
the Install Instrument Driver and Open Project—Extract from Disk section.

1. Select Help»Find Instrument Drivers.

2. Click the Login button.

3. If you have an ni.com profile, log in with your ID.

4. If you do not have an ni.com profile, follow the onscreen instructions to create one at this
time. Be sure to make a note of the user ID and password you create.

5. After you log in, click the Scan for Instruments button. If you have an instrument
connected, clicking this button detects the instrument and finds the correct driver. In this
case, it detects the Instrument Simulator.

6. Double-click Instrument Simulator in the list and click the Search button.

7. Select Version 2.0 of the instrument driver from the Driver list.

8. Click the Install button.

9. Click the Start using this driver button.

10. Click the Open Project button.

11. Expand the Examples folder in the Project Explorer window.

12. Close the NI Instrument Driver Finder window and go to the Explore Instrument Driver
section to continue this exercise.

© National Instruments | 8-25

Lesson 8 Acquiring Measurements from Hardware

Install Instrument Driver and Open Project—Extract from Disk

If you do not have Internet access or do not want to create a user profile, complete the following
steps to install the instrument driver.

1. If you have it open, close LabVIEW and then navigate to the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core
1\Instrument Driver directory. This folder contains a zip file with the LabVIEW Plug and
Play instrument drivers for the Instrument Simulator.

2. Right-click the zip file and follow the wizard to extract all files to the <Program
Files>\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2014\instr.lib directory.

3. Open National Instruments Instrument Simulator.lvproj in the <Program

Files>\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2014\
instr.lib\National Instruments Instrument Simulator directory.

4. Expand the Examples folder in the Project Explorer window.

5. Go to the Explore Instrument Driver section to continue this exercise.

Explore Instrument Driver

1. Open National Instruments Instrument Simulator Acquire Single Measurement(DMM).vi
from the Examples folder in the Project Explorer window of the National Instruments
Instrument Simulator project.
This VI reads a single measurement from the Instrument Simulator.

2. Verify that the PWR and RDY LEDs are lit on the Instrument Simulator.

3. Select devsim from the VISA Resource Name control on the front panel. You specified the
VISA alias for this GPIB instrument as devsim in step 4 of Exercise 8-3, Instrument
Configuration with NI MAX.

4. Run the VI.

5. Open the block diagram of the VI.

6. Open the Functions palette and navigate to the Instrument I/O»Instrument Drivers»National
Instruments Instrument Simulator palette.

7. Explore the palette and subpalettes using the Context Help window to familiarize yourself
with the functionality of functions on the palette.

8. Stop and close the VI. Do not save changes.

9. Open National Instruments Instrument Simulator Acquire Waveform(Scope).vi from the

project. This VI reads a single waveform from the Instrument Simulator.

10. Select the same VISA resource name you selected in step 3.

11. Run the VI.

12. Select a different function from the Waveform Function control.

13. Run the VI again.

14. Explore the block diagram of the VI.

 To familiarize yourself with the VI’s functionality, explore the block diagram using the
Context Help window.

 Double-click the Read Waveform VI to open it.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

 Open to the block diagram of the Read Waveform VI. Notice that it uses VISA functions
to communicate with the instrument.

15. Close the VIs and project when you are finished. Do not save changes.

End of Exercise 8-4

© National Instruments | 8-27

 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Exercise 9-1 Exploring High-Level File I/O

Goal
Observe how a high-level file I/O VI writes to a spreadsheet-readable file.

Scenario
The Spreadsheet Example VI does the following:
• Generates sine, noise, and cosine data for 128 points
• Stores this data in a 2D array that is 128 rows × 3 columns.
• Displays the 2D array in a Table indicator with three columns (Sine, Noise, and Cosine) for
the first 14 rows of the array.
• Plots each column in a Waveform Graph indicator.
• Uses the Write To Spreadsheet File VI to save the numeric 2D array in a text file so a
spreadsheet application can access the file.

Implementation
Complete the following steps to examine how the Spreadsheet Example VI performs the tasks
described in the Scenario section.
1. Open Spreadsheet Example.lvproj in the
<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Spreadsheet Example directory.
2. Open Spreadsheet Example.vi from the Project Explorer window.

Figure 9-1. Spreadsheet Example VI Front Panel

3. Run the VI.

4. Save the file, when prompted, as wave.txt in the
<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Spreadsheet Example directory and click the OK
button. You examine this file later.
5. Display and examine the block diagram for this VI.

© National Instruments | 9-5

Lesson 9 Accessing Files in LabVIEW

Figure 9-2. Spreadsheet Example VI Block Diagram

• Sine Pattern VI—Returns a numeric array of 128 elements containing a sine pattern.
The constant 90.0, in the second instance of the Sine Pattern VI, specifies the phase
of the sine pattern which generates the cosine pattern.
• Uniform White Noise VI—Returns a numeric array of 128 elements containing a noise
pattern.
• Build Array function—Builds the following 2D array from the sine array, noise array, and
cosine array.

Sine Array …

Noise Array …

Cosine Array …

• Transpose 2D Array function—Rearranges the elements of the 2D array so element

[i,j] becomes element [j,i], as follows.

S N C

… … …

• Write To Spreadsheet File VI—Formats the 2D array into a spreadsheet string and
writes the string to a file. The string has the following format, where an arrow (→)
indicates a tab, and a paragraph symbol (¶) indicates an end of line character.

S N C

® ® ¶

® ® ¶

® ® ¶

… … …

® ® ¶

• Number To Fractional String function—Converts an array of numeric values to an array

of strings that the table displays.
6. Close the VI. Do not save changes.

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 LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

Note This example stores only three arrays in the file. To include more arrays,
increase the number of inputs to the Build Array function.

7. Open the wave.txt file using a word processor, spreadsheet application, or text editor and
view its contents.

 Open a word processor, spreadsheet application, or text editor, such as Notepad or

WordPad.

 Open wave.txt. The sine waveform data appear in the first column, the random
(noise) waveform data appear in the second column, and the cosine waveform data
appear in the third column.
8. Exit the word processor or spreadsheet application and return to LabVIEW.

End of Exercise 9-1

© National Instruments | 9-7

 Exercise 9-2 Temperature Monitor VI—Logging Data
9-10

Lesson 9
|

Goal
ni.com

Modify a VI to create an ASCII file using disk streaming.

Accessing Files in LabVIEW

Scenario
You have been given a VI that plots the current temperature and the average of the last three temperatures. Modify the VI to log the current temperature
to an ASCII file.

Implementation
1. Open Temperature Monitor.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Temperature Monitor directory.

2. Open Temperature Monitor.vi from the Project Explorer window.

 3. Modify the block diagram as shown in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-3. Temperature Monitor VI with Logging Block Diagram

1 3 2 4 5 6 7

1 Open/Create/Replace File—Creates or replaces an existing file for the data log. Right-click the operation input and select Create»Constant.
Set the constant to replace or create.
2 Format Into String—Formats temperature data into a string. Expand the node to accept two inputs.
3 End of Line Constant—Adds an end-of-line constant after each piece of data so that data values are separated by line breaks.
4 Write to Text File—Writes the data to a file.
5 Or—Stops the VI when an error occurs or when the Stop Button is clicked.
6 Close File—Closes the data log file created or replaced when the VI started running.
7 Simple Error Handler—Indicates whether an error occurred. If an error occurred, this VI returns a description of the error and optionally displays a dialog
box.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 9-11
 4. Configure the Format Into String function as shown in Figure 9-4.
9-12

Lesson 9
Figure 9-4. Configuring the Format Into String Function
|
ni.com

Accessing Files in LabVIEW

1
2

1 Format Into String—Double-click the Format Into String function to open the Edit Format String dialog box.
2 Use specified precision—Place a checkmark in this checkbox and enter 3 in the text box to specify that data have a floating point precision of three
digits.
3 Corresponding format string—This text box automatically updates based on the configuration you specify. After you click the OK button in the dialog
box, the block diagram updates to display the format string.
4 Help button—Click the Help button for more information about format specifier elements, such as %3f, and configuration options for the Format Into
String function.

5. Test the VI.

 Run the VI.

 Give the text file a name and a location.

 Click the Stop button after the VI has been running for a few samples.

 Navigate to the text file created and explore it.

6. Close the VI and text file when you have finished.

 Challenge
Objective: Create Log File with Single Header

To improve the usability of the log file, you are asked to include a header at the top of the log file as shown in Figure 9-5.

Figure 9-5. Temperature Monitor VI Log File with Header

Modify the Temperature Monitor VI to include the header Current Temperature.

Hints:
• Because you write the header to the text file only once, you should write to the header outside the While Loop.

• Use the functions on the Strings palette to manipulate and format a string for use in a word processing or spreadsheet application.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 9-13
 Challenge
9-14

Lesson 9
Objective: Create Log File with Two Columns and Headers
|

Modify the VI to write both the current temperature and the average temperature to the log file. Separate the columns of data with a tab character and place
ni.com

Accessing Files in LabVIEW

a header at the top of each column as shown in Figure 9-6.

Figure 9-6. Temperature Monitor VI Log File with Two Columns and Headers

1 2

1 Tabbed columns in a text editor. 2 Tabbed columns in a spreadsheet application.

Hint: Use the Format Into String function and expand it to convert and format the data into a string.

End of Exercise 9-2

 Exercise 9-3 Create File and Folder Paths
Goal
Modify a VI to programmatically create a folder if none exists or to replace the folder if it already exists.

Implementation
1. Open the Create folder and file.lvproj located in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Create folder and file directory.

2. Right-click Create folder and file.lvproj in the Project Explorer window and select Explore. Notice the files in the folder and notice that there is no folder
called Logged Data.

3. Open Create Data File.vi from the Project Explorer window.

4. Examine the block diagram, as shown in Figure 9-7.

Figure 9-7. Create Data File VI Block Diagram—Start

1 2 3 4

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

6 7

1 Application Directory—Returns the path to the directory containing the application. This is useful because you are using a subVI to create the data file.
2 Build Path—Adds “Logged Data” to the file path name.
3 Create Folder—If the Logged Data folder does not exist, this function creates it.
4 Build Path—This instance of the Build Path function appends the auto generated file name Acquired Data <Date><Time>.txt to the file path.
5 Open/Create/Replace File—Replaces or creates the file.
6 Format Date/Time String—Generates a pre-formatted string containing the current date and time.
7 Format Into String—Concatenates the strings to build the file name.
| 5-5
 5. Use the Context Help and Detailed Help for the Format Date/Time String function to identify the meaning of the time-related format codes used in this VI.
5-6

Lesson 5
 Open the Context Help if it is not already open.
|
ni.com

 Move the cursor over the Format Date/Time String function and then click the Detailed Help link in the Context Help window.

File I/O Techniques

 Read the Format Date/Time String Function help topic to learn the meaning of the following codes:

– %b

– %d

– %y

– %H

– %M

6. Run the VI to test the functionality.

 Turn on execution highlighting.

 Run the VI once and watch the flow of data on the block diagram.

 Open the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Create folder and file directory and notice that a new folder named Logged Data was created
and contains an empty file. Check that the filename includes the date and time formatted components created using the codes used in the VI.

7. Run the VI a second time.

 Notice that an error occurs at the Create Folder function.

 Open the front panel, right-click the Error Out cluster and select Explain Error. The error code 10 Duplicate Path is returned because the folder already
exists.
 8. Modify the code to check if the Logged Data folder already exists as shown in Figure 9-8.

9. Only if the folder does not exist, create it. Therefore, you enclose the Create Folder function in a Case structure. You use the output of the Check if File
or Folder Exists VI to conditionally call the Create Folder function.

10. Modify the block diagram to conditionally create the folder.

Figure 9-8. Create Data File VI Block Diagram—Complete

1 2

1 Check if File or Folder Exists VI—Checks to see if the file or folder exists and outputs this information to the Create Folder function.
2 Case Structure—Add a Case Structure around the Create Folder function and then click the Case structure border and select Make this Case False. The
folder is created only if it does not already exist.
 Wire the reference and error wires through the True case.
11. Save the VI and run it again. Notice that a new .txt file is created and the VI doesn't return an error.

End of Exercise 9-3

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 5-7
 Exercise 9-4A Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header
5-12

Lesson 5
|

Goal
ni.com

Build cohesive, modular, and readable VIs that allow for application scalability and maintainability.

File I/O Techniques

LabVIEW arrays store channels in rows and text files typically store channel data in columns (for example, Excel prefers data in columns).

Use LabVIEW functions to easily convert numeric arrays into strings.

Implementation
1. Open the Write Multiple Channels with Simple Headers.lvproj located in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\File IO - MultiChannel
with Header directory.

2. Open Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header.vi from the Project Explorer window and open the block diagram.

This VI uses several subVIs in order to modularize the code and make it more readable. In this exercise you complete the Format File Property VI and
the MultiChannel Write VI.

Figure 9-9. Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header VI Block Diagram

2 3

1 Format File Property VI—Four instances of this VI are used to add Date, Time, Operator Name, and UUT Serial Number to the file header.
2 Create Data File VI—As you saw in Exercise 9-3, this VI programmatically creates and saves a file.
3 MultiChannel Write VI—The VI modularizes the writing of data to a text file. You modify this VI in step 5.
 3. From the block diagram of the Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header VI, double-click the Format File Property subVI and modify the block diagram
as shown in Figure 9-10.

Figure 9-10. Format File Property VI Block Diagram

1 2 3

1 Tab Constant—Creates a constant string containing the ASCII HT (horizontal tab) value.
2 End of Line Constant—Creates a constant string containing the platform-dependent end-of-line value.
3 Format Into String—Double-click the node to open the Edit Format String dialog box and select Format string (abc) from the Selected operation
(example) pull-down menu.
 Click the Add New Operation button three times to add three more Format string operations to the Current format sequence listbox.
 Click OK to close the dialog box.
 Notice that the Format Into String function now has four inputs.

Note When you add operations to the Current format sequence in the Edit Format String dialog box, LabVIEW adds a space between each one
by default. You can remove the spaces in the Corresponding format string section of the dialog box.

4. Save and close the Format File Property VI.

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 5-13
 5. From the block diagram of the Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header VI, double-click the MultiChannel Write subVI and complete the No Error
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Lesson 5
case, as shown in Figure 9-11.
|

Figure 9-11. MultiChannel Write SubVI Block Diagram

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File I/O Techniques

1 2

1 Transpose 2D Array—Because LabVIEW stores array data in rows by default, this function transposes your array to write the data into columns.
2 Array to Spreadsheet String—Converts the array to a table in string form.
3 Write to Text File—Writes a string or an array of strings to lines in a file.

6. Save and close the MultiChannel Write VI.

 Test
1. Run the Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header VI and create a data file.

This VI uses the Create Data File VI that you used in Exercise 9-3 to programmatically create the Logged Data directory and the data file in the same
directory containing the application.

2. Add the Logged Data directory to your project.

 In the Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header LabVIEW Project Explorer window, right-click My Computer and select Add»Folder
(Auto-populating).

 Navigate to <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\File IO - MultiChannel with Header\Logged Data and click the Select Folder button.

 Open the Logged Data directory from the Project Explorer window and notice that it contains the file you created when you ran the Write Multiple
Channels with Simple Header VI.

 Open and examine the generated file in the Logged Data directory.

3. Read the data file.

 Run the Read Multiple Channels with Simple Header VI.

 Navigate to <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\File IO - MultiChannel with Header\Logged Data and select the data file you just created.

4. Save and close all open VIs. Save and close the Write Multiple Channels with Simple Header project.

Exercise 9-4B Challenge

Goal
Create a VI that takes the property name as input and returns the associated property value.

Scenario

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

Your file header includes a variable number of property names and values. After reading the file, you want to programmatically access the property value
for a given property. For example, in this exercise, one of the properties was “UUT Serial Number”. You want to programmatically search for “UUT Serial
Number” and then return the serial number value (e.g., “A12345”).

Description
After reading the spreadsheet string into memory, use a modular approach to create a VI which finds the row index of a property name. Then use the row
index to return the property value. If the property name isn't found, the VI should return a descriptive error.
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 Exercise 9-4C Challenge
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Lesson 5
|

Goal
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Create a VI that creates tab-delimited column headers for an arbitrary number of channels.

File I/O Techniques

Scenario
The MultiChannel Write VI can write data for an arbitrary number of channels using a two dimensional array. You want to create a channel header for each
channel of data. Since the number of channels is arbitrary, you need a scalable approach which allows for a variable number of channel headers. For example,
if you have three channels of data—temperature, pressure, and strain—you want to write the data to a file with the following headers: Temperature, Pressure,
and Strain. To format the file correctly, you want to use the same delimiters in the header as in the channel data. For example, if the channel data is
tab-delimited with each line terminated with an end-of-line character, you want your header to be formatted the same way.

Description
Create a Write Channel Data with Headers VI which you call prior to your MultiChannel Write VI that writes a channel header for each channel of data. The
VI should take an array of strings as input. Your subVI should write the strings to file so that a tab separates each string and the line is terminated by an
end-of-line character.

End of Exercise 9-4

 Exercise 9-5 Write and Read TDMS Files
Goal
Log data to a TDMS file and read the same TDMS file to access information about a specific channel.

Scenario
You are given a TDMS Logger VI that generates measurement data for any number of units under test (UUTs). The UUT measurement data consists of a
time domain waveform and the power spectrum of a waveform.

Run the TDMS Logger VI that accepts UUTs identified by serial numbers. The TDMS Logger VI retrieves the measurement data from the Generate Data VI,
and logs the UUT data and additional properties to a TDMS file.

The TDMS file contains the author, timestamp, and two channel groups—Time Data and Power Spectrum Data. Each group contains a channel for each
UUT. The serial number of the UUT names each channel and contains the matching signal data.

Saving data to a file serves no purpose unless you also can access the data. Create a reader VI to access data from the TDMS file you generated. The reader
should return either time data or power spectrum data for a particular UUT serial number.

Note Optionally, if you have Microsoft Excel installed on your system, you can use the TDM Excel Add-In tool to load the TDMS file into
Microsoft Excel.

Design—TDMS File Reference Information

• File Level Information
– Time Stamp—contains the current time.
– Author—contains the test operator name, acquired through a front panel control.
– The file contains two channel groups, one for time data and one for the power spectrum data.
• Channel Group Level Information
– Name—contains Time Data or Power Spectrum Data. This identifies the channel group.

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

– Each channel group should contain a channel for each UUT.
© National Instruments

• Channel Level Information

– Name—contains the UUT Serial Number, which associates the numeric data with a particular unit.
– Signal—contains an array of floating-point numeric data.
– Several other properties, such as the signal minimum and maximum, will automatically be calculated and added to the file.
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 Design—TDMS Reader Inputs and Outputs
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Lesson 5
Table 9-1. TDMS Reader VI Inputs and Outputs
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Type Name Properties

File I/O Techniques

String Control Serial Number —

Combo Box Data Set Item 1 = “Time Data”

Item 2 = “Power Spectrum”

Waveform Graph Indicator Channel Data —

String Indicator Test Operator —

Time Stamp Indicator Time of Test —

Your VI should begin by opening the TDMS file and reading the author and time stamp file properties, then read the time data or power spectrum data for
the specified UUT and display the data on the Channel Data waveform graph.
 Implementation—TDMS Logger
1. Open TDMS Logger.vi from the TDMS Logger and Reader Project located in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\TDMS Logger and Reader
directory. This VI is pre-built for you as shown in Figure 9-12.

Figure 9-12.TDMS Logger Front Panel

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

2. Test the TDMS Logger VI.

 Enter your name in the Test Operator field.

 Enter A001, A002, and A003 in the UUT Serial Numbers control.


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Run the TDMS Logger VI and save the file as test.tdms in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\TDMS Logger and Reader directory.
When you save the TDMS file, the TDMS File Viewer window opens.
  View the logged data in the TDMS File Viewer window.
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Lesson 5
 Expand the test.tdms item in the File contents pane of the window and then expand the Time Data and Power Spectrum items and view the sample
|

data for each of the UUT serial numbers you entered.

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File I/O Techniques

Click Quit to close the TDMS File Viewer window.

 View the front panel of the TDMS Logger VI, which also displays a plot for each serial number you enter.

 Examine the block diagram.

 Close the TDMS Logger VI. Do not save any changes.

Implementation—TDMS Reader VI
1. Open the TDMS Reader VI from the Project Explorer window of the TDMS Logger and Reader project.

2. The front panel is shown in Figure 9-13.

Figure 9-13. TDMS Reader Front Panel

 3. Open and examine the block diagram as shown in Figure 9-14

Figure 9-14. TDMS Reader Block Diagram

2 5 6

8 9

4 3 7

1 Application Directory VI—Returns the path to the directory containing the application.
2 File Dialog Express VI—This VI is configured with the following options:
 Limit selection to single item
 File—The user can only select a file
 Existing—The user can only select an existing file or folder
3 TDMS Open—Open a .tdms file for reading or writing.
4 Open constant—Right-click the operation input of the TDMS Open function and select Create»Constant.
5 TDMS Get Properties—This instance of the TDMS Get Properties function reads the Author file property.
6 Time Stamp Constant—Passes time and date values to the block diagram.
7 TDMS Get Properties—This instance of the TDMS Get Properties function reads the Time Stamp file property.
8 TDMS Read—Reads the time data or power spectrum data for the specified UUT and displays the data on the Waveform Graph.
9 TDMS Close—Closes the .tdms file you opened with the TDMS Open function. This function closes the .tdms file regardless of whether an error
occurred in a preceding operation.

LabVIEW Core 2 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

Test
1. Read and display the time domain data.

 On the VI front panel, ensure that the Data Set is set to Time Data.

 Enter A001 in the Serial Number control.

Note A001 was one of the serial numbers you entered when you ran the TDMS Logger VI.
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  Run the VI and select the test.tdms file you saved in <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\TDMS Logger and Reader. The following information
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Lesson 5
is displayed on the front panel:
|

– Waveform Graph—sine wave

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File I/O Techniques

– Test Operator—your name

– Time of Test—time stamp from when you ran the TDMS Reader

 Change the Serial Number to A002.

 Run the VI. A different sine wave should display.

2. Read and display the power spectrum data.

 Change the Data Set control to Power Spectrum.

 Run the VI and select your TDMS file. Power spectrum data should display in the Waveform Graph.

3. Close the VI.

TDM Excel Add-In (Optional)

Note This exercise requires Microsoft Excel version 2003 or 2007 and the TDM Add-in Tool available on ni.com.

1. Launch Microsoft Excel.

2. Click the Add-Ins tab and select the TDM Importer: Import a TDM(S) File icon in the Custom Toolbars section.

3. Browse to find the TDMS file you created earlier: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\TDMS Logger and Reader\test.tdms. The property information
is displayed on the first worksheet. The Time data and Power Spectrum data are displayed on separate worksheets.

4. Exit Microsoft Excel and return to LabVIEW.

End of Exercise 9-5

 Exercise 10-1 Weather Station Project
Goal
Create a VI that implements a state machine using a type-defined enum.

Scenario
You must design a VI for a user interface state machine. The VI acquires a temperature every half second, analyzes each temperature to determine if the
temperature is too high or too low, and alerts the user if there is a danger of heatstroke or freeze. The program logs the data if a warning occurs. If the user
has not clicked the stop button, the entire process repeats. The state machine must also allow for expansion, because processes may be added in the future.

Design
Use a flowchart and states list to create the VI in this exercise. The flowchart in Figure 10-1 illustrates the data flow for this design.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 10-9
 Figure 10-1. Temperature Warnings VI Flowchart
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Lesson 10
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Using Sequential and State Machine Programming

Initialize

Acquistion

Time Elapsed = TRUE

and
Stop = FALSE

Warning = TRUE
Analysis

Data log

Time Elapsed = FALSE

and
Stop = FALSE
Time
Check
Warning = FALSE

Stop = TRUE
 The following table describes the states in this state machine.

State Description Next State

Acquisition Set time to zero, acquire data from the temperature sensor Analysis

Analysis Read front panel controls and determine warning level Data Log if a warning occurs
Time Check if no warning occurs

Data Log Log the data in a tab-delimited ASCII file Time Check

Time Check Check whether time is greater than or equal to .5 seconds Acquisition if time has elapsed
Time Check if time has not elapsed

Implementation
1. Open Weather Station.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Station directory.

2. Open Weather Station UI.vi from the Project Explorer window.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 10-11
 Figure 10-2 shows the front panel of the Weather Station UI VI that has been provided for you. You modify the block diagram to create a state machine
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Lesson 10
for the Weather Station.

Figure 10-2. Weather Station UI VI Front Panel Window

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Using Sequential and State Machine Programming

 Figure 10-3 shows the starting point of the block diagram for the Weather Station UI VI. You edit this block diagram to implement a state machine for
the Weather Station application.

Figure 10-3. Weather Station UI VI Block Diagram Starting

1 You use these controls and indicators to program different cases.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments
| 10-13
 3. Create a new type definition to control the Weather Station application.
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Lesson 10
 Open the block diagram and create an Enum constant to the left of the While Loop.
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 Type Acquisition in the constant.

Using Sequential and State Machine Programming

 Right-click the constant and select Edit Items from the shortcut menu.

 Add the items shown in Figure 10-4 and click OK.

Figure 10-4. Weather Station States Type Def

 Right-click the enum constant on the block diagram and select Make Type Def.
 4. Modify the new type definition and add it to the Weather Station project.

 Right-click the enum constant and select Open Type Def.

 Change the label on the Enum control to States.

 Save the type definition as Weather Station States.ctl in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Weather Station\Supporting Files
directory.

 Close the control editor window.

 In the Project Explorer window, notice that Weather Station States.ctl has been added to your Supporting Files folder because that folder is an
auto-populating folder.

5. Control the state machine with the type-defined enum and update the framework as shown in Figure 10-5.

Figure 10-5. Weather Station UI VI Block Diagram

1 3

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

1 Shift Register—Right-click the While Loop and select Add Shift Register.
2 Enum type definition constant—Right-click and select Visible Items»Label. Change the label to Beginning State. Wire the Beginning State constant
to the shift register to initialize the shift register to the Acquisition state. Wire the shift register to the case selector of the Case Structure.
3 Add more cases—Right-click the Case structure and select Add Case For Every Value to create different cases for each value in the enum.
4 Weather Data In—Drag Weather Data.ctl from the Project Explorer window to the block diagram to create a type definition cluster constant. Right-click
the cluster and select View Cluster As Icon.
5 Shift Register—Place a shift register on the While Loop and wire the Weather Data In constant to it.
| 10-15

Note After you finish wiring the Acquisition case in step 6, some tunnels are empty because not all cases are wired yet.
 6. Complete the Acquisition state shown in Figure 10-6.
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Lesson 10
Figure 10-6. Weather Station UI VI Acquisition State
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1 2 3 4

Using Sequential and State Machine Programming

5

1 Thermometer or Thermometer (Demo)—Drag one of these VIs from the Shared Files folder in the Project Explorer window to the block diagram. Drag
the Thermometer VI if you have hardware and drag the Thermometer (Demo) VI if you do not have hardware.
2 Temperature History—Move this indicator into the Acquisition state of the Case structure.
3 Bundle By Name—Wire the Temperature Value output of the Thermometer VI to the Current Temperature input.
4 Next State enum—<Ctrl>-click the Beginning State enum and drag a copy into the Acquisition case. Rename this copy of the Weather Station States
type definition Next State. Set the enum to Analysis and wire it through a tunnel on the Case structure to the shift register on the While Loop.
5 True Constant—Create a True constant and wire it through the Case structure to the Elapsed Time shift register. The True constant resets the Elapsed
Time counter every time the VI executes the Acquisition case.
 7. Complete the Analysis case as shown in Figure 10-7.

Figure 10-7. Weather Station UI VI—Analysis Case

1 2 3 4 7 5

1 Upper Limit and Lower Limit—Move these controls from outside the While Loop.
2 Bundle By Name—Replaces the Max Temperature and Min Temperature items with the values from the Upper Limit and Lower Limit controls. The
Bundle By Name function makes it possible to wire the Upper Limit and Lower Limit values to the Weather Data In input of the Temperature Warnings VI.
3 Temperature Warnings—Drag the Temperature Warnings VI from the Supporting Files folder in the Project Explorer window.

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

4 Unbundle By Name—Returns the value of specific items from the cluster.

5 Select—Determines which state to execute next depending on whether or not a warning occurs.
6 Weather Station States—Wire two copies of the Weather Station States type definition to the Select function. You can create these copies from the
Beginning State enum.
7 Warning—Move this indicator from outside the While Loop.
| 10-17
 8. Complete the Data Log case as shown in Figure 10-8.
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Lesson 10
Figure 10-8. Weather Station UI VI—Data Log Case
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1 2 3 4

Using Sequential and State Machine Programming

5 6

1 Unbundle By Name—Returns the value of specific items from the cluster.

2 Tab Constant—Inserts a tab in the string. The log file you create contains tabs between values.
3 End of Line Constant—Inserts a platform-specific end-of-line value at the end of the string. The log file you create uses the End of Line constant to
insert line breaks between data.
4 Format Into String—Expand the node to accept eight inputs.
5 Write to Text File—Writes the text that you formatted into a log file.
6 Next State—Create a copy of the Weather Station States enum, label it Next State, and set the next state to Time Check.
 9. Complete the Time Check case as shown in Figure 10-9.

Figure 10-9. Weather Station UI VI—Time Check Case

1 2 4

3 5

LabVIEW Core 1 Participant Guide

© National Instruments

1 Next State—Wire two copies of the Weather Station States type definition to the Select function.
2 Select—Determines which state to execute next depending on whether or not time has elapsed.
3 Stop Button—Move the Stop Button terminal from outside the While Loop. Wire the Stop Button terminal to the Or function outside of the Case
structure.
4 Next State wire—Wire the tunnel for the Next State wire to the shift register.
5 Use default if unwired—Right-click these tunnels and select Use Default If Unwired.

10. Save and test the VI.

| 10-19
 Test
10-20

Lesson 10
1. Run the VI.


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Name the log file when prompted.

Using Sequential and State Machine Programming

Enter values for the Upper Limit and Lower Limit controls and observe the behavior of the VI. Does it behave as expected?

2. Stop the VI.

3. Navigate to the Weather Warning Log.txt file and open it.

4. Notice the changes in the upper and lower limit values and the placement of tabs and line breaks.

5. Close the log file.

6. Save and close the VI and the project.

End of Exercise 10-1