Lesson 1
Navigating LabVIEW
Recognize the main components of the LabVIEW
environment and create a new project and VI.
A. What is LabVIEW? D. Front Panel
B. Project Explorer E. Block Diagram
C. Parts of a VI F. Searching for Controls, VIs,
and Functions
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
A. What is LabVIEW?
Recognize benefits of LabVIEW.
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A. What is LabVIEW?
Benefits of LabVIEW
• Interfaces with wide variety of
hardware
• Scales across different targets
and OSs
• Provides built-in analysis
libraries
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A. LabVIEW Environment
LabVIEW Language Characteristics
LabVIEW Core 1 LabVIEW Core 2
Topics and Later Topics
• Graphical • Multi-threaded
• Dataflow-oriented • Object-oriented
• Compiled • Multi-target
• Multi-platform • Memory-managed
• Synchronous
• Event-driven
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LESSON 1 Navigating LabVIEW
Activity 1-1
Confidence Activity: Building a VI
Build an application to calculate the product of two numbers.
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
B. Project Explorer
Recognize the main components of the Project Explorer.
• LabVIEW Files
• Project Folders
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B. Project Explorer
LabVIEW Files
• LabVIEW project —.lvproj
• Virtual instrument (VI) — .vi
• Custom control — .ctl
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Demonstration
Using the Project Explorer and Creating a VI
Create a project and VI in LabVIEW.
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B. Project Explorer
Adding Folders to a Project
• Virtual folder
• Auto-populating folder
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
C. Parts of a VI
Recognize and understand the difference between the front
panel and block diagram.
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Demonstration
Components of a VI
Icon/Connector pane
Block diagram
Front panel
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
D. Front Panel
Recognize the components and functionality of the Front
Panel window and select appropriate controls and
indicators.
• Front Panel Window Toolbar
• Controls and Indicators
• String, Boolean, and Numeric Data Types
• Front Panel Object Styles
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D. Front Panel
Front Panel Window Toolbar
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D. Front Panel
Controls and Indicators
• Controls: Inputs
• Indicators: Outputs
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D. Front Panel
String, Boolean, and Numeric Data Types
Boolean Boolean
control indicator
Numeric control
Increment/Decrement buttons
Numeric indicator
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LESSON 1 Navigating LabVIEW
Activity 1-2
Select Front Panel Objects
For each scenario, determine the appropriate data type and whether the front panel
object should be a control or indicator.
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D. Front Panel
Front Panel Object Styles
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
E. Block Diagram
Recognize features of the Block Diagram and be able to
select functions.
• Block Diagram Toolbar • Wires
• Components of a Block Diagram • Context Help and LabVIEW
• Express VIs Help
• Node Appearance • Examples
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E. Block Diagram
Block Diagram Toolbar
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Demonstration
Components of a Block Diagram
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E. Block Diagram
Express VIs
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E. Block Diagram
Node Appearance
Icon Expandable Node
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E. Block Diagram
Wires
• Wires transfer data between block diagram objects.
• A broken wire:
Floating-point Integer String Boolean
Scalar
1-D Array
2-D Array
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Demonstration
Context Help and LabVIEW Help
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E. Block Diagram
Examples
Use NI Example Finder
(Help»Find Examples) to
browse and search
hundreds of installed
examples.
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Exercise 1-1
Exploring a VI
Identify the parts of an existing VI.
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Exercise 1-1
Exploring a VI
What are constants and when should you use them?
What are free labels and when should you use them?
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
F. Searching for Controls,
VIs, and Functions
Find the controls, indicators, and functions you need.
• Palettes
• Quick Drop
• NI Global Search
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Demonstration
Searching for Controls, VIs, and Functions
Using the palettes, Quick Drop, and Global Search demonstrate
searching for controls, VIs, and functions.
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Exercise 1-2
Locating Controls, Functions,
and VIs
Learn to use the palettes and search for controls, functions and VIs.
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LESSON 1 LabVIEW Environment
Exercise 1-2
Locating Controls, Functions,
and VIs
Why would you want to add a function to the Favorites category in the
Functions palette?
Why would you use the Quick Drop dialog box instead of the Search button on
the Controls and Functions palettes?
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LESSON 1 Navigating LabVIEW
Activity 1-3
Lesson Review
Refer to the participant guide to answer questions about what you have learned
in this lesson and then discuss the answers as a group.
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Lesson Review
1. What are the three parts of a VI?
a. Front panel
b. Block diagram
c. Project
d. Icon/Connector pane
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Lesson Review
1. What are the three parts of a VI?
a. Front panel
b. Block diagram
c. Project
d. Icon/Connector pane
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