How can I add my SFP to MAX in Tools-SFP?

[MickF]

I've created code to control my instrument.  I want to add the ability for the user to select a standalone SFP from the MAX menu.

[Dennis_Knutson]

Is this a soft front panel for an IVI driver?

[MickF]

It isn't an IVI driver.  For instance, I recently created a simple driver to control a USB to I2C device (The NI one and another model).  I created it into a TestStand step type.  I'd like to also have a stand-alone version of the code that doesn't require TS so I want a SFP version of the code.

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

The soft front panel option in MAX is a feature of IVI so you would need to rewrite it. To make a LabVIEW program is no different than creating an example VI like you see in all project style drivers. What sort of TestStand code does your driver have? For custom steps that I created, only a top level VI had it and the rest of the driver functions were no different than a standard LabVIEW driver.

I don't know of any way to launch a custom VI from MAX.

[MickF]

I certainly wouldn't have guessed that.  It's wierd that things like NI-Switch, NI-Scope, NI-etc are in the list but not IVI-Switch, IVI-Scope, etc.  

I'll look into making an IVI instrument driver out of my code. 

Thanks for the info.

[Dennis_Knutson]

NI-Switch, NI-Scope, etc. are the instrument specific IVI drivers.

To create an IVI driver, you need LabWindows/CVI unless you decide to create an IVI-NET type.

Why do you need to launch your soft front panel from MAX instead of just from the desktop?

[MickF]

I don't really have a need to launch from MAX.  I have used the SFPs from there several times during development/debug.  They can be quite helpful.  It would be nice to be consistent with the way NI provides them.  The users of my tools could find the SFP in the same place as NI privided ones. 

[Dennis_Knutson]

What I did for the TestStand developers and technicians was to have the ability to launch a soft front panel from the tools menu. I've seldom used IVI and their panels.