Need LabView2012 but have to buy LabView2014?

[danvet]

For a project I need LabView2012 compatibility.

Now I see there is only LabView2014 to buy. Can I open/edit/save 2012-Projects and it still stays compatibel to 2012 ?

[GerdW]

Hi davnet,

you can open LV2012 project in LV2014.

You can save the changed VIs/project back to version LV2012, but you have to keep in mind to avoid features present in LV2014, but not in LV2012…

[JÞB]

The LabVIEW license you buy permits you to install and work with any previous version.  You may need to contact a local NI representative to get media for old versions of LabVIEW.

[danvet]

How can I distinguish the features of both versions?

Does LabView shows "This is a 2014 feature" ? Or turn grey the 2014 features?

[GerdW]

Hi danvet,

there are articles for each LabVIEW version telling you what's new for the current version…

Just open the LabVIEW help!

[Jacobson-ni]

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@JÞB wrote:

The LabVIEW license you buy permits you to install and work with any previous version.  You may need to contact a local NI representative to get media for old versions of LabVIEW.

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Yup, you can download 2012 online though if you want.

http://www.ni.com/download/labview-development-system-2012/3097/en/

I would probably just upgrade as everyone mentioned.  Spend the bit of time now to fix any upgrade bugs so it won't be as bad down the road.

[Bob_Schor]

It is important to know that when a VI is saved in LabVIEW 2014, it can no longer be opened in LabVIEW 2012.  For this reason, you really want to do as much of your development work as possible in a single version of LabVIEW, preferably a recent or the current one.

I recently migrated a fairly large Real-Time project, written with LabVIEW 2012, to LabVIEW 2014.  Everything worked without needing any changes (and, in fact, building the Executables was "better" because an NI "annoyance" had been fixed in 2014).  I did take advantage of one (minor) new feature in LabVIEW 2014 (the new Set Build Specification Version), and discovered a strange "feature" (no, I did not call it a "bug") related to using the Build Version Spec, but the code ran just fine even if I didn't "improve" it this way.

Note that if you are building an executable, the issue of "compatibility" might be moot.  What does "compatible with LabVIEW 2012" really mean for your situation?  If you really need to generate LabVIEW 2012 VIs and use other LabVIEW 2012 VIs, you'll need to get LabVIEW 2012 ...

Bob Schor

[danvet]

I have to develop a User-Program for a customer. The customer uses LabView2012 and wants the sources to be compatible with it. Now I have to get/buy a Labview license.

Looking on the NI-Webpage results only in buying LabView2014.

Why???

Where can I find information about compatibility? I DON'T want to upgrade the project.

[GerdW]

Hi davnet,

licensing issues can be discussed directly with your local customer support. Why don't you call them?

NI support will surely help you to find a good solution for you and your customer!

[crossrulz]

As has been said, just buy the current license and you will be allowed to use any previous version of LabVIEW.