Feedback on new NI software download portal

[MichaelBalzer]

So I ran into the (new?) software download portal today. This has been a long time coming, and works well for certain downloads (DAQmx, NXG). No more hunting for versions through pages of search results! Kudos for tackling this problem.

That said, when I want to download LabVIEW things haven't changed, and are arguably worse. I'm greeted with 10+ pages of links, and no way to filter those results (either by run-time engine, patches, full installations, versions, bitness, etc). Say I want to download LabVIEW 2018. It's buried at the bottom of page 2 of the results. Even when I do find it, the download link redirects back to the LabVIEW software list.

Another glaring issue is the search function on the top level driver/software pages do nothing. Punch in a product (compactrio), the search field shows a match. I pick it, hit Search and... nothing.

So it's a very promising start based on some of the software downloads, but for LabVIEW and a number of other products the process feels slightly more laborious than the old download list. I hope some level of filtering will be added in the future to more quickly find product downloads. At the moment it's quicker to use ones search engine of choice to find the direct download link.

[LiliMcDonald]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the feedback. I have passed this along internally.

Thanks,

Lili

[Mackenzie8907]

Hi, Michael, 

Thank you very much for the feedback. Over time, all our downloads will follow the same design you've found on the LabVIEW NXG and DAQmx pages. LabVIEW will be the next in line to move over, so the long list of results will eventually go away. In the meantime, we've reduced the number of results found on LabVIEW. The LabVIEW 2018 download options are now visible on the first page of results. The infinite redirect loop you brought up has also been resolved. Can you tell me if you're still seeing that behavior?

Regarding to your feedback about searching for CompactRIO: when I search from the Drivers top-level page, I'm about to get to this page after searching "compactrio" and selecting the result. Would you be able to hit the page again and tell me if you're still not seeing results?

Again, we appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on the new ni.com/downloads experience. Your feedback is invaluable and will help us continue to make improvements to ni.com.

Have a great week, 

Mackenzie

[MichaelBalzer]

Hi Mackenzie,

Thanks for the response. Great to hear the same download treatment is being rolled out across the board. I'm also not seeing the infinite redirects now, thanks.

The search for compactrio (or anything for that matter) isn't working on the Drivers page, and similarly the Software Products search also isn't working (SignalExpress for example). I've tried across Chrome, Firefox, and Safari but nothing happens when clicking Search. I can find the relevant download pages if I search using the search box in the page header, but the product search box doesn't seem to work.

[Mackenzie8907]

Hi, Michael, 

Thanks for following up. Our technical teams found the bug that was causing the behavior you were seeing, and we had a release this morning to solve it. Can you clear your cookies and tell me if it's been fixed?

Best,

Mackenzie

[MichaelBalzer]

Hi Mackenzie,

Sorry for the late reply - I've tested things again and the search is working now.

Another issue I've run into is that versions for some drivers only go back so far. For example DAQmx only goes back to version 9.0, but some people require older versions. Will older download links be added in the future?

[MichaelBalzer]

It looks like the LabVIEW download page doesn't have any downloads available. Any ETA when they will be back? Other pages like NXG or TestStand are working.

[Mackenzie8907]

Hi, Michael, 

Thank you for reporting this. I'm seeing the same thing on first page load. For me, the results populate when I refresh the page. Can you tell me if refreshing the page works for you? 

Of course, it should load correctly the first time, and I've alerted my technical teams to help troubleshoot and find a fix for this bug. 

[MichaelBalzer]

Thanks for the quick response.

A refresh under Firefox seems to work, but no amount of refreshing in Chrome seems to help. In any case I can download what I need now, thanks.

[Mackenzie8907]

Sure thing. Thank you for these details, and we'll address this issue as quickly as we can.