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Building a LabVIEW executable as a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app

Hello fellow LVIEWers,

I would like my LabVIEW standalone application to make use of Assigned Access or "kiosk mode" in Windows 10 Professional (Pro). In order to do this, I need to build my LabVIEW application as a Windows 10 UWP app. Is it possible to build a LabVIEW project executable as Windows 10 UWP app? Or is there a way to have my LabVIEW project executable build, such that, it's displayed in the Windows 10 Pro Assigned Access app list?

 

Thanks for any help!

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I don't believe this is natively possible in LabVIEW 'classic'.

 

However you could have a look at Microsoft's Desktop Bridge (here) or, more specifically in your use-case, here, that you could use to package your LabVIEW app and allow it to integrate into many of the Windows 10 OS sub-systems designed for UWP apps. I have never actually done this with LabVIEW applications and can't really say whether, once packaged, it be exposed as you require. However it appears to be a fairly simple process; based on a read of the docs I would recommend following the "installer" option and using the installer build spec in LabVIEW - that way your installer includes the LabVIEW runtime, any other driver components etc.

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Hi,

did you get anywhere with this? I have the exact same requirement. but 2 years on some of the suggested solutions aren't available!

Thanks

Al

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did you found the way to execute a labview app .exe using windows kiosk mode?

 

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I think you are limited to which programs can run in kiosk mode. I'm not sure if you can make a LabVIEW exe run if you play with the manifest

 

My solution is to 'kill' explorer using: 

kill.jpg

This has the required effect for me which prevents application swapping and because it's a touch screen device also prevents touch gestures that cause Windows OS interactions. Not the ideal solution but it works OK.

see https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Kill-and-restore-Windows-explorer-exe-task/m-p/3292524/highlight/tr...

 

I think the correct solution would be to use Windows 10 IoT??

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@Al1234 wrote:

 

I think the correct solution would be to use Windows 10 IoT??


Not! LabVIEW is a Win32 application and accesses the Win32 API. Only Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, which is the Windows 10 version of Windows Embedded in earlier versions, provides a full Win32 API. All the other Windows IoT versions do not support the Win32 API and LabVIEW or LabVIEW applications could never even load on them, let's forget about starting up.

In addition LabVIEW applications are compiled to x86/x64 native assembly code and can not execute on non-x86/x64 platforms like most of those IoT platforms are (Windows IoT for Raspberry Pi is an ARM platform for instance).

 

In theory the LabVIEW compiler backend for the LLVM compiler could be changed to create IDL code but that is only a small part of the whole picture. The whole LabVIEW runtime would also have to be recreated in full .Net in order to pull this off, and that is not even the case for LabVIEW NXG!

Rolf Kalbermatter
My Blog
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Yes, It was Windows 10 IoT Enterprise which I looked at. The ability to configure the system with only the required windows components and effectively have a stable 'snapshot' with no Windows updates to break the configuration looked like the perfect solution to me.

'Killing' explorer works OK but Windows updates can never be entirely stopped (?) and even with a tablet running W10 which is never internet connected (but still connecting to WiFi access points) Windows will still try to update / contact Microsoft servers etc. with the occasional error dialog box popping up.

Rolf - what would you suggest as the best solution?

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If you want your device to not automatically update then yes I guess Windows IoT Enterprise is an option. However you shouldn't connect such a device in any way to the internet. Windows Iot Enterprise is in principle still Windows, with a potential target market of over a billion devices worldwide so a very interesting target to hack. A hacker doesn't really care if a device is Windows Iot Enterprise or a full blown Windows installation but only about the vulneribilities it contains. Without regular updates your Windows device will be leaky like a colander after some time and if it is facing the internet in any way, even if it is behind a firewall if it does open active connections from behind the firewall, it is exposed.

 

Otherwise Linux comes to mind. Takes a bit more tinkering, is also not safe from being hacked but due to its typical Linux fragmentation it is also not one homogenous single target for hackers like Windows is.

 

A free lunch you won't get for sure and that is not really the fault of LabVIEW but from the fact that devices can get hacked no matter what.

Rolf Kalbermatter
My Blog
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