Creating Execution File

[jtc]

I will load my execution file to a Windows XP Embedded computer. I will put the file in the Start up menu so that everytime the computer turns ON, the front panel will show up. How can I prevent the user from changing the screen or opening/accessing the Windows panel?  

I just want to show the LabVIEW Front panel always.

Does anyone have the same experience as above? Kindly teach me please.

[Behzad]

Hi Bong

I think you should close your windows shell .here there was a good discussion about it.

"How to hide desktop window?"

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=147565

Best Regards / Behzad

[jtc]

Hi Bezhad,

Thank you very much for the reply and the forwarded thread.

I just want to have a password protection to open the explorer thus avoiding opening of windows. Also I want to have a password protection to minimize the LabVIEW front panel display.

Is there a way to do this in LabVIEW?

Best regards,

bong

[Jarrod_S.]

There's a property for VIs called Minimizeable. If you wire a VI reference into a property node and select Front Panel Window >> Minimizeable, then you can programmatically enable or disable this feature. You can't filter the Windows Minimize button event from an event structure, but you could create a button or menu item called Allow Window to Minimize and password protect the output of this to the property node. (Example below)

I'm not sure, however, that there won't be a way to completely keep the user from opening any Windows windows. The user could at any time hit the Windows button and E to launch Windows Explorer. You can't filter the Windows button from LabVIEW.

[jtc]

Dear Mr Jarrod,

Thank you very much for your reply and the attached VI.

Is the VI Reference I will wire into the property node is the file name of the Main VI?

Correct me if i am wrong, in order for the user to minimize the front panel window, he needs to put a password. And when the front panel is minimized, then he can open the windows windows.

I will place my controller in a remote place without any keyboard. I created my customized software keyboard in LabVIEW for the application purpose only, so do you think there is still a way to access windows even with a password protect and no keyboard access? 

[Jarrod_S.]

I'm not a security expert, so I'm certainly not qualified to say whether we've exhausted all the alternatives that people could use to get into the Windows environment. For instance, if your computer has a USB drive, then a user could insert anything into that USB drive (a flash memory stick, for instance), and Windows might service that interrupt by opening Windows Explorer to the USB drive. I know this is Windows Embedded, though, so maybe you aren't even installing USB support.

Regarding the Minimizeable property, you need to input a reference for the VI to the Property Node, not just the name of the VI. You can obtain a reference to the VI by using Open VI Reference in the Application Control functions palette. That VI has a VI Path input where you can type in the name of the VI.

I saw that the last VI I attached had a broken run arrow. I had written it in LabVIEW 8 and then saved it down to LabVIEW 7.1, and the conversion apparently didn't work perfectly. I'm attaching a new copy that should work fine.

[jtc]

Hi Jarrod,

Thank you very much for the revised VI. I tried to make a VI that I can control the Minimize and Resize button and hiding the task bar. Kindly see the attached. I thought when I ran the VI and play on the switches, I will not have access on the Windows but when I push the STOP button, the Minimize button returned. Is there still a way that even when the application is not running the minimize button is disabled?

[Jarrod_S.]

There is not a way to disable the minimize button when the VI is in run mode. It is possible to not allow the user to press the abort button, and you could filter out the Close Panel event so that the user couldn't possibly exit the LabVIEW application.

[jtc]

Dear Mr Jarrod,

Thank you for all the suggestions. I got some feedback from the maker of my PC (Dell) that there is no way to put an access password on the start explorer. So, what I can do for now is hide the Windows task bar using Labview with a password access, disable the minimize button when VI is running, and when a user pushes the STOP button it will exit the Labview. To see the program front panel again, one must start the PC again.

I also asked NI assistance on how to protect the Labview file from deletion. But I cant get any reply yet.

regards,

[Jarrod_S.]

Can't you do that with User Accounts and privileges?