How do I detect OS from LabVIEW?

[Michael.Johnson]

I'm trying to write a VI which will run up an external application in LabVIEW... the VI can be run on 2 seperate OSes (windows or linux), I'm just wondering is there a smart way (or some built-in LabVIEW function or whatever) for my VI to automatically detect the OS it's being run under & launch the corresponding version of the external application?

Cheers,

M.J.

[tst]

Place a property node (in the Application Control palette) on the diagram. Click the name and select Operating System>>Name.

[unclebump]

Here is a chart to explain the results.

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/CA447A83428AC4A486256F39004B7F32

You can also read registry values and environment variables. I have some examples at work, but I'm on vacation this week.

[unclebump]

Here is a vi to read the windows product name from the registry.

[ZX81]

The .vi from unclebump doesn't work on Windows 10 Pro (at least for my login).  Easy to fix:  add "KEY_READ" as the access type.

I'm having similar issues with other apps accessing the registry, too.  I guess it was a "security improvement".

Another method of getting the OS rev:  Use a Property Node, select class to "VI Server/Application", and pick "Operating System/Version Number".  The text is different, so not a direct replacement.  "Operating System/Detailed Name" is the same as the registry method (at least on Windows 10 Pro).  I didn't test outside Windows, but expect it to work.

[Of course, we can never trust new OS updates to behave exactly the same, so be careful to test.]