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Is it possible to include the lvprog file in a source distribution build specification

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It seems to me that a complete source distribution would include the project files associated with it but I cannot see that it's possible to do so. Am I missing something or should I just continue to, outside of LabVIEW,  zip up the top folder that contains everything?

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Accepted by topic author WNM

I think you are talking about the *.lvproj (not *.lvprog).

 

No, it is not possible. I think it was possible in the past (LV2009 and earlier) and I already complained about that elsewhere long ago.

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You can build the source distribution without the *.lvproj file and later manually copy that file to the same destination. You will have some changed paths, but everything should sort itself out.

 

  • The main reason to retain the *.lvproj file is to retain the project metadata, e.g. the arangment into virtual folders, the build specifications, as well as e.g. the upgrade codes so a built installer will properly upgrade an installation of an earlier version of the same program.
  • The main reason to built a source distribution is to strip out all accumulated junk (e.g. subVIs that are no longer needed but are still part of the project, old test VIs to explore algorithms, etc.).
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@altenbach wrote:

You can build the source distribution without the *.lvproj file and later manually copy that file to the same destination. You will have some changed paths, but everything should sort itself out.

 

  • The main reason to retain the *.lvproj file is to retain the project metadata, e.g. the arrangement into virtual folders, the build specifications, as well as e.g. the upgrade codes so a built installer will properly upgrade an installation of an earlier version of the same program.
  • The main reason to built a source distribution is to strip out all accumulated junk (e.g. subVIs that are no longer needed but are still part of the project, old test VIs to explore algorithms, etc.).

Yep, I agree with all that you say.  On the clearing-things-out front, for some time now I've also maintained my own maintenance VI that can be pointed at a top-level VI and, from that VI's directory location, it will identify all VIs and controls that reside in that same directory tree (including LLBs)  that are not part of the top-VI's hierarchy and give me the option to move them someplace else on the computer. It even identifies subVIs in use in the hierarchy that have the same names as those in the LabVIEW libraries so they too can be moved out if that's what's wanted (it gives me a way to turn what used to be known as an "application distribution" into a "development distribution" assuming the block diagrams were retained in the former).

 

I too think that NI should update the source distribution builder to offer the option to include the proJect files in the distribution. In the case of FPGA projects, there's a lot of hardware configuration information that's only included in the project files and, if they were omitted from a "source distribution", that distribution would be rather worthless.

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Accepted by topic author WNM

That wasn't too hard. Make a Pre-build VI that copies the .lvproj to the destination folder.

See attached.

/Y

G# - Award winning reference based OOP for LV, for free! - Qestit VIPM GitHub

Qestit Systems
Certified-LabVIEW-Developer
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