Posting existing vi on a web page

[robin533]

I already have an existing standalone vi built with a user friendly front panel/interface. I would like to have this standalone vi accessible online and allow users to interact with the existing front panel that I built in the vi. Is there anyway to do this without having to purchase additional software such as the Web UI builder?

Would it help if the users are willing to install the labview run-time engine on their machine? Is there a simple way that I can post my standalone vi on a web page for them to access?

Thanks!

[SteveChandler]

See this link.

[robin533]

That was a great solution! Thanks! I have a follow-up question for you. Is there away for me to "post" the enitre vi online so that multiple people can use it at the same time? I ask this because the previous solution has users remote it to the workstation that is hosting the vi. This particular vi was created with the intention for multiple users to use it at the same time independently without waiting or view the someone else's work. The only way I can think of getting around this issue is to creat multiple standalone builds and give users access to "mirrors" to work from. This will allow for two or three people to use it and reduce the waiting time between users. This is solution would be a pain and not as efficient as having this it completely online so when users click on the link a new vi opens on there webpage. Is there a better solution for me? And is there a solution that wont cost me any additional expenses?

Thanks for the help!

[herrlin]

Can describe what you program is doing a bit?  Understanding the program may help generate ideas on different approaches.   I am not sure what you mean by stand alone?  Couldn't you just create a .exe and distribute that to your team?

[robin533]

More details, no problem.

The purpose of this VI is to be used as a tool for comparing data. The VI allows users to create their own unique plots using historical data only available internally within the group. This data will be updated often (bi-weekly potentially).This VI gives users the ability to modify different feature of their plot (XY graph) such as x and y axis, plot background color, number of data points, ect. It is intended for multiple users to access at the same time for quick and easy plot creation. Hopefully, I can find a solution that will allow users to use this VI online without remoting into an existing VI running on a host computer.

"Standalone builds" was referring to .exe. We are speaking of the same thing just using different terminology. I have thought about creating a single .exe but this VI will be updated quiet often. So, building a new .exe and send it out each time would be annoying and confusing for others.

[herrlin]

How are you storing your historical data?  Is it in a central repository like a sql server database?  Why do you think the VI will be update frequently?   I know a lot of questions right, I'm just trying to get  sense of the bigger picture to see if I could offer some good advice.

One tool that I like a lot for housing historical data is sql server and then sql server reporting services (SSRS) for retrieving it.   SSRS is web based and fairly easy to create reports with.  The cool thing is you can get the express version from Microsoft for free, just something to think about.

[robin533]

At one point the data (.cvs file) was imported into the VI but I now house the data internally inside the VI (copy and paste, essentially). This was done because I have image files that I needed to store somewhere as well. So, in an attempt to create a tool that could have the versitility to be a standalone (offline tool) as well as a online tool I decide to house all of the data needed to generate the plots inside the VI.

I understand that there are much better ways to do this but this project continues to evolve the longer I wait to get something out to people...crazy right, lol!

[nathand]

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robin533 wrote:

"Standalone builds" was referring to .exe. We are speaking of the same thing just using different terminology. I have thought about creating a single .exe but this VI will be updated quiet often. So, building a new .exe and send it out each time would be annoying and confusing for others.

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Instead of sending it out, perhaps you could just put the exe on some internal network drive, and put a shortcut to it on user's desktops?  Not much different than bookmarking a link, and then you'd only need to update one master copy when you update it.  Of course, all users would need to install the run-time engine.

There might be some clever approach involving web services and generating web pages containing images of graphs on the fly, but it wouldn't be simple and might not be very interactive.

[herrlin]

My recommendation would be to publish you .exe to your team for the time being to buy some time.  Then look into implementing some kind of database structure to house your data.  The database will be much easier in the long run to maintain and retrieve data from.  Also you would be able to query data real-time. 

What you are trying to do, publishing a vi to the web, just feels like trying to force a square peg into a round hole.  Wish I had a more direct answer for you, maybe some else will have better ideas for you than me.

Best of luck