Steps in deploying final program

[brian_d]

In trying to use my compiled project on a computer that does not have the devlopment software I am running into a few snags. I loaded the Labview Run-Time Engine 2010 on to the target computer along with my program and all files that were in its directory. When I try to run my VI I get a message saying that NiFpgaLv.dll is missing. When I add it and try to run the VI a new set of errors occur. 

Is there something else that needs to be loaded on to the target system?

Thanks,

Brian

[David. B]

Hello Brian,

My name is David and I am an Applications Engineer at National Instruments UK.

I'm assuming that you are using LabVIEW 2010 seen as this is the run-time engine that you have installed. Without knowing what the errors that you are receiving are, it is hard to solve the problem. Did the project run ok when it was used on a computer that had the development software installed?

If you could either let me know the error messages that you are receiving and/or attach the project so that I can have a look through, I will be more than happy to look into it further.

Regards

[brian_d]

Hi David,

I can't give the specifics at this moment. The system that I put the program on is currently being updated by our IT department so that it can talk on our network.

Yes, I used 2010 to create the program and it runs fine on the development computer (both in the project as well as .exe versions). I assumed that there was a step missing in setting up the target system.

I tried attaching my project but even with it zipped and the fpga bit file removed is is slightly too large for your system. Would having just the .exe output suffice or do you have another way to get the larger file?

Thanks,

Brian

[David. B]

Hi Brian,

If you have installed the 2010 runtime engine then the project should run on the target computer as an executable. Are you currently running it as an executable? If you are not running it as an executable then you would need to create an installer on the development computer.

If it does not run as an executable send me the .exe file and I will try and run it myself.

Regards

[brian_d]

Hi David,

Yes, I had created an executable and transferred it to the system in question. Here is a copy of it...

Brian

[brian_d]

Hi David,

I got my system back and tried again. The first error message says that the subVI niLvFpga_Open_cRIO-9074.vi in PC Side.vi as well as many other subVIs that are in my project are missing. I'm gussing that I should have included the other subVIs in the build which I will do now. I'm not sure what that first one is though and there is another one called niLvFpga_Close_cRIO-9074.vi that I'm not sure of either.

Any clues?

Thanks,

Brian

[brian_d]

I went through the instrcuctions on building a .exe and now it still tries to load NiFpga.dll and after I Cancel it I get a message saying that the Open and Close routines I refer to previously are missing as well as Read32 and Write32 VIs for all of my subVIs.

Any idea what I am nor including? Attached is the new one.

Thanks,

Brian

[David. B]

Hi Brian,

Sorry for the delayed response as I had just left the office before you're first reply last night.

Could I ask which instructions you followed to build the .exe file? You were correct in thinking that you had to include all SubVI's in the build. Any file that appears in any of the VI's must be included in the project for the build to bw successful. Also when these messages appear, are they error messages and if so do they have an error code? This may help me to determine exactly the errors that you are receiving and how to fix them.

Regards

[brian_d]

Morning David,

The instructions I followed can be found at http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361G-01/lvhowto/building_a_stand_alone_app/. Attached are image files that show each message that I get during loading of the program. The .exe loads and runs on my development machine just fine.

Thanks,

Brian

[David. B]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for sending me the screenshots, from them I have been able to find quite a lot of information on this error online. When creating an executable the Application Builder removes the front panels from the SubVI's because they are not usually required. If the program you are creating displays the SubVI front panels while executing then you need to tell the Application Builder that these need to be included in the .exe file. There are two ways that this can be done, the first gives you the option to select which front panels to include based on which ones are displayed when executing. The second method includes all SubVI front panels and is slightly easier to implement but will cause the file size to be bigger. Both methods are described below:

Method 1:

1. Open the Application Properties window.
2. Click Source File Settings under Category.
3. Under Project Files, highlight the subVI that needs to have its front panel included.
4. Deselect Use default save settings.
5. Select Remove front panel.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for any other subVIs that need to have their front panels included.
7. Finish building your application as you normally would.

Method 2: In the Source File category, add all subVIs to the "Always Include" list.

I would possibly recommend attempting method 2 first as it is easy to follow and see if it solves the problem. If this does solve the problem I would then attempt method 1 so that the file size of the .exe file can be reduced.

I hope this helps and let me know the outcome.

Regards