Trouble with organizing VIs to be used in multiple applications? Is there a best practice?

[James DiLiberto]

Question...basically, about best practice.     I have made a VI that I use very often in many different applications.  (a special path stripping thing for help with executable stuff)    Right now, I have used it in so many places always making a copy of it if I use it somewhere else because when I deploy my code on a CD, I can't always be looking all around for all the VIs and where they are stored, but the other hand is that I have so many copies of it, and if I make a change, I have to replace them all, and when they are in different versions...its' really tough...is there a better way than this?

In summary, say I kept one copy of each VI that I made as the master copy used in various places, when I go to deploy the VIs, is there a way that I can 'gather' all the appropriate VIs so that there are none missing when I deploy the code?  Help would be appriciated...

James

[JohnBoy]

I have a "Utility" folder where I keep all my often-used in different applications vi's.  I always add these vi's directly to the block diagram directly (using the "Select a vi" button on the block diagram funtions palette.  That way, those utility vi's are automatically included in the build.  Of course, if such a vi is changed, that change will be included in any application that is subsequently "rebuilt".  That's very good.  Means your updates are automatic.