> What problems can this cause. Will the upgrade be straightforward, so
> that I can continue to run my programs as I did with 6.0.
>
> I don't want to upgrade immediately if problems associated with the
> upgrade will slow down my current work.
>
> What problems are likely. Can I still use 6.0, if I have problems
> running my programs with 7Express. Or once I upgrade, am I stuck with
> that.
>
Your best insurance policy is to read through the upgrade notes. They
detail the features added since various versions, and they list changes
to existing functionality. If there was a change in behavior, this
document is supposed to list it.
Second, make a backup of your VIs. This could simply be a zip on the
same hard drive. This way if you upgrade your VIs and don't want to
continue, you have a known place to return. LV7 will save VIs back to
LV6.1, but it cannot directly save them for LV6.0 -- that will require
two steps, saving 7.0 to 6.1, and saving 6.1 to 6.0.
Finally, LV7 went through an extensive beta period where many user
applications were upgraded. Any issues that arose should be listed in
the upgrade notes. I do not expect you to have a problem with the LV
section, but as usual, be cautious.
A couple things to be aware of. LV7 has changed the editor quite a bit.
Since you already know LV and are familiar with it, these changes may
seem clumsy at first. If they are getting in your way, Tools->Options
allows them to be reset to act like the previous version. Also, if your
application does DAQ, there is a very major rewrite of the driver. In
doing this, some older HW support has been dropped. Finally, it is no
problem having multiple copies of LV on one computer, but only a single
driver may be installed at a time. The more I/O you are using, the more
likely it is that you will have a problem upgrading -- in my experience.
Finally, if you are in the very final stage of a project, and you don't
have a problem with the current tools, postpone a bit. We do it.
Trading a known system for an unknown one introduces risk. You and your
managers have to determine what stage of the project this risk is
acceptable. If you can't afford some tinkering time due to schedule, it
is probably the wrong time to go adding new HW or SW.
Greg McKaskle