Use functions from a third party portable software from within labview

[Nando88]

I was wondering if there is a way to use a function that is in a third party software exe, from within labview?

Can someone please give me an idea, snippet or any clue on how to do this?

Thanks.

[cbutcher]

I suspect you'd need to give a bit more detail to be able to get a useful answer.

You can call an executable from LabVIEW: How to Run an Executable Programmatically in LabVIEW

Your question makes it sound like you want to call only part of an exe file, which probably requires more information (the default is likely "no").

• What do you mean by a "function that is in a third party software exe"?
• Does it have any sort of API or communication system with documentation?

[Nando88]

The software I am trying to use from within labview is solim solutions.

It has a file conversion that I need to use from within labview, but it seems that the file extension is specific to that software, so I am trying to make the conversion using that software, but with the files and other inputs from labview.

[Kyle97330 · Accepted solution]

I see two possible options.  No guarantees that either will work, of course.

First, you could inspect the "Program files" directory of the software you want to use and see if there's any DLLs in there.  If there are, see if LabVIEW can access them as .NET DLLs and if you can find something in there that looks like the functions you need to convert the file format.

Your other option is to have LabVIEW actually do all of the mouse clicks and key presses you need to open the software, open the file, convert it, and save it.  LabVIEW doesn't have this built in but if you use something like AutoIT then you can do it.

[cbutcher]

If you want to save data gathered in LabVIEW in a format to be used with other software, you can in principle use the Write Binary File nodes to do that. This is a fairly detailed task that would require specific knowledge about the file format (which may or may not be available).

If you want to read data saved in another program in LabVIEW, the same is true. You can use the Read Binary File, but without detailed knowledge of the file format, you might be guessing at structures for a long time (it's possible, but unpleasant).

If the software has a command line interface, it might be possible to use it to do a conversion. If not, the best you can hope for is sufficiently detailed documentation to allow you to reimplement the functionality yourself, which typically is a time consuming process. The appendix on file types available here: https://solim.geography.wisc.edu/software/SoLIMSolutions2013/Help_HTML/index.html lists several types. Is it only one you need to convert to/from?

I think this will be more productive if you can describe what you're trying to do. I suspect there might be simpler/easier solutions.

[Nando88]

I am trying to convert a set of tiff files in a folder into 3dr files, that will be saved in the same folder.

I tried looking for something that would allow me to do this in python, but I haven't been able to find anything, and I already tried loading the dlls and the exe, but it gives me an error, saying that it was looking for an assembly or something like that.