NI Package Management Idea Exchange

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In a corporate environment where a developer can change the installed packages through NIPM it is very annoying when the automatic package recommendations/selections auto-selects items that the current volume license does not cover. There should be an option to filter offered (and autoselected) packages to display and install only those items that are covered by the active/available volume license. Often I just want to update a single package for compatibility reasons and I have to constantly double check the entire installation list to ensure I have not been offered a package I do not have the rights to open.

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Allow powershell in custom actions

The title basically says it all. I want to be able to exactly clone the NI software running on one machine to another with a simple set of export, import/install commands in NIPM.

The issue I am running into is that I started upgrading our dozens of PCs running LabVIEW with LV25Q3 before the DAQmxQ4 driver update. Now when I go to install LV + drivers 25Q3 from NIPM, it installs DAQmxQ4 with no way to tell it to use DAQmx Q3. So I need to manually go in and uninstall DAQmxQ4 and install Q3 for every machine.

I am sure there are ways to do this already; I am not so sure there are ways to do this relatively painlessly?

As I have come to using NI Package Manager (NIPM) more, I have come across a few user experience issues that need to be improved for NIPM. This is mostly centered around downgrading package version. Most of these are currently available in VI Package Manager

For installed packages, you cannot downgrade/change versions of the package. To do this, you must first uninstall the package so you can select the version you want from the Packages screen. (Installed packages are removed from the Packages screen's listing.) There should be at least an option to show the installed packages on the Packages screen so a new version can be selected. It would not hurt to have the ability to select version(s) on the Installed and Updates as well.
On the Updates screen, we should be able to select the available versions if there multiple upgrades available.
If you install a package that requires a downgrade in a dependency, currently NIPM does not let you install that package. It can be down via the NIPKG command line interface (CLI). There should be at least an option/prompt to allow the downgrade. This capability seems to be able to be added by NI as I was prompted to Allow Downgrade/Removal when I updated InstrumentStudio last year. Our packages should be able to do this prompting as well. At least there could be an option added to NIPM that would allow downgrades/uninstalls so that this could be done via the GUI. Also the dialog could give more information about what specifically the issue is.

Too generic message without any recourse

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C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\NI Package Manager\packages is a black hole. Files enter but never leave -- my PC has collected so many old (and now-useless) packages over the years, e.g.

ni-package-manager_17.5.0.49152-0+f0_windows_x64.nipkg
ni-package-manager_18.0.1.49152-0+f0_windows_x64.nipkg
ni-package-manager_18.0.2.49152-0+f0_windows_x64.nipkg
ni-package-manager_18.5.1.49152-0+f0_windows_x64.nipkg
ni-package-manager_19.0.0.49152-0+f0_windows_all.nipkg
ni-package-manager_19.6.0.49152-0+f0_windows_all.nipkg

It is safe to delete these. If NIPM needs to re-install the package, it simply re-downloads them.

Please add a way on the NIPM GUI for users to easily clear the package cache. Bonus points if there's an option to retain the versions that are currently installed (I believe NI Package Builder grabs the packages from this folder?)

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It would be very helpful to be able have an option to only repair the selected package. Typically the issue I have been seeing is with a single package that failed a post-install/post-install all action. Repair will go all they way back the hierarchy, which is unneeded in this case and take much longer leading to additional down time. They should be able to just repair the single package; the default being the current full hierarchy repair is fine, but there must be an option. The workaround of uninstalling and reinstalling the package is also problematic as mentioned in several other issues, since you are forced to uninstall all packages that depend on this package.

Let's say you have a really busy day and you need to test an application, but you need to install the LabVIEW or any other application like Test stand, for example, you go to your computer and use the Package Manager to install it. Then you have to go to another office, meanwhile, you let Package Manager take care of the installation that takes around 4-5 hours.

When you are back ready to run that test you found that there is an error saying that you have not stored available to install the software, and you wonder why NIPM did not check that requirement? There are literally thousands of software that have always performed that check before the installation some of then show a warning or they simply do not allow to start the installation. We really need this on NIPM.

Please help me with these guys.

Because I have the situation below posted in the forums, I thought it would be a great improvement to down-rev a package without first having to un-install said package and end up removing packages that list the subject as a dependency. That way if I ran into an issue with an update, I could easily revert to the previous package without affecting any other packages.

Thanks!

DGriffithJr

https://forums.ni.com/t5/NI-Package-Manager-NIPM/I-want-to-uninstall-a-package-and-NOT-uninstall-its-dependencies/m-p/4041272#M423

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Keep valid license when updating.

I've been informed by NI support that current versions of LabVIEW can only be installed silently by installing Package Manager first and then using batch scripts for installation. Previous versions of labview supported silent installation using typical msiexec flags. The current tool, INSTALL.EXE only supports a passive switch which requires an interactive gui for it to successfully run an installer with application options other that the Package Manager. This is far from an ideal situation for mass deployment to computer labs and it ends up causing a waste of time and effort. Please add silent installation options to install.exe and add the ability for INSTALL.EXE to show installation parameters when it is passed some sort of common help parameter (such as --help, -h, -? ).

Add infos for updates

When I go to download a new piece of NI software, there is an online installer which:

1) Installs the latest version of NIPM

2) Registers any needed feeds

3) Presents an installer dialog to user

4) Installs product

5) exits gracefully.

And is <10 KB in size.

It would be incredibly useful to be able to create such an installer through on of the available builder interfaces that points to (for instance) network feeds, or a partner feed, or something like that.

There are currently some "work arounds" but they all are rather complex, clunky, and require a level of BAT file execution that's not really easy.

(I could probably do this easier through LV coding, but if the LVRuntime isn't installed, that doesn't really help me :-))

NI Package Management Idea Exchange