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Use the following information to help you find resources as you develop applications in LabWindows/CVI.

Resources for New Users
Resources for Upgrade Users
Overview Information
Advanced Topics
Context-Sensitive Help

Resources for New Users

• The Getting Started with LabWindows/CVI manual provides a hands-on introduction to the LabWindows/CVI software. The manual contains exercises that help you become familiar with the LabWindows/CVI development environment and learn to build an application. You also will find an introduction to instrument control and data acquisition.
• The LabWindows/CVI Quick Reference card includes the steps you can take to build a LabWindows/CVI program. The quick reference card also includes a library reference, which describes the LabWindows/CVI libraries and lists their classes.
• Read the LabWindows/CVI Readme for known issues and workarounds. Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»LabWindows/CVI 8.5»LabWindows/CVI 8.5 Readme to access this document.

Resources for Upgrade Users

• Read the LabWindows/CVI Release Notes for an overview of the new features added to this version of LabWindows/CVI.
• Read the LabWindows/CVI Readme for known issues and workarounds.

Overview Information

The following topics provide an overview of LabWindows/CVI.

• Components of LabWindows/CVI
• LabWindows/CVI Environment
• Workspace Window Overview
• Graphical User Interface
• LabWindows/CVI Compiler

Advanced Topics

For more in-depth information about advanced topics, refer to the following white papers, application notes, and manuals.

Note  With Adobe Reader 7.0, you can search in multiple PDFs. For example, you can search all of the PDFs installed with LabWindows/CVI. To search multiple PDFs, complete the following steps: Click the Search button in Adobe Acrobat to launch the Search panel. In the Search panel, enter the word or phrase you want to search for. In the Where would you like to search? section, enable the All PDF Documents in option and specify the folder you want to search. LabWindows/CVI PDFs are located in the CVIxx/bin folder.

Multithreading Overview

The Multithreading in LabWindows/CVI document provides an introduction to multithreading and multithreaded programs. The document also reasons for creating a multithreaded application and considerations for applications. You also can read about LabWindows/CVI functions for creating a multithreaded application.

Programming for Multibyte Character Sets in LabWindows/CVI

Some non-English operating systems use multibyte character sets to represent strings. The Programming for Multibyte Character Sets in LabWindows/CVI document discusses how to write your LabWindows/CVI program so that it is compatible with multibyte character sets. This document provides function reference and example code.

Building ActiveX Servers in LabWindows/CVI

The Building ActiveX Servers in LabWindows/CVI document provides an introduction to ActiveX/COM technology and a step-by-step guide to building ActiveX servers using the tools and libraries available in LabWindows/CVI.

Building Networked Applications with the LabWindows/CVI TCP Support Library

The Building Networked Applications with the LabWindows/CVI TCP Support Library document describes how to use the LabWindows/CVI TCP Support Library to build networked applications.

Using LabWindows/CVI DLLs in LabVIEW Real-Time Applications

The Using LabWindows/CVI DLLs in LabVIEW Real-Time Applications document discusses the details and benefits of using LabWindows/CVI to incorporate ANSI C code in LabVIEW Real-Time applications.

Instrument Driver Development

The LabWindows/CVI Instrument Driver Developers Guide describes how to develop and add an instrument driver to LabWindows/CVI. You can use this manual to develop instrument drivers to control programmable instruments such as GPIB, VXI, and RS-232 instruments.

Context-Sensitive Help

You can access help in the following ways:

• Press <F1> in a dialog box or when you highlight a menu to open the LabWindows/CVI Help to the topic describing the currently open menu or dialog box.
• Right-click a menu and select Menu Help to view online help for the menu.
• Click the Help button in dialog boxes to display the help topic associated with the dialog box.
• In a Source window, press <F1> while your cursor is on LabWindows/CVI library function name to open the help for that function.
• In Edit Control dialog boxes, press the question mark and click an option in the dialog box to view help for that option.

Using Context-Sensitive Help for Controls in User Interface Windows

You can access help for controls in the UI Editor in the following ways:

• Right-click a control and select Control Help—LabWindows/CVI Help appears with help for that control.
• Select two or more controls of the same subtype and right-click—LabWindows/CVI Help appears with help for that type of control.
• Select a control and press <F1>—Help specific to that control appears.
• Select two or more controls of the same subtype and press <F1>—LabWindows/CVI Help appears with help for that type of control.
• Select a control or multiple controls of the same subtype and select Help»Control Help—Help for the selected control appears.