You are here: NI Home > Support > Product Reference > Manuals > LabVIEW 8.5 Help

Use the NI Instrument Driver Finder to search for and install LabVIEW Plug and Play instrument drivers without leaving the LabVIEW development environment. Before you begin using the Instrument Driver Finder, make sure you choose the appropriate method of instrument control. The Instrument Driver Finder is only available on Windows and Linux. You must have Internet access to use the Instrument Driver Finder.

Complete the following steps to search for and install an instrument driver using the Instrument Driver Finder.

1. Select Tools»Instrumentation»Find Instrument Drivers or Help»Find Instrument Drivers to launch the Instrument Driver Finder. The Instrument Driver Finder searches the labview\instr.lib directory and displays installed instrument drivers. If the Instrument Driver Finder cannot connect to ni.com, it displays an error message and closes after you click the Okay button.

Note  Some toolkits installed in the labview\instr.lib directory may appear as instrument drivers under the Installed Instrument Drivers folder on the Configure Search page of the Find Instrument Drivers dialog box. These toolkits should be ignored.

Tip  The Instrument Driver Finder displays helpful messages in the lower left corner, depending on where the cursor is positioned and what actions you take.

2. Double-click the Connected Instruments folder on the left side of the Instrument Driver Finder to detect and display instruments connected to the machine that use NI-VISA. You can press the <F5> key after you click the folder to refresh the Connected Instruments list.

Caution  When the Instrument Driver Finder detects a connected instrument, it tries to identify the manufacturer and model number of the instrument, usually by querying the instrument. This query could interrupt other queries and cause errors if the instrument is in use at the time. Make sure the instrument is not in use before you open or refresh the Connected Instruments list.

3. Select an instrument manufacturer from the Manufacturer pull-down menu. If an instrument manufacturer is not in the list, go to ni.com/idnet and search for the manufacturer manually, or contact the manufacturer directly.

Note  When you double-click an installed driver or connected instrument on the Configure Search page of the Instrument Driver Finder, the Instrument Driver Finder populates the Additional Keywords text box. You must select a manufacturer again to enable the Search button.

4. You can refine your search by entering a keyword such as the instrument model number in the Additional Keywords text box. Do not use wildcard characters in this text box. The Instrument Driver Finder appends wildcard characters automatically, and any additional wildcards cause the search to return no results.
5. Click the Search button. The folders on the Search Results page represent instrument drivers, and the content of the folders represent the files that the Instrument Driver Finder can download and install. The Instrument Driver Finder automatically opens the first driver folder in the list and selects a driver file. You can click different files and use the detailed information to the right to choose the correct driver for the instrument.

Tip  Click the Close button at any time to abort an operation and exit the Instrument Driver Finder.

6. Select an instrument driver file from the Driver list and click the Install button. If you did not login, the Instrument Driver Finder displays a Login page.
   • If you do not have an NI.com profile, select No, I need to create a profile. and click the Create Profile button to open a browser window in which you can create an NI.com profile. After you create a profile, you can return to the Instrument Driver Finder and log in.
   • If you have an NI.com profile, select Yes, fill in your email address and ni.com password, and click the Login button. If your profile is active and your email address and password match, the Instrument Driver Finder displays a welcome message. If you place a checkmark in the Log me in automatically from now on. checkbox, the welcome message remains active until you click the Change User button below the message.
7. Click the OK button after the Instrument Driver Finder downloads and installs the instrument driver into the labview\instr.lib directory and displays the path to the newly installed driver.
8. Click the Close button to close the Instrument Driver Finder. You also can select another driver to install or click the Back button to return to the Configure Search page.