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The following example uses existing VIs to step through the tasks for building a source distribution. Complete the following steps in each task to create the LabVIEW project for the source distribution build specification, configure the build specification, and build and run the source distribution.

Note  The LabVIEW Professional Development System includes the Application Builder. If you use the LabVIEW Base Package or Full Development System, you can purchase the Application Builder separately by visiting the National Instruments Web site.

Preparing the LabVIEW Project

Note  You must have a project open and saved to configure a build specification. If you created a project for the application or shared library examples, you can open and use the same project.

1. Select File»New Project to create a project.
2. Right-click My Computer and select Add»Folder (Snapshot) from the shortcut menu to add a directory of files to the project as a folder. Navigate to and select the labview\examples\Application Builder directory, which contains the VIs and support files to include in the source distribution. The Application Builder folder appears under My Computer in the Project Explorer window.
3. Save the project as TutorialProject in a new directory named AB Tutorial.

Configuring the Build Specification

1. From the Project Explorer window, right-click Build Specifications and select New»Source Distribution from the shortcut menu to display the Source Distribution Properties dialog box. If you previously hid Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window, you must display the item again to access it.
2. Complete the following steps on the Information page of the dialog box.
   1. Enter Tutorial-Dist in the Build specification name text box. The text box contains the name of the source distribution build specification that appears under Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window.
   2. Click the Browse button next to the Destination directory text box and navigate to the AB Tutorial directory. Create a subdirectory named Distribution. Double-click the Distribution directory and click the Current Folder button to select the directory. When you build the source distribution, the files appear in this directory.
3. From the Category list on the left, click Source Files, which contains settings you can use to specify which files are included and how they are included in the source distribution. Complete the following steps on the dialog box page.
   1. From the Project Files tree, click the Application Builder folder to expand it.
   2. Select all of the items in the folder.
   3. Click the Add Item button next to the Always Included listbox to add the items to the listbox.
4. From the Category list, click Destinations, Source File Settings, and Additional Exclusions to explore the settings you can configure in a build specification. For this exercise, do not change these settings on the dialog box pages.
5. From the Category list, click Preview to display the Preview page. Click the Generate Preview button to view a preview of the files that LabVIEW creates when you build the source distribution. You can use this preview to verify that LabVIEW will create the files you want in the directories you want. You can correct errors before you build the source distribution.
6. Click the OK button to close the dialog box and update the project with the build specification settings. The Tutorial-Dist build specification appears under Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window.

Building the Source Distribution

1. Save the project. LabVIEW does not save build specifications settings on disk until you save the project.
2. Right-click the Tutorial-Dist build specification and select Build from the shortcut menu to build the source distribution. A dialog box displays the progress of the build. When the dialog box displays the build complete message, click the Done button.
3. Navigate to the AB Tutorial\Distribution directory. The directory should contain the VIs and support files from the project as well as other internal files that LabVIEW determined the source distribution needed to include.