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The following example uses existing VIs to step through the tasks for building a zip file with the Application Builder. Complete the following steps in each task to create the LabVIEW project for the zip file build specification, configure the build specification, and build the zip file.

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 zip file. 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»Zip File from the shortcut menu to display the Zip File 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 Zip Information page of the dialog box.
   1. Enter Tutorial-Zip in the Build specification name text box. The text box contains the name of the zip file build specification that appears under Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window.
   2. Click the Browse button next to the Destination text box and navigate to the AB Tutorial directory. Create a subdirectory named Zip. Double-click the Zip directory. Enter Tutorial.zip in the file path and click the Select button. When you build the zip file, a file with the name you specified appears in the directory you specified.
3. From the Category list on the left, click Source Files to display the Source Files page, which contains settings for the files to include in the zip file.
4. From the Source Files page, place a checkmark in the Zip entire project checkbox so the zip file includes all the VIs and support files in the project. This is a faster option than moving files from the Project Files tree to the Included Items listbox if you want to include all the project items in the zip file.
5. From the Category list on the left, click Zip File Structure to display the Zip File Structure page, which specifies the file structure to use for the zip file.
6. From the Zip File Structure page, select Use Common Directory. When a user extracts files from the zip file, LabVIEW extracts the files to the lowest level directory that still contains all the files and folders you include in the zip file.
7. Click Preview to display the Preview page. Click the Generate Preview button to view a preview of the compressed file structure that the Application Builder creates when you build the zip file. You can use this preview to verify that the Application Builder will include the files you want from the directories you want. You can correct errors before you build the zip file. Notice that the zip file includes all project items and the project file (.lvproj) itself.
8. Click the OK button to close the dialog box and update the project with the build specification settings. The Tutorial-Zip build specification appears under Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window.

Building the Zip File

1. Save the project. LabVIEW does not save build specification settings on disk until you save the project.
2. Right-click the Tutorial-Zip build specification and select Build from the shortcut menu to build the zip file. 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\Zip directory. The directory should contain the file Tutorial.zip.

You can use a standard decompression tool to decompress the zip file and view the VIs and support files it includes.