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

Use the Instrument I/O VIs and functions to interface with GPIB, serial, modular, PXI, and other types of instruments. Use the NI Instrument Driver Finder to search for and install instrument drivers. If an instrument driver is not available, you can use the Create New Instrument Driver Project wizard to create a new instrument driver. If you do not create an instrument driver, you can use the Instrument I/O Assistant to communicate with message-based instruments.

Before you begin using the Instrument I/O VIs and functions, make sure you choose the appropriate method of instrument control.

Subpalette	Description
GPIB Functions	Use the GPIB functions to communicate with GPIB (IEEE-488) devices.
Instrument Drivers VIs	Use Instrument Drivers VIs to configure, control, and retrieve data from GPIB, serial, modular, PXI, and other types of instruments. Use the NI Instrument Driver Finder to search for and install instrument drivers. If an instrument driver is not available, you can use the Create New Instrument Driver Project wizard to create a new instrument driver. If you do not create an instrument driver, you can use the Instrument I/O Assistant to communicate with message-based instruments.
Serial VIs and Functions	Use the Serial VIs and functions to access the VISA VIs and functions that communicate with devices connected to a serial port. Additional functions are also available on the VISA palette.
VISA VIs and Functions	Use the VISA VIs and functions to program instruments using VISA.
VXI VIs	Avoid using the VXI VIs for new applications. They communicate with VXI devices and exist in this release of LabVIEW to maintain compatibility with existing applications. Use VISA functions to communicate with VXI devices or to build any new VIs that communicate with VXI devices.