Upgrade and Compatibility Issues
Refer to the readme.html file in the labview directory for information about known issues in the new version of LabVIEW, additional compatibility issues, and information about late addition features in LabVIEW 8.6.
Upgrading from LabVIEW 8.5
You might encounter the following compatibility issues when you upgrade to LabVIEW 8.6 from LabVIEW 8.5.
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Note You also can refer to the National Instruments Web site for more information about additional issues you may encounter upgrading from LabVIEW 8.5.x. |
Platforms Supported
LabVIEW 8.6 includes the following changes in platforms supported:
- LabVIEW 8.6 does not support Macintosh computers with PowerPC processors.
System Requirements
(Windows) LabVIEW 8.6 requires at least 1.6 GB of disk space for the LabVIEW installation.
(Mac OS) LabVIEW 8.6 requires at least 262 MB of disk space for the minimum LabVIEW installation or 828 MB disk space for the complete LabVIEW installation.
(Linux) LabVIEW 8.6 requires at least 365 MB of disk space for the minimum LabVIEW installation or 651 MB disk space for the complete LabVIEW installation.
Printed Documentation
The following documents did not change for LabVIEW 8.6. Therefore, the content might not reflect changes made in LabVIEW 8.6.
- Getting Started with LabVIEW manual
- (LabVIEW 8.2, 8.5, and 8.6) LabVIEW Fundamentals Manual
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Note Because the LabVIEW Fundamentals Manual is a subset of the Fundamentals book in the LabVIEW Help, refer to the Fundamentals book on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for updated content. |
VI and Function Behavior Changes
The behavior of the following VIs and functions changed in LabVIEW 8.6.
Report Generation VIs
The Report Generation VIs were rewritten using LabVIEW classes. The report in control and report out indicator changed from reference number data types to LabVIEW class data types. If you did not create constants, controls, or indicators by right-clicking the typedef refnum, the VIs might not work correctly because LabVIEW cannot update those objects for you. Additionally any Call By Reference Node that calls the previous refnum data type of the report in and report out parameters will not work as expected.
If you create HTML reports using the Report Generation VIs to run on a target, make sure you reference the target when you create a report. If you create an HTML report on a host computer and then deploy to a target without referencing the target, VIs appear broken and will not run.
External Code (DLLs and CINS)
The memory manager functions include only one zone of memory, DS (data space). If you work with C or C++ CINs or DLLs that manage LabVIEW memory, replace all references to AZ (application zone) memory functions with the DS equivalent function.
Miscellaneous VI and Function Behavior Changes
LabVIEW 8.6 includes the following miscellaneous VI and function behavior changes:
- Many of the Mathematics and Signal Processing VIs changed from non-reentrant VIs to reentrant VIs. Because of these changes, you should not call many of these VIs from a reentrant VI set to share clones between instances. Refer to the National Instruments Web site for more information about which VIs you cannot call from a VI set to share clones between instances.
- LabVIEW forces single-process shared variables to be target-relative. You cannot configure single-process shared variables to be absolute.
- If you wire an empty path to the path in input of the Call Library Function Node, LabVIEW no longer returns an error.
Deprecated VIs and Functions
LabVIEW 8.6 does not support the following VIs and functions:
- Create Semaphore—Use the Obtain Semaphore Reference VI instead. The Obtain Semaphore Reference VI differs from the Create Semaphore VI because if you use the Create Semaphore VI multiple times to create more than one semaphore with the same name, LabVIEW creates multiple copies of a single reference to that semaphore. However, if you use the Obtain Semaphore Reference VI to obtain multiple references to the same semaphore, each reference number is unique. Because LabVIEW does not automatically convert existing VIs to use the Obtain Semaphore Reference VI, you must manually update VIs saved in a previous version of LabVIEW.
- Destroy Semaphore—Use the Release Semaphore Reference VI instead. The Release Semaphore Reference VI differs from the Destroy Semaphore VI because if you use the Destroy Semaphore VI to destroy a semaphore, LabVIEW also destroys any other copies of the reference to that semaphore. However, if you use the Release Semaphore Reference VI to release a reference to a semaphore, other references to that semaphore remain valid, and LabVIEW destroys the semaphore only if no other references to the semaphore exist. Because LabVIEW does not automatically convert existing VIs to use the Release Semaphore Reference VI, you must manually update VIs saved in a previous version of LabVIEW.
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Note To avoid unexpected results, do not pass references you use with the Create Semaphore VI or the Destroy Semaphore VI to the Obtain Semaphore Reference VI or the Release Semaphore Reference VI, and vice versa. |
- Xmath script node—Use the MathScript Node instead. Because the MathScript syntax is different from the Xmath syntax, you might need to modify existing scripts to work in the MathScript Node.
Property, Method, and Event Behavior Changes
The behavior of the following properties, methods, and events changed in LabVIEW 8.6:
- The Camera Controller:Type property of the SceneGraphDisplay class includes an Oriented value.
- The Camera Controller:Type property of the SceneWindow class includes an Oriented value.
Deprecated Properties, Methods, and Events
LabVIEW 8.6 and later does not support the following properties, methods, and events:
- Control Value:Set [Flattened] method of the VI class. Use the Control Value:Set method instead.
- Control Value:Get All [Flattened] method of the VI class. Use the Control Value:Get All method instead.
- Control Value:Get [Flattened] method of the VI class. Use the Control Value:Get method instead.
- VIModificationBitSet property of the VI Properties (ActiveX) class. Use the VIModificationBitSet2 property instead.
- Modifications:VI Modifications Bitset property of the VI Properties class. Use the new Modifications:VI Modifications Bitset property instead. In LabVIEW 8.5 and earlier, the Modifications:VI Modifications Bitset property returns a 32-bit value. In LabVIEW 8.6, the new Modifications:VI Modifications Bitset property returns a 64-bit value.
Renamed Properties, Methods, and Events
The following properties, methods, and events are renamed in LabVIEW 8.6 and later:
| Class | LabVIEW 8.5 Name | LabVIEW 8.6 Name | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| GObject | Bounds:Height | Bounds:Area Height | Property |
| GObject | Bounds:Width | Bounds:Area Width | Property |
| ProjectItem | Disconnect from Disk | Stop Auto-populating | Method |
| TreeControl | Expand/Contract Symbol:Show at Indent Level 0 | Expand/Contract Symbol:Show Symbol at Root | Property |
| VI | Control Value:Set [Variant] | Control Value:Set | Method |
| VI | Control Value:Get [Variant] | Control Value:Get | Method |
| VI | Control Value:Get All [Variant] | Control Value:Get All | Method |
Upgrading Remote Front Panel Licenses (Windows)
You can allow clients to view an application or front panel remotely using LabVIEW. LabVIEW supports licenses that allow 5, 20, 50, or unlimited clients to connect to a remote front panel at one time. You can have only one license on the server computer. Purchase a license that allows enough connections to accommodate the number of clients you want to allow. If you upgraded the remote front panel license for LabVIEW 8.5.1 or earlier, you must use your existing serial number to activate a new license of equal value in NI License Manager.
Shared Components of the Application Builder
LabVIEW installs a component for building shared libraries that is shared with all versions of LabVIEW on the local computer. If you install an older version of LabVIEW after installing LabVIEW 8.6, the shared component is replaced by an older version. If you then try to build a shared library in the most current version of LabVIEW, you will receive an error because the shared component is missing functionality that LabVIEW 8.6 relies on. To correct this issue, reinstall LabVIEW 8.6.