Converting VIs

You cannot open a VI saved in LabVIEW 3.x or earlier without contacting an NI representative for information about upgrading your code to VI formats compatible with LabVIEW 2009. To open a VI saved in LabVIEW 4.0 to 5.x, you first must open and save the VI in LabVIEW 8.2 and then reopen the VI in LabVIEW 2009. When you open a VI last saved in LabVIEW 6.0 or later, LabVIEW 2009 automatically converts and compiles the VI. You must save the VI in LabVIEW 2009, or the conversion process, which uses extra memory resources, occurs every time you access the VI. Also, you might experience a large run-time degradation of performance for any VI that has unsaved changes, including a recompile.

Note  VIs you save in LabVIEW 2009 do not load in earlier versions of LabVIEW. Before you save VIs in LabVIEW 2009 after you convert them, keep a backup copy of VIs you plan to use in LabVIEW 8.6, 8.5, 8.2, or 8.0. Select File»Save for Previous Version to save VIs so they can run in LabVIEW 8.6, 8.5, 8.2, or 8.0.

If your computer does not have enough memory to convert all the VIs at once, convert the VIs in stages. Examine the hierarchy of VIs you want to convert and begin by loading and saving subVIs in the lower levels of the hierarchy. Then progress gradually to the higher levels of the hierarchy. Open and convert the top-level VI last. You also can select Tools»Advanced»Mass Compile to convert a directory of VIs. However, mass compiling converts VIs in a directory or LLB in a set order. Refer to the Fundamentals»Creating VIs and SubVIs»How-To»Saving VIs»Mass Compiling VIs topic on the Contents tab of the LabVIEW Help for a description of the order in which LabVIEW processes files when you mass compile. If the conversion process encounters a high-level VI first, mass compiling requires approximately the same amount of memory as if you opened the high-level VI first.

You can monitor memory usage by selecting Help»About LabVIEW to display a summary of the amount of memory you currently are using.

The following table shows compatibility between LabVIEW versions. The indicates that the version can load a VI saved in that specific version of LabVIEW. The SFP indicates that the version cannot load a VI saved in that specific version of LabVIEW unless you select File»Save for Previous Version. The indicates that you must contact an NI representative to obtain conversion software to upgrade your code to VI formats compatible with LabVIEW 2009. The indicates that the version cannot load a VI saved in that specific version of LabVIEW.

You also can refer to the Developer Zone on ni.com for more information about converting VIs to a different version of LabVIEW.

Localized versions of LabVIEW use the same executable as the U.S. version. Therefore, localized versions are compatible with the U.S. version.