Removing Block Diagrams from VIs

You can remove the block diagram source code from a VI so other users cannot edit the VI if you distribute VIs to other computers or other users. You also can assign password protection to a block diagram so the block diagram is still available, but users must enter a password to view or edit the block diagram.

Note  If you save a VI without the block diagram, users cannot edit the VI, move the VI to another platform, or upgrade the VI to a future version of LabVIEW.

Complete the following steps to save VIs without the block diagrams to reduce the file size and prevent users from changing the source code.

1. Create a source distribution.
2. On the Source File Settings page of the Source Distribution Properties dialog box, remove the checkmark from the Use default save settings checkbox and place a checkmark in the Remove block diagram checkbox to ensure that LabVIEW removes the block diagram.

   Note  You cannot remove a block diagram from a VI without compiled code. If you place a checkmark in the Remove compiled code checkbox on the Additional Exclusions page, LabVIEW dims the Use default save settings checkbox on the Source File Settings page.

3. Build the source distribution to create a copy of the VI without its block diagram.

Caution  If you save VIs without block diagrams, do not overwrite the original versions of the VIs. Save the VIs in different directories or use different names.