LabVIEW Core 1 TM

Participant Guide

Course Software Version LabVIEW 2019

2019 Edition
Part Number 327415A-01 377415A-01

LabVIEW Core 1

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Table of Contents
Student Guide
A. NI Certification ..........................................................................viii
B. Course Description ....................................................................viii
C. What You Need to Get Started .....................................................ix
D. File Locations ............................................................................ix
E. Course Goals .............................................................................ix

Lesson 2
First Measurement (NI DAQ Device)
Exercise 2-1 Using NI MAX to Examine a DAQ Device .....................2-2
Exercise 2-2 Validating I/O (DAQ) ..................................................2-7

Lesson 3
First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument)
Exercise 3-1 Connecting Hardware (Non-NI Instrument)....................3-2

Lesson 4
Exploring an Existing Application
Exercise 4-1 Exploring an Existing Project and a VI ..........................4-2
Exercise 4-2 Exploring Hardware Example Programs.........................4-7

Lesson 5
Creating Your First Application
Exercise 5-1 Creating a Simple Project and a VI...............................5-2
Exercise 5-2 Creating an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI......................5-8
Exercise 5-3 DAQmx Task vs Full DAQmx API ................................5-14

Lesson 6
Debugging and Troubleshooting
Exercise 6-1 Debugging................................................................6-2

Lesson 7
Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops
Exercise 7-1 Introduction to While Loops ........................................7-2
Exercise 7-2 Using Timing Functions and VIs in a Loop ....................7-10
Exercise 7-3 Continuously Acquiring Data using DAQmx API Timing ..7-15
Exercise 7-4 Using Shift Registers .................................................7-20
Exercise 7-5 (Self-Study) Using Stacked Shift Registers....................7-23

© National Instruments | v
Table of Contents

Lesson 8
Working with Groups of Data
Exercise 8-1 Creating and Viewing an Array ................................... 8-2
Exercise 8-2 Examining the Waveform Data Type ............................ 8-8
Exercise 8-3 Using Analysis Functions and VIs to Analyze Data ........ 8-12
Exercise 8-4 Visualizing N-Channel Data......................................... 8-15
Exercise 8-5 Extracting a Subset of an N-Channel Data Array ........... 8-29
Exercise 8-6 Exploring Auto-Indexing Tunnels ................................. 8-36
Exercise 8-7 Processing Data For Each Channel in an N-Channel
Data Array .............................................................................. 8-39

Lesson 9
Executing Code Based on a Condition
Exercise 9-1 Executing Code Based on a Condition.......................... 9-2
Exercise 9-2 Execute Code Conditionally Based on a User
Setting/Parameter/Configuration ....................................................... 9-5

Lesson 10
Writing and Reading Data to File
Exercise 10-1 Using High-Level I/O VIs/functions ............................. 10-2
Exercise 10-2 Using Low-Level File I/O VIs/functions to Stream
Data to a Text File .......................................................................... 10-9
Exercise 10-3 Streaming N-Channel Acquisition Data to a Text File.....10-12
Exercise 10-4 Programmatically Creating Filenames Based on
Current Timestamp..........................................................................10-18
Exercise 10-5 Reading and Analyzing Data from a File in LabVIEW......10-21

Lesson 11
Reusing Code
Exercise 11-1 Creating and Using a SubVI........................................ 11-2

Lesson 12
Grouping Data of Mixed Data Types
Exercise 12-1 Grouping Related Data Using a Cluster......................... 12-2

Lesson 13
Propagate Data Type Changes Using Type Definitions
Exercise 13-1 Using a Type Definition.............................................. 13-2

Lesson 14
Implementing a Sequencer
Exercise 14-1 Creating a State Machine ........................................... 14-2

Appendix A
Advanced File I/O
File Formats ................................................................................... A-2
Access TDMS Files in LabVIEW and Excel ......................................... A-2
Write and Read Binary Files.............................................................. A-4

Appendix B
Additional Information and Resources
NI Services .................................................................................... B-2
Services and Resources ................................................................... B-2

vi | ni.com
 Title Short-Hidden goes here for cross-reference.

Other National Instruments Training Courses ......................................B-3

National Instruments Certification .....................................................B-3

© National Instruments | vii

Student Guide

In this student guide, you will learn about the LabVIEW

Learning Path, the course description, and the items you
need to get started in the LabVIEW Core 1 course.

Topics
+ NI Certification
+ Course Description
+ What You Need to Get Started
+ Installing the Course Software
+ Course Goals
Student Guide

A. NI Certification
The LabVIEW Core 1 course is part of a series of courses designed to build your proficiency with
LabVIEW and help you prepare for the NI Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer exam. The
following illustration shows the courses that are part of the LabVIEW training series. Refer to
ni.com/training for more information about NI Certification.

B. Course Description
The LabVIEW Core 1 course teaches you programming concepts, techniques, features, VIs, and
functions you can use to create test and measurement, data acquisition, instrument control,
datalogging, measurement analysis, and report generation applications. This course assumes
that you are familiar with Windows and that you have experience writing algorithms in the form
of flowcharts or block diagrams.

The Participant Guide is divided into lessons. Each lesson contains the following:
• An introduction with the lesson objective and a list of topics and exercises.
• Slide images with additional descriptions of topics, activities, demonstrations, and
multimedia segments.
• A set of exercises to reinforce topics. Some lessons include optional and challenge
exercises.
• A lesson review that tests and reinforces important concepts and skills taught in the lesson.
If you do not have hardware, you still can complete the exercises. Alternate instructions are
provided for completing the exercises without hardware. You also can substitute other hardware
for those previously mentioned. For example, you can use another National Instruments DAQ
device connected to a signal source, such as a function generator.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

C. What You Need to Get Started

Before you use this course manual, make sure you have all of the following items:
• Computer running Windows 7 or later
• LabVIEW 2019 or later
• NI-DAQmx 19 or later
• NI-VISA 18.5 or later
• NI-488.2 18.5 or later
• NI Instrument Simulator and power supply
• Real or simulated NI PCI 6221 or NI USB 6212, with BNC-2120.
• Downloaded course materials.

D. File Locations
After extracting the exercises and solutions folders we recommend placing
them in the Local Disk (C:).

Note Folder names in angle brackets, such as <Exercises> and

<Solutions>, refer to C:\Exercises\ and C:\Solutions\
respectively, assuming that you have copied the files to the root directory
of your computer.

E. Course Goals
This course prepares you to do the following:
• Acquire data from hardware
• Analyze and process data
• Visualize and log data
• Develop, debug, and test LabVIEW programs
• Use best practices for reusability, readability, and error management
• Implement a sequencer using a state machine

© National Instruments | ix
2 First
Measurement
(NI DAQ Device)

In this lesson, you acquire and validate your first

measurement from an NI DAQ device.

Exercises
Exercise 2-1 Using NI MAX to Examine a DAQ Device
Exercise 2-2 Validating I/O (DAQ)
Lesson 2 First Measurement (NI DAQ Device)

Exercise 2-1:Using NI MAX to Examine a DAQ Device

Goal
Use NI Measurement & Automation Explorer to examine, configure, and simulate NI hardware.

Description
You want to create an application using NI Hardware.

In this exercise, you will explore how to configure the NI DAQ device, or simulate the
NI DAQ device if you don’t have the physical hardware.

Implementation
Complete the steps in this section to examine the configuration for the DAQ device
using NI MAX. If you do not have a DAQ device, simulate the NI PCI-6221
multifunction I/O device using the instructions in step 3. You will use this device to
complete the course exercises.

Note Portions of this exercise can only be completed with the use of a real
device and a BNC-2120, shown in the figure. Some of these steps have
alternative instructions for simulated devices.

1. Launch NI MAX from the Windows Start menu.

2. If you have a DAQ device installed, skip step 3 and go to the Examine the DAQ
Device Settings section.

3. Create simulated hardware.

 In the NI MAX, select Devices and Interfaces, and click the Create New button.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 In the Create New dialog box, select Simulated NI-DAQmx Device or Modular
Instrument, and click Finish.

 Expand the M Series DAQ tree, and select NI PCI-6221.

 Click OK.

 Select the simulated device and name it PCI-6221 under the Settings section.

© National Instruments | 2-3

Lesson 2 First Measurement (NI DAQ Device)

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 LabVIEW Core 1

BNC-2120 Terminal Block

A terminal block consists of screw or spring terminals for connecting signals or other sensors.
A cable transports the signal from the terminal block to the DAQ device.

1 RES/BNC Switch (AI 3) 13 Sine/Triangle Waveform Switch

2 Resistor Measurement Screw Terminals 14 Frequency Adjust Knob
3 Thermocouple Input Connector 15 Amplitude Adjust Knob
4 Temperature Reference 16 Digital I/O Screw Terminals
5 BNC/Temp. Ref. Switch (AI 0) 17 Digital I/O LEDs
6 BNC/Thermocouple Switch (AI 1) 18 User-Defined Screw Terminals
7 Analog Input BNC Connectors 19 User-Defined BNC Connectors
8 FS/GS Switches 20 Timing I/O Screw Terminals
9 Analog Output BNC Connector 21 Quadrature Encoder Screw Terminals
10 Frequency Range Selection Switch 22 Quadrature Encoder Knob
11 Sine/Triangle BNC Connector 23 Timing I/O BNC Connector
12 TTL Square Wave BNC Connector 24 Power Indicator LED

© National Instruments | 2-5

Lesson 2 First Measurement (NI DAQ Device)

Examining the DAQ Device Settings

1. Expand the Devices and Interfaces section.
2. Select the device that is connected to your machine. Green icons represent real
devices and yellow icons represent simulated devices. You might have a different
device installed, and some of the options shown might be different.
MAX displays National Instruments hardware and software in the computer. The
device alias appears in quotes following the device type. The Data Acquisition VIs
use this device alias to determine which device performs DAQ operations. MAX
also displays the attributes of the device such as the system resources that the
device uses.
Make sure the device you use is named PCI-6221. To rename a device, right-click
the device and select Rename from the shortcut menu.
3. Click Device Pinouts and explore the pinout information.

 Close the dialog box when you are finished.

4. Select the Settings tab to see the information about the last time the device was
calibrated both internally and externally. Not all devices contain calibration
information.
5. If you are using a physical device, right-click the NI-DAQmx device in the
configuration tree and select Self-Calibrate to update the built-in calibration
constants and calibrate the DAQ device using a precision voltage reference source.
When the device has been calibrated, information in the Self-Calibration section
updates. Skip this step if you are using a simulated device.
6. Close NI MAX when finished.

End of Exercise 2-1

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 2-2: Validating I/O (DAQ)

Goal
Verify that the I/O of your DAQ device behaves correctly.

Scenario
You want to validate that your DAQ system acquires/generates the following data
correctly:
• Acquired analog input voltage measurement from the temperature sensor.
• Generated analog output voltage.
• Generated digital output voltage.

Implementation
1. Launch NI MAX from the Windows Start menu.

2. Expand Devices and Interfaces and select the PCI-6221.

3. Click Test Panels...

4. Validate the analog input of your device.

 Make sure that the Analog Input tab is selected in the Test Panels dialog box.

 Select PCI-6221/ai0 from the Channel Name control, which corresponds to the
ai0 pin of the device. The temperature sensor of BNC 2120 is connected to ai0
of PCI-6221.

 Change Mode to Continuous enables the measurement-specific settings, e.g.

Rate (Hz), and Samples to Read.

 Click the Start button to start the acquisition.

 Explore data on the chart, then click Stop.

 Change Samples To Read to other values, e.g. 5000, 10000, etc.

 Start the acquisition, and explore how it affects the acquired signal.

© National Instruments | 2-7

Lesson 2 First Measurement (NI DAQ Device)

 Click the Stop button.

 You can disable the Auto-scale chart option, and change the scaling of the
x-scale to adjust the graph by double-clicking the maximum and minimum
values of the scale and typing the appropriate ones.

5. Validate the analog output of your device.

 Switch to the Analog Output tab.

 Set the Channel Name control, e.g. PCI-6221/ao0.

 You can either change Mode to Voltage Sinewave Generation or leave Voltage
DC.

 Set Output Value (V) to the constant voltage you want to output.

 Click the Update button to start the generation.

 Click Stop.

6. Validate the digital I/O of your device.

 Switch to the Digital I/O tab.

 Select the port from the Port Name control. Port is a collection of lines, and
each line can output a high or low voltage.

 Select All Output in the Select Direction section.

 Configure the output voltage in the Select State section by changing the line
state.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 Click Start.

 Select All Low and click Stop.

 Select All Input and click Start.

 Review the acquired data and click Stop.

 Close the Test Panels dialog box.

7. Close NI MAX.

End of Exercise 2-2

© National Instruments | 2-9

3 First Measurement
(Non-NI Instrument)

In this lesson, you use LabVIEW to connect to

non-NI instruments and validate the results.

Exercises
Exercise 3-1 Connecting Hardware (Non-NI Instrument)
Lesson 3 First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument)

Exercise 3-1: Connecting Hardware (Non-NI

Instrument)
Goal
Connect a non-NI Instrument to your computer, so that the instrument can be
programmatically controlled by LabVIEW.

Scenario
You are creating an application that acquires data from a non-NI instrument (for
example, a non-NI oscilloscope, or non-NI digital multimeter).

In this exercise, you will explore how to connect a non-NI instrument to your
computer.

Connect a Non-NI Instrument to Your Computer

For this course, imagine that the NI Instrument Simulator represents a non-NI
oscilloscope instrument that has a GPIB port.

Furthermore, imagine that your computer has a GPIB instrument control device, such
as the GPIB-USB-HS, which allows your computer to communicate with a GPIB
instrument.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Complete the following steps to connect the GPIB instrument to your computer.
1. Notice that the NI Instrument Simulator has a GPIB port.

2. Connect the NI Instrument Simulator to your computer GPIB interface with a GPIB
cable. For example, connect the USB end of the GPIB-USB-HS to your computer
and the GPIB end of the GPIB-USB-HS to the GPIB port of the NI Instrument
Simulator.

3. Now you can programmatically control (send commands to, receive data from) the
NI Instrument Simulator (that is a non-NI instrument).

Set Up the NI Instrument Simulator

This exercise uses the NI Instrument Simulator to simulate an instrument. Before
NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX) can recognize the NI Instrument
Simulator as a device with a GPIB interface, you must configure the NI Instrument
Simulator using the Instrument Simulator Wizard.

Complete the following steps to configure the NI Instrument Simulator to have a GPIB
interface.

1. Configure the NI Instrument Simulator.

 Power off the NI Instrument Simulator.

 Set the configuration switch on the rear panel to CFG, as shown in the figure
below.

 Power on the NI Instrument Simulator using the power switch on the front of
the unit.

 Verify that the PWR LED is lit and the RDY LED is flashing.

 Launch the NI Instrument Simulator Wizard from Start»All Programs»National

Instruments»Instrument Simulator»Instrument Simulator Wizard.

Note This wizard is installed with the NI Instrument Simulator Software,

available for download at ni.com.

 Click Next.

 Click Next.

 On the Select Interface page, select GPIB Interface and click Next.

 Select Change GPIB Settings and click Next.

 Select Single Instrument Mode and click Next.

 Set GPIB Primary Address to 1.

© National Instruments | 3-3

Lesson 3 First Measurement (Non-NI Instrument)

 Set GPIB Secondary Address to 0(disabled).

 Click Next.

 Click Update.

 Click OK when you get the message that the update was successful.

 Power off the NI Instrument Simulator using the power switch on the front of
the unit.

 Set the configuration switch on the rear panel to NORM.

 Power on the NI Instrument Simulator using the power switch on the front of
the unit.

 Verify that both the PWR and RDY LEDs are lit.

Implementation
1. Launch NI MAX from the Windows Start menu.

 In NI MAX, expand the Devices and Interfaces to display the installed

interfaces. If a GPIB interface is listed, the NI-488.2 software is correctly
loaded on the computer.

 Select the GPIB interface.

 Examine but do not change the settings for the GPIB interface.

2. Communicate with the GPIB instrument.

 Make sure the GPIB interface is still selected in the Devices and Interfaces.

 Click the Scan for Instruments button on the toolbar.

 Expand the GPIB interface selected in the Devices and Interfaces. An

instrument named Instrument Simulator appears.

 Click Instrument Simulator to display information about it in the right pane

of NI MAX.

 Click the Settings tab at the bottom. Notice the NI Instrument Simulator has a
GPIB primary address.

 Click the Communicate with Instrument button on the toolbar. An interactive

window appears. You can use it to query, write to, and read from that
instrument.

 Enter *IDN? in the Send String text box and click the Query button.
The instrument returns its manufacturer and model number in the String
Received indicator as shown in the figure. You can use this communicator

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 LabVIEW Core 1

window to debug instrument problems or to verify that specific commands

work as described in the instrument documentation.

 Enter MEASURE:VOLTAGE:DC? in the Send String text box and click the Query
button. The NI Instrument Simulator returns a simulated voltage measurement.

 Click the Query button again to return a different value.

 Click the Exit button when done.

3. Set a VISA alias of MyGPIBInstrument for the NI Instrument Simulator so you can
use the alias instead of having to remember the primary address.

 While Instrument Simulator is selected in NI MAX, click the VISA Properties

tab.

 Enter MyGPIBInstrument in the VISA Alias on My System field. You use this
alias later in the course.

 Click Save.

4. Exit NI MAX.

5. Click Yes if prompted to save the instrument.

End of Exercise 3-1

© National Instruments | 3-5

4 Exploring an
Existing
Application

In this lesson, you explore an existing application and

predict its behavior.

Exercises
Exercise 4-1 Exploring an Existing Project and a VI
Exercise 4-2 Exploring Hardware Example Programs
Lesson 4 Exploring an Existing Application

Exercise 4-1: Exploring an Existing Project and a VI

Goal
• Explain the purpose of the main LabVIEW project/VI development environment
items.
• Differentiate between controls and indicators.
• Differentiate between numeric, Boolean, and string data types.

Explore an existing project

1. Open Explore Existing Project.lvproj in the <Exercises>\
LabVIEW Core 1\Explore Existing Project directory.

2. Notice that the Project Explorer window contains the following two items.

 Thermocouple task

 Temperature Acquisition VI

3. Explore the Thermocouple task.

 Double-click the Thermocouple task to launch DAQ Assistant.

 In the opened window you can configure the DAQmx task by changing
different values of sample rate, samples to read, signal input range, and by
adding physical and virtual channels to the task.

 Configure the Thermocouple task as shown in the figure below.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Explore and run the VI in the project

1. Open the VI in the project.

 In the Project Explorer window, double-click the Temperature Acquisition VI.

2. Run the VI.

 Notice that Current Temperature displays the temperature.

 Run the VI a couple more times.

 Set Max Temperature Threshold to values above and below the current
temperature, and observe how this affects the Threshold Exceeded? and
Message indicators.

Explore the VI Front Panel

The front panel is the user interface of your VI.

1. Examine the VI front panel.

2. Determine whether each of the following front panel objects is a control (front
panel input) or indicator (front panel output), and circle the correct answer.

© National Instruments | 4-3

Lesson 4 Exploring an Existing Application

 Max Temperature Threshold Control | Indicator

 Current Temperature Control | Indicator

 Threshold Exceeded? Control | Indicator

 Message Control | Indicator

3. Determine whether each of the following front panel objects is a numeric, boolean,
or string, and circle the correct answer.

 Max Temperature Threshold Numeric | Boolean | String

 Current Temperature Numeric | Boolean | String

 Threshold Exceeded? Numeric | Boolean | String

 Message Numeric | Boolean | String

Explore the Block Diagram

The block diagram defines the functionality of the VI and contains the code for the VI.

1. Select Window»Show Block Diagram in the front panel toolbar to display the block
diagram.

 On the block diagram, identify the following items. How many can you find of
each item?

– Controls

– Indicators

– Constants

– Free labels

– Functions

– VIs

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 LabVIEW Core 1

2. Use the context help to learn more about the items on the block diagram.

 Press <Ctrl-H> to open the Context Help window or select Help»Show

Context Help.

 Move the Context Help window to a convenient area where the window does
not hide part of the diagram.

 Place your cursor over each of the different color wires to see which data type
they represent.

 The Context Help window content changes to show information about the
object that your mouse is over.

3. Get detailed help for the Select function.

1 Select function—Place your cursor over the function. In the Context Help
window, click the Detailed help link to launch the LabVIEW Help and learn more
about this function.

© National Instruments | 4-5

Lesson 4 Exploring an Existing Application

Check Your Answers

1. Refer to the following figures to verify that you identified all items correctly.

1 Numeric Control 3 Boolean Indicator

2 Numeric Indicator 4 String Indicator

2
3

1 Comments 4 Indicators
2 Functions 5 Control
3 VIs 6 Constants

On the Job
Describe the controls and indicators that you need when you create VIs at work.
(name, data type)

End of Exercise 4-1

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 4-2: Exploring Hardware Example Programs

Goal
Explore hardware example programs included in LabVIEW.

Instructions
NI-DAQmx Example Programs
1. Explore NI-DAQmx examples.

1 From the Getting Started window, open the Help menu.

2 Select Find Examples.

© National Instruments | 4-7

Lesson 4 Exploring an Existing Application

2. In the NI Example Finder window, double-click Hardware Input and Output»

DAQmx, double-click the folder for the type of example you want to explore, and
then double-click one of the examples to launch an example DAQmx project.

3. Explore the VIs found in the launched example.

 Open and explore the VIs from the DAQmx subfolders.

 Explore the front panel.

 Explore the block diagram. You can read a description of a VI by using the
Context Help window.

4. Close the VI when finished. If you save an example, it will save over the original
example. In order to prevent that you should choose “Save as Copy” or don’t save
the VI.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Non-NI Instrument Example Programs

1. Explore Non-NI Instrument Examples.

 Switch to NI Example Finder and navigate to Hardware Input and Output»

Instrument Drivers»LabVIEW Plug and Play folder.

2. Select the instrument driver example that you want to explore to launch an
example instrument driver VI.

If you are taking this course in a classroom with an NI Instrument Simulator, you
can explore the NI Instrument Simulator instrument driver example.

3. Explore the VIs found in the launched example.

 Open and explore the VIs from the Instrument Drivers subfolder.

 Explore the front panel.

 Explore the block diagram. Remember, you can read a description of a node by
using the Context Help window <Ctrl-H>.

4. Close the VI when you are finished. Do not save the VI.

End of Exercise 4-2

© National Instruments | 4-9

5 Creating Your
First Application

In this lesson, you create your first application.

Exercises
Exercise 5-1 Creating a Simple Project and a VI
Exercise 5-2 Creating an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize VI
Exercise 5-3 DAQmx Task vs Full DAQmx API
Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

Exercise 5-1: Creating a Simple Project and a VI

Goal
Create a new project and a new VI that executes the straight-line
equation: y = mx + b.

Instructions
1. Create a new project.

 From the Getting Started window, select Create Project.

 As a starting point, choose Blank Project, and click Finish.

2. Save the project.

 Select File»Save All.

 Type Simple VI in the File Name field.

 In the File Explorer window, browse to the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core

1\Simple VI directory.

 Click OK.

3. Create a new VI in your project.

 In the Project Explorer window, select File»New VI.

 Save the VI as Straight-Line Equation.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Explore the Controls Palette on the front panel.

Use palettes to locate items when you want to explore the options available to you
or when you are not sure of the name of the control, or indicator you need.

 From the front panel toolbar, select View»Controls Palette, or right-click in the
front panel.

Note You can access the NXG Style controls palette by right-clicking in the
front panel and hovering your mouse over NXG Style submenu. Also, if you
want for NXG Style controls palette to open automatically when you click in
the front panel press the pin button in the upper-left corner and drag the
NXG Style controls palette to the top of the stack.

 Open the Numeric, Boolean, and String&Path palette categories to explore

various types of controls and indicators.

5. Create the user interface for your VI on the front panel.

 Press the Search button on the top right corner of the Controls palette.

Tip Press <Ctrl-Space> to quickly access the search box.

 Type numeric control in the search text box.

 Click Numeric Control (NXG Style) in the search results.

 Drag it to the front panel. Do this three times to place three numeric controls
on the front panel. Rename them as Slope (m), Y-Intercept (b), and x.

 Press <Ctrl-Space> to open the Quick Drop dialog box.

 Type numeric indicator in the search text box.

© National Instruments | 5-3

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

 Double-click Numeric Indicator (NXG Style) in the search results and place it
on the front panel. Rename it y.

 Arrange the items on the front panel as shown in the following figure.

6. Develop the code for your VI on the block diagram.

 Switch to block diagram by pressing <Ctrl-E>.

 The block diagram contains the terminals of the controls and indicators, placed
on the front panel. In this case it will contain the Slope (m), Y-Intercept (b), x,
and y terminals as shown in the figure below.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 Press <Ctrl-Space> and type multiply in the search text box. Double-click
Multiply in the search results and place the Multiply function on the diagram.

 Place an Add function to the block diagram.

 Wire the block diagram as shown in the following figure.

7. Locate the palette that contains a particular VI or function using the palette search.

 Right-click in the block diagram, press the Search button in the upper right
hand corner of the Functions palette and search for the term Multiply.

 In the search results, double-click the desired function to display the palette
category that contains the function. This allows you to browse related
functions.

© National Instruments | 5-5

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

8. Practice using the global search feature.

 Type Multiply in the Search bar in the upper right hand corner of either front
panel or block diagram.

Note As you type, the global search automatically looks for matches in
several places, including online Help and LabVIEW palettes.

 Examine the search results.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

9. Test the Straight-Line Equation VI using the values given in the following table.

 Enter the input values in the controls.

 Click Run.

 For each set of inputs, compare the given outputs to the outputs listed in the
following table. If the VI works correctly, they should match.

Input Output

Slope (m) 2 y 7

x 1

Y-Intercept (b) 5

Slope (m) 2 y 15

x 5

Y-Intercept (b) 5

Slope (m) -3 y -16

x 2

Y-Intercept (b) -10

Your Turn
1. Create a new project and name it Average.lvproj.

2. Add a new VI named Average.vi to the project.

3. Modify the VI to calculate the average of 5 numbers.

(X1 + X2 + X3 + X4 + X5) / 5 = Average

4. Run the VI and verify that you get the correct results.

End of Exercise 5-1

© National Instruments | 5-7

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

Exercise 5-2: Creating an Acquire-Analyze-Visualize

VI
Goal
Create a simple VI that acquires data, analyzes data, and displays the results.

Create the Project

1. Create a new project.

 From the Getting Started window, select Create Project»All»Blank Project and
click Finish.

 Select File»Save All and enter Acquire Analyze Visualize.lvproj in the File
name field.

 Browse to the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Acquire Analyze Visualize

directory and click OK.

Create an NI-DAQmx Task

1. Create a DAQmx task.

 In the Project Explorer window right-click My Computer and select New»

NI-DAQmx Task.

2. Configure the measurement.

 In the Create New dialog box that appears, select Acquire Signals»Analog
Input»Temperature»Thermocouple.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 The next dialog box that appears prompts you to select the physical channel
to use with your new task. Under PCI-6221, select ai1 and click Next.

 Name the task Thermocouple, and click Finish.

 In the DAQ Assistant dialog box, configure the task as shown in the following
figure.

Note You should configure the task according to your specific hardware
configuration, e.g. if you have a thermocouple connected of a different type
and with different signal input range connected, then you should configure
the parameters accordingly to that thermocouple characteristics.

3. Validate the signal is correct using the DAQ Assistant dialog box.

 On the top pane of the dialog box, switch the Display Type to Chart and run
the task to verify that the chart displays the expected temperature.

 Click Stop to stop the acquisition.

© National Instruments | 5-9

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

Acquire Data
1. Create a new VI in your project.

 In the Project Explorer window, add a VI.

 Click <Ctrl-S> to save the VI and name it Acquire Analyze Visualize.

2. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to acquire data.

2 1 3 4 5

1 DAQmx Start Task VI—Transitions the task to the running state to begin the
measurement or generation.
2 Task constant—Right-click the task in input of the DAQmx Start Task VI and
select Create Constant. Set the constant to Thermocouple.
3 DAQmx Read VI—In the Polymorphic VI selector, set the values shown in the
table below.
4 DAQmx Clear Task VI—Clears the task. Before clearing, this VI aborts the task,
if necessary, and releases any resources the task reserved.
5 Simple Error Handler VI—Indicates whether an error occurred. If an error occurred,
this VI returns a description of the error and optionally displays a dialog box.
6 Current Temperature (deg C) indicator—Right-click the data output of the DAQmx
Read VI and select Create Indicator. Rename the indicator Current Temperature
(deg C).

Note Task constant populates with any DAQmx tasks that you have
created in this project.

DAQmx Read Configuration Settings

Channel Type Analog Input

Channel Count Single Channel

Sample Count Single Sample

Data Format DBL (Floating Point)

3. Switch to Front Panel.

4. Run the VI. Your VI returns a single temperature acquired from the DAQ device.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Analyze and Visualize Data

1. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to analyze the acquired
data.

2 1
3

5
7

6
4

1 Greater? function—Add a Greater? function to the block diagram.

2 Input terminal—Right-click the y input of the Greater? function, select Create
Control and rename the terminal Maximum Threshold (deg C).
3 Boolean indicator—Right-click the output of the Greater? function and select
Create Indicator. Rename the indicator Threshold Exceeded?
4 Select function—Add a Select function to the block diagram.
5 String constant—Add a string constant to the block diagram and wire it to the t
input of the Select function. Set the value of the constant to System in danger
of overheating. Turn on the fan!
6 String constant—Right-click the f input of the Select function and select Create
Constant. Set the value of the constant to System is normal.
7 String indicator—Right-click the output of the Select function, select Create
Indicator, rename it Message.

2. Create the front panel, as shown in the following figure, to visualize your results.

 Right-click the Maximum Threshold (deg C) control and select Replace»

Numeric»Horizontal Pointer Slide (NXG Style). Resize the control as desired.

 Double-click the minimum and maximum values on the Horizontal Pointer Slide
control and set them according to the table below.
Minimum 15

Maximum 20

© National Instruments | 5-11

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

 Right-click the Horizontal Pointer Slide control and select Data Entry from the
shortcut menu. Set the properties on the Data Entry tab as shown in the
following figure.

 Set the current value of the Horizontal Pointer Slide control to 30. After that,
right-click the control and select Data Operations»Make Current Value Default
from the shortcut menu.

 Right-click the Threshold Exceeded? indicator and select Replace»Boolean»

LED (NXG Style). Resize the indicator as desired.

 Resize the Message indicator to be larger.

3. Run the VI. Adjust the Maximum Threshold control to be above and below the
Current Temperature (deg C), and compare the indicator results.

Your Turn
1. Add a new VI named Celsius and Fahrenheit.vi to the project.

2. Modify the VI to acquire a temperature, display the temperature in degrees Celsius,

convert the temperature to display the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. The VI
should have the following indicators.

 Current Temperature (deg C)

 Current Temperature (deg F)

(Hint) Formula for converting deg Celsius to deg Fahrenheit:

degrees Fahrenheit = degrees Celsius  9

--- + 32
5

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 LabVIEW Core 1

3. Run the VI. Use a calculator to verify that the conversion between Celsius and
Fahrenheit is correct.

End of Exercise 5-2

© National Instruments | 5-13

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

Exercise 5-3: DAQmx Task vs Full DAQmx API

Goal
Use and compare the DAQmx task with full DAQmx API approaches of acquiring data
from a DAQmx device.

Instructions
Approach 1: Using the DAQmx Task
This approach helps you get started quickly if you have already created a DAQmx task.

1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\DAQmx Task vs Full DAQmx API\DAQmx Task

vs Full DAQmx API.lvproj.

2. Examine the task presented in the project.

 Open the My Analog Input Voltage task from the Project Explorer window.

 Examine the settings in the DAQ Assistant dialog box. Notice Rate (Hz) is set
to 2.56 kHz.

Note Adjust Rate (Hz) to a rate that is supported by your DAQ device, if
necessary.

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  Click the Details button, and note that Physical Channel is set to PCI-6221/ai1.
© National Instruments

 Close the DAQ Assistant dialog box.

3. Open DAQmx Task Method VI from the Project Explorer window.

LabVIEW Core 1
4. Tile the front panel and block diagram to see both at the same time by pressing <Ctrl-T>.

5. Examine the block diagram.

| 5-15
Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

 Notice the task constant, which references the My Analog Input Voltage task
in the project. This task defines the channel and timing settings.

 Pay attention to the configuration of the DAQmx Read VI shown under the
Polymorphic VI selector.

6. Examine the behavior of this VI.

 On the front panel, set the value of the Number of Samples control to 5120.

Note Because the sample rate defined in the My Analog Input Voltage task
is 2.56 kHz (samples per second) and Number of Samples is set to 5,120,
the DAQmx Read VI will read 5,120 samples representing 2 seconds of
data.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that this VI makes a single acquisition and stops. The data graph
indicator now shows 5,120 samples. Notice that the Time (s) x-axis shows
that graph contains 2 seconds of data.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Approach 2: Using the Full DAQmx API

This approach allows all the configuration settings to be contained in the VI and
provides more flexibility. This is the recommended approach for the remainder of this
course.

1. Create a copy of the DAQmx Task Method VI.

 In the Project Explorer window, right-click the DAQmx Task Method VI and
select Save As.

 In the appeared dialog box, select Open additional copy, check the Add copy
to DAQmx Task vs Full DAQmx API.lvproj box, and press Continue.

 Name the VI as Full DAQmx API Method.vi, then click OK.

 Close the DAQmx Task Method VI.

2. Delete the task in constant from the block diagram.

3. Programmatically create and configure the DAQmx task, as shown in the figure
below by following the instructions in the next steps.

4. Add a DAQmx Create Channel VI to the block diagram.

 When you add the DAQmx Create Channel VI, select the configuration settings
as shown in the following figure.

 On the block diagram, hover your cursor over the physical channels input.
Right-click and select Create Control.

 Right-click both the minimum and maximum value inputs, and select Create
Control.

5. Add a DAQmx Timing VI to set the sample rate and sample mode.

 When you add the DAQmx Timing VI, select the configuration settings as
shown in the following figure.

© National Instruments | 5-17

  Right-click the rate input and select Create Control. Rename it Desired Sample Rate (Hz).
5-18

Lesson 5
 Right-click the sample mode input and select Create Constant. Set the value of the constant to Finite Samples because this VI will
|

only read a finite number of samples.

ni.com

Creating Your First Application

 Wire the Number of Samples control to the samples per channel input of the DAQmx Timing VI.

In finite acquisition mode, the samples per channel input tells the DAQmx task how many finite samples the DAQmx task should
acquire.

6. Add a DAQmx Timing Property Node to get the actual sample rate.

1 2 3

1 Timing—Select and place the DAQmx Timing Property Node from the Quick Drop menu.
2 Sample Clock Rate—In the pull-down menu, select Sample Clock»Rate.
3 Actual Sample Rate (Hz)—Right-click the DAQmx Timing Property Node and select Change All To Read. Then right-click the
SampleClock:Rate output and select Create Indicator. Rename the indicator as Actual Sample Rate (Hz).

Note If you can’t locate the appropriate Property Node setting follow the instructions below.

• Right-click on the property node and click Select Filter....

 LabVIEW Core 1

• The Configure Filter Settings dialog box should appear similar to the
following picture. Selecting Show All Attributes will cause LabVIEW to
display all properties regardless of which devices are configured on that
computer.

© National Instruments | 5-19

Lesson 5 Creating Your First Application

7. Complete the wiring as shown in the figure under step 3.

8. Switch to the front panel and arrange the controls as shown in the following figure.

9. Set the Number of Samples control to 5,120.

10. Set the values of the added controls to match the values in the DAQ Assistant
window.

11. You can find the values for DAQ Assistant in the locations shown in the following .

Control Name DAQ Assistant Value Location

physical channels Configuration»Details»Physical Channel

Desired Sample Rate (Hz) Configuration»Timing Settings»Rate (Hz)

Note Enter this value into the control in units of Hz,
not kHz.

maximum value Configuration»Signal Input Range»Max

minimum value Configuration»Signal Input Range»Min

12. Run the VI.

13. Because you are using the DAQmx Create Channel and DAQmx Timing VIs, you
can modify the physical channel and sample rate directly from your VI. This VI is
no longer directly connected to the My Analog Input Voltage task. All the
configuration for this DAQmx task is contained in this VI.

 Change the Desired Sample Rate (Hz) control value from 2,560 to 5,120 to
update the sample rate.

 Run the VI, and notice that the Time (s) x-axis now shows that only 1 second
of data was acquired.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 Change the Desired Sample Rate (Hz) control value to 3,333. Run the VI, and
notice that the Actual Sample Rate indicator value is different from Desired
Sample Rate.

Note It is important for you to check the actual sample rate that the DAQ
device used to acquire your data. Do not assume that the actual sample rate
is the same as the desired sample rate you entered. The supported sample
rates vary depending on your DAQ device or module.

 Change the physical channels control to a different channel, such as

PCI-6221/ai3.

 Run the VI, and notice that you are now acquiring data from a different
channel.

14. Select File»Save.

15. Close the project when finished.

On the Job
If your application will use NI-DAQmx, which approach will you use? Circle the correct
answer.

a. DAQmx Task Approach

OR

b. Full DAQmx API Approach

End of Exercise 5-3

© National Instruments | 5-21

6 Debugging and
Troubleshooting

In this lesson, you learn about tools that help you debug
and troubleshoot a VI.

Exercises
Exercise 6-1 Debugging
Lesson 6 Debugging and Troubleshooting

Exercise 6-1: Debugging

Goal
Use debugging tools and troubleshooting techniques to fix a broken VI that returns
unexpected data.

Instructions
Edit-Time Errors
Locate and correct errors that prevent the VI from running.

1. Open and examine the Analyze Temperature VI.

 Open the Debug.lvproj in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Debug directory.

 Open the Analyze Temperature (broken Run button) VI from the Project
Explorer window.

 Notice the Run button on the toolbar appears broken, indicating that the VI is
broken and cannot run.

2. Examine the block diagram of the Analyze Temperature VI, as shown in the
following figure.

This VI acquires a single temperature measurement, displays the temperature in

degrees Celsius, converts the temperature to degrees Fahrenheit, and determines
if the acquired temperature is within the specified range.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

3. Find and fix each error.

 Click the broken Run button to display the Error list dialog box. Examine the
errors and warnings listed.

1 Items with errors—Lists all LabVIEW items affected by errors and warnings in the
current VI. If two or more items have the same name, this list shows the specific
application instance for each ambiguous item.
2 Errors and warnings—Lists all errors and warnings associated with the VI, if a VI
is selected.
3 Details—Indicates specific details of the selected error or warning.

 Double-click each error/warning to highlight the area on the block diagram that
contains the error.

 Use the information in the Error list dialog box to fix each error.

 Notice that after you fix all the errors, the Run button no longer appears
broken. You can now run the VI.

4. Save the VI.

© National Instruments | 6-3

Lesson 6 Debugging and Troubleshooting

Run-Time Errors
Identify and correct errors that cause the VI to behave unexpectedly and return
incorrect responses.

When the results of your application are not what you expect, you can use a set of
tools to determine where errors occur within your code.

Although errors are often detected automatically, sometimes your code can run
successfully but not as intended. When this happens, you need to identify the source
of the unintended behaviors.

The following debugging tools can help you in this process:

• Execution highlighting
• Probes
• Breakpoints
• Single-stepping

1. Test the VI

 From the Project Explorer window, open Analyze Temperature (incorrect

behavior) VI.

 On the block diagram, set Thermocouple Channel to PCI-6221/ai1.

 Switch to the front panel and run the VI.

The DAQmx Read VI returns the temperature in degrees Celsius to the

corresponding indicator.

 Use a calculator to determine what the correct temperature in degrees

Fahrenheit should be:
Temperature (deg F) = Temperature (deg C) x 9/5 + 32
= ___________ x 9/5 + 32
= ___________

Does the Temperature (deg F) indicator value match your calculation? _______

 Notice that even though the VI runs, the VI returns an incorrect result in the
Temperature (deg F) indicator.

Complete the following steps to identify the source of this error using the
debugging tools and correct the error.

2. Animate the flow of data through the block diagram.

 Switch to the block diagram and click the Highlight Execution button to enable
execution highlighting and then run the VI.

 Notice that you can see how data flows through the wires. At the output of
each node, you can see the data value displays momentarily.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

3. Probe the wire values.

 Add probes to the wires, as shown in the following figure, by right-clicking

each wire and selecting Probe.

 The Probe Watch Window opens after you set a probe, which shows an item
for each probe you placed.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the Probe Watch Window updates with the latest data values on
the corresponding wires. The row marked [1] data shows the data value for
the wire labeled with Probe 1.

 Double-click any probe item in the Probe Watch Window to highlight the
corresponding probe on the block diagram.

 You can view the latest data values of a probe by looking at the values in the
Probe Watch Window.

 By examining these probes, you determine that Probe 1 shows the correct
temperature in degrees Celsius and Probe 4 shows an incorrect value for
temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. This means the mistake in this VI must
occur in the nodes between Probe 1 and 4.

Question 1 - What is the mistake?

 Remove all the probes by right-clicking each probe in the Probe Watch Window
and selecting Remove.

© National Instruments | 6-5

Lesson 6 Debugging and Troubleshooting

4. Debug the VI using the single-stepping tool.

With execution highlighting, execution slows down, and the code executes until
completion. With single-stepping, you can execute a single node at a time, causing
the program to pause after the node completes.

 Turn on Highlight Execution, and on the front panel toolbar, click the Step Over
button to start single-stepping through the VI. Execution highlighting shows
the flow of data on the block diagram from one node to another. When you
single-step through code, nodes are highlighted to indicate they are ready to
execute.

 Click the Step Over button after each node to step through the entire block
diagram. Each time you click the Step Over button, the current node executes
and pauses at the next node.

 When you step over the last node in the block diagram, it flashes to indicate
that all the nodes in the block diagram have finished executing. Click the Finish
VI “Analyze Temperature (incorrect behavior).vi” button to finish running the
VI.

5. Set a breakpoint to pause the VI when execution reaches a specified point in the
program.

When looking for a problem in your code, you may have an idea of the general area
where the problem exists. To help focus on this area, you can use a breakpoint to
pause the VI at a specified point in the program.

 Imagine that you have determined that the problem in this VI occurs right after
the Add function executes.

 Right-click the Add function and select Breakpoint»Set Breakpoint.

 Notice that the Add function is highlighted red now and that the highlighted
function corresponds to a breakpoint item in the Breakpoint Manager
(Right-click on the highlighted function, then select Breakpoint»Breakpoint
Manager).

 Turn off the Highlight Execution and run the VI.

Notice that the VI pauses when it reaches the breakpoint.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 Now that the VI has reached the area you want to examine, you can start using
your debugging tools. For example, you can turn on Highlight Execution and
click the Step Over button to start single-stepping through the VI.

 When finished, remove the breakpoint by right-clicking the breakpoint on the

block diagram and selecting Breakpoint»Clear Breakpoint.

Note If you select Disable Breakpoint instead, the breakpoint will remain on
the block diagram but it will no longer pause execution. Then, you can
right-click and enable the breakpoint again later when you want the
breakpoint to start pausing execution again.

6. Save the VI.

Answers
Question 1 - Answer: The values obtained from those probes show that the
algorithm used to convert from ºC to ºF is incorrect.

End of Exercise 6-1

© National Instruments | 6-7

7 Executing Code
Repeatedly
Using Loops

In this lesson, you learn how to execute code repeatedly

using loops.

Exercises
Exercise 7-1 Introduction to While Loops
Exercise 7-2 Using Timing Functions and VIs in a Loop
Exercise 7-3 Continuously Acquiring Data using DAQmx API Timing
Exercise 7-4 Using Shift Registers
Exercise 7-5 (Self-Study) Using Stacked Shift Registers
Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

Exercise 7-1: Introduction to While Loops

Goal
Use While Loop to execute code repeatedly and explain how its components
(iteration terminal and condition terminal) work.

Instructions
Explore the behavior of a VI without a While Loop
1. Explore the While Loop Basics VI.

 Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\While Loop Introduction\While Loop

Introduction.lvproj.

 From the Project Explorer window, open the While Loop Basics VI.

 Press <Ctrl-T> to display both the front panel and the block diagram at the
same time.

2. Explore the front panel and block diagram.

 Run the VI several times with different values in the Total Time in Seconds
control. (e.g. 10, 70, 3750).
Notice that each time you click the Run button, the VI calculates the hours,
minutes, and seconds and then stops. What if you wanted to click the Run
button once and have the VI continuously perform this calculation until the
user clicks a Stop button?

7-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Execute Code Repeatedly

1. Place a While Loop around the code you want to execute repeatedly.

 Select While Loop from the Programming»Structures menu in the Functions

palette.

 Click and drag your mouse around the code performing the calculation and
refer to the following figure to complete the code.

© National Instruments | 7-3

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

1 2 3

1 Iteration terminal—Provides the current loop iteration count. The first iteration of
a loop is 0.
2 Current iteration indicator—Right-click the iteration terminal and select Create
Indicator. Rename the indicator Current Iteration.
3 Conditional terminal—Right-click the terminal and select Create Control to create
a Stop button. When a True value is passed to the conditional terminal, the While
Loop will exit.

2. Update the front panel.

 Switch to the front panel.

 Organize the front panel as shown in the following figure.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

3. Increase the significant digits on the Current Iteration indicator so the iteration
number displays correctly.

 Right-click the Current Iteration indicator and select Display Format.

 On the Display Format tab, select Decimal under the Type section and press
OK.

4. Explore the functionality of the edited VI.

 Run the VI.

 Change the value of the Total Time in Seconds control. Notice that the VI
continuously runs the code in the While Loop, so the Hours, Minutes, and
Seconds indicators are continuously updated.

 Notice that the Current Iteration indicator is incrementing.

 Click the Stop button to stop the VI.

5. Explore the functionality of the VI further using execution highlighting.

 Press Ctrl-T to display the front panel and the block diagram at the same time.

 Turn on execution highlighting by clicking the Highlight Execution button.

 Run the VI.

© National Instruments | 7-5

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

 On the block diagram, notice that the Current Iteration indicator returns a 0 on
the first iteration and increases by 1 for each subsequent iteration.

 Click the Stop button on the front panel. On the block diagram, notice that the
Stop control passes a True value to the conditional terminal, which causes the
While Loop to exit.

6. Click the Highlight Execution button again to disable execution highlighting. Save
the VI.

Explore the Functionality of While Loop Output Tunnels

1. Count the total number of iterations.

3 2

1 Numeric indicator—Add a numeric indicator to the front panel.

2 Increment function—This adds 1 to the value output of the iteration terminal to
display the correct number of iterations, because the first iteration of the While
Loop is 0. Rename the indicator Total Iterations.
3 Iteration output—Wire the output of the Iteration terminal through a tunnel on the
While Loop to the Increment function.

2. Update the front panel.

 Arrange the front panel as shown in the following figure.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 Select the Total Iterations indicator and configure the display format to
Decimal as you did with Current Iteration indicator.

3. Explore functionality of the While Loop output tunnel.

 Run the VI.

Notice that the Total Iterations indicator is not updating.

 Click the Stop button. Notice that the Total Iterations indicator now updates.

 The While Loop does not execute until all of its inputs, which are input tunnels,
are available. A While Loop does not return anything through an output tunnel
until it finishes executing, when it finishes its last iteration due to an input to
the conditional terminal.

 Click the Highlight Execution button and run the VI again.

Observe the flow of data on the block diagram at the output tunnel when you
click the Run button. Observe the flow of data when you click the Stop button.

4. Save the VI.

Explore the Functionality of While Loop Input Tunnels

1. Create an input tunnel.

 Drag the Total Time in Seconds control out of the While Loop, so that your
block diagram looks like the following figure.

© National Instruments | 7-7

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

2. Explore the functionality of the While Loop input tunnel.

 Press <Ctrl-T> to display the front panel and the block diagram at the same
time.

 On the front panel, set the Total Time in Seconds control to 65.

 Turn on execution highlighting, so you can watch the dataflow for this block
diagram.

 Run the VI.

Notice that because of dataflow rules, the While Loop does not execute until
the input tunnel has received data.
Notice that for each iteration of the While Loop, the input tunnel returns a value
of 65.

 If you change the value of the Total Time in Seconds control to 80 while the
While Loop is still running, what value do you think the input tunnel will return?
________

 On the front panel, change the value of the Total Time in Seconds control to
80.
Notice that the input tunnel still returns a value of 65.
Because of the rules of dataflow, the While Loop must wait until all input
tunnels receive data before the While Loop can begin executing. When the
While Loop begins executing, the input tunnels will only return the original data
they received. The While Loop input tunnels only read data once (input tunnels
do not continuously read data).

3. Move the Total Time in Seconds control back into the While Loop, as shown in the
following figure, so that the While Loop reads the current value of the control
during every iteration.

7-8 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Save the VI and project.

On the Job
In your applications, do you have code that you need to place in a While Loop?

If so, describe the code or task that you need to execute repeatedly in a While Loop.

End of Exercise 7-1

© National Instruments | 7-9

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

Exercise 7-2: Using Timing Functions and VIs in a

Loop
Goal
Use timing functions and VIs in a loop to set the loop period, decrease CPU usage, and
view the current date/time and elapsed time.

Instructions
Set Loop Period
In this part of exercise, you set a specific loop period for your While Loop.

1. Explore the Set Loop Period VI.

 Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Using Timing Functions in

a Loop\Using Timing Functions in a Loop.lvproj.

 From the Project Explorer window, open the Set Loop Period VI.

2. Run the VI.

Notice that the loop runs as fast as possible.

3. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to set the loop to
execute every 1,000 ms.

1 Wait Until Next ms Multiple function—Right-click the millisecond multiple input

and select Create Constant. Set the constant to 1000.

Note You have configured this function to wait until the operating system
(OS) timer reaches a multiple of 1,000 before this function completes
execution. As a result, this loop executes one iteration every 1,000
milliseconds.

Note that in the first iteration, the Wait Until Next ms Multiple function will
probably wait less than 1,000 milliseconds. For example, if the OS timer is
at 5800 when the first iteration starts, then the Wait Until Next ms Multiple
function will only wait 200ms on the first iteration because the next multiple

7-10 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

of 1,000 is 6,000. However, the Wait Until Next ms Multiple function should
wait 1,000 ms on the subsequent iterations because the next multiple will
be 7,000, 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, and so on.

4. Observe the behavior of the VI.

 Press <Ctrl-T> to display the block diagram and front panel at the same time.

 Run the VI.

Notice that the While Loop executes one iteration every 1,000 milliseconds
after the first iteration completes.

 Stop the VI.

 On the block diagram, change the millisecond multiple input to 500.

 Run the VI again and notice that the While Loop now executes one iteration
every 500 ms.

 Stop the VI.

5. Experiment running the VI with different values in the Wait Until Next ms Multiple
constant.

 Try to modify the VI, so that the While Loop executes one iteration every
2 seconds.

6. Save and close the VI when you are finished.

Allow the CPU to Complete Other Tasks

In this section, you want to ensure that your loop allows the CPU to complete other
tasks. In other words, you want to make sure that your VI does not needlessly have a
high CPU usage.

1. Explore the CPU Usage of a Loop VI.

 From the Project Explorer window, open CPU Usage of Loop VI.

 Examine the block diagram.

Notice that there is no Wait function in the loop, which means the loop will run
as fast as possible.

2. Observe the behavior of the VI.

 Run the VI.

 Change the values of the Slope (m), x, and Y-Intercept (b) controls. Notice that
the y indicator continuously updates because the While Loop continuously
performs the calculation.

3. Examine the CPU usage.

 Launch the Windows Task Manager.

 In Process tab, observe the CPU usage of LabVIEW.exe. Because the While
Loop is running as fast as possible, LabVIEW will have a high CPU usage.

© National Instruments | 7-11

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

CPU Usage of LabVIEW.exe: ________________

Note (Windows 10) Right-click the Windows taskbar and select Task
Manager.

4. Stop the VI when finished.

5. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to add a Wait (ms)
function to lower the CPU usage of this VI.

Note Adding even a small amount of time to wait will decrease the CPU
usage significantly.

6. Run the VI.

7. In the Windows Task Manager, notice that the CPU usage of LabVIEW.exe is now
much lower.

8. Stop the VI.

9. Save and close the VI when finished.

View Current Date/Time and Elapsed Time

In this section, you explore the functions that return the current date/time and elapsed
time.

1. From the Project Explorer window, open Using Timestamp and Elapsed Time
Functions VI and examine the block diagram.

 Notice that the While Loop continuously performs a slope calculation.

 The Get Date/Time in Seconds function returns the current date and time. This
function does not wait.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 The Elapsed Time Express VI returns how much time has elapsed since the first
time the function executed in the loop. This VI does not wait.
When the elapsed time is greater than or equal to the target time, then the
Elapsed Time Express VI will return True from the Target Time Has Elapsed
terminal. Since this output is wired to the conditional terminal of the While
Loop, the While Loop will exit after the target time has elapsed.

 Use the Context Help window (press <Ctrl-H>) to find more information on
how the Get Current Time function and Elapsed Time VI work.

Question 1 - Because none of the functions or VIs in this While Loop wait, how
many iterations per second does this While Loop execute?

2. Examine the behavior of the Using Timestamp and Elapsed Time Functions VI.

 On the front panel, set the Target Time (s) control to 15.

 Run the VI and notice that the Elapsed Time (s) indicator continuously displays
how much time has elapsed since the While Loop started.

 Notice that the Current Time indicator continuously displays the current date
and time.

 Notice that the While Loop is executing its iterations as fast as possible.

 Notice that the While Loop exits after 15 seconds has elapsed.

 In the Windows Task Manager, observe the high CPU usage of the
LabVIEW.exe process while this VI is running and record the value.

_ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _

3. Reduce the CPU usage of this VI.

This VI does not have to run the While Loop iterations as fast as possible.

 How can you modify this VI to reduce the CPU usage?

_ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _

_ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _

 Use your ideas to modify the VI to reduce the CPU usage.

Did your modification work? What is the CPU usage of the LabVIEW.exe
process now?

_ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ __ _
See the next page for the solution.

© National Instruments | 7-13

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

Answer
To reduce the CPU usage of the Using Timestamp and Elapsed Time Functions VI, you
can add a Wait (ms) function inside the While Loop, as shown in the following figure.
Even adding a small amount of time to wait will decrease the CPU usage significantly.

Answers
Question 1 - Answer: The While Loop executes its iterations as fast as possible
because the While Loop does not contain a function or a VI that waits.

End of Exercise 7-2

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 7-3: Continuously Acquiring Data using

DAQmx API Timing
Goal
Create a VI that continuously acquires data from a DAQmx device.

Predict the time to wait before reading data from the DAQmx device and the While
Loop frequency based on the sample rate and number of samples you specify.

Instructions
Examine the Finite Acquisition VI
1. Explore the Finite Acquisition VI.

 Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\While Loop with Hardware API\

While Loop with Hardware Timing.lvproj.

 Open the Finite Acquisition VI from the Project Explorer window.

 Notice the controls and waveform graph indicator on the front panel.

 Switch to the block diagram and notice that the code performs a finite
acquisition.

 Examine the configuration of the following three VIs.

1 2 3

1 DAQmx Create Channel VI—Note the Polymorphic VI selector configuration.

2 DAQmx Timing VI—This VI sets the sample rate of the acquisition. The sample
mode must be set to Finite Samples for a finite acquisition.
3 DAQmx Read VI—This VI reads data from the DAQ device. Notice that the VI is
configured to read multiple samples from single channel. As a result, the DAQmx
Read VI has a number of samples per channel input, which tells this VI to wait
until n samples of acquisition data is available to read from the DAQ device.

2. Examine the functionality of the Finite Acquisition VI.

 On the front panel, specify the following values to the controls:

– Physical Channel: PCI-6221/ai1

– Desired Sample Rate (Hz): 1,000

– Number of Samples: 1,000

© National Instruments | 7-15

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

 Run the VI and notice that this VI performs a single acquisition and is finished.
The DAQmx Read VI waits until 1,000 samples of data is available to read from
the DAQ device. Then the DAQmx Read VI returns 1,000 samples of data to
the waveform graph indicator.

 Set the Number of Samples control to 5,000, and run the VI again.
Notice that the DAQmx Read VI must now wait until 5,000 samples of data is
available to read from the DAQ device.

Note When the sample rate is 1,000 Hz (1,000 samples per second),
5,000 samples of data represents 5 seconds of data.

3. Close the VI when you are finished.

Creating a VI to Acquire Data Continuously

1. Create a copy of the Finite Acquisition VI.

 In the Project Explorer window, right-click the Finite Acquisition VI and select
File»Save As.

 In the appeared dialog box, select the Open additional copy option and place a
checkmark in the Add copy to While Loop with Hardware Timing.lvproj
checkbox, then press Continue.

 Name the VI as Continuous Acquisition, click OK.

7-16 | ni.com
 2. Modify this VI, as shown in the following figure, to acquire data continuously until the user clicks the Stop button.

1 2

3 4

1 sample mode constant—Set this constant to Continuous Samples so you can continuously read acquisition data in the While Loop.
2 While Loop—Add the While Loop around the DAQmx Read VI. Because the Number of Samples control is outside the While Loop, the
DAQmx Read VI will only see the first value of the Number of Samples control when the VI begins running. This is the desired behavior
for this VI because we intend for the user to set all control values before running the VI and not modify values after the VI begins running.
3 Stop control—Right-click the condition?? terminal and select Create Control.
4 OR function—Add an OR function between the Stop control and conditional terminal and wire the error wire to input x. This stops the
While Loop when the user clicks the Stop button or when an error occurs.
© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
| 7-17
Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

3. Examine how the Desired Sample Rate (Hz) and Number of Samples values affect
how long the DAQmx Read VI waits and how often the waveform graph indicator
updates.

 On the front panel, specify the following values to the controls:

– Physical Channel: PCI-6221/ai1

– Desired Sample Rate (Hz): 1,000

– Number of Samples: 1,000

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the VI now continuously acquires and displays data until you click
the Stop button.

 Notice that the waveform data graph updates about once per second.
This is because the DAQmx Read VI is configured to read by samples. At a
sample rate of 1,000 Hz, the DAQ device acquires 1000 samples per second.
Therefore, for each iteration of the While Loop, the DAQmx Read VI must wait
approximately 1 second for 1,000 samples to be available to read and then
returns that data.

 Launch the Windows Task Manager and go to the Performance tab. Notice that
the CPU is not at 100% because the DAQmx Read VI waits, which allows the
CPU to execute other tasks.

Note (Windows 10) Right-click the Windows taskbar and select Task
Manager to launch the Task Manager.

 Click the Stop button to stop the VI.

4. Try to predict what will happen in the following scenarios.

 Sample Rate: 1,000

Number of Samples: 500
How often will the wavefrom graph on the front panel update? ___________

 Sample Rate: 1,000

Number of Samples: 2,000
How often will the waveform graph on the front panel update? ___________

5. Test the combinations of different sample rate and number of samples. Record the
results, and compare the results with your predictions in the previous step. You
must stop the VI between each test because the Number of Samples control is
outside the While Loop.

 Sample rate: 1,000

Number of Samples: 500
How often did the waveform graph on the front panel update? ___________

 Sample rate: 1,000

Number of Samples: 2,,000
How often did the waveform graph on the front panel update? ___________

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Note At a sample rate of 1,000 Hz, the DAQ device acquires

1,000 samples per second. Therefore, the DAQmx Read VI must wait
approximately 0.5 seconds for 500 samples and 2 seconds for 2,000
samples.

6. Save the VI and close the project.

End of Exercise 7-3

© National Instruments | 7-19

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

Exercise 7-4: Using Shift Registers

Goal
Use a shift register to pass values from previous iterations through a While Loop to the
next iteration. This way, you can keep track of the maximum acquired value.

Instructions
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Using Shift Registers\
Using Shift Register.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open Track the Maximum Temperature VI.

3. Explore and run the VI.

 On the block diagram, modify the minimum value, maximum value, and
thermocouple type constant values to match your hardware.

 On the front panel, set the Thermocouple Channel control accordingly.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that this VI performs a continuous acquisition at a rate of 10 Hz. The

DAQmx Read VI reads one temperature value per loop iteration.

 Click the Stop button on the front panel when finished.

4. Add a shift register to the While Loop. This shift register will store the value of the
maximum acquired value.

 Right-click the border of the While Loop and select Add Shift Register.

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 5. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure.

1 2 3

1 Negative Infinity constant—Wire this constant to initialize the shift register. This ensures that the DAQmx Read VI output in the first
iteration will become the new maximum value stored in the shift register (because any number is greater than negative infinity).
2 Max & Min function—Use this function to compare the maximum acquired value with the current value and return the higher value of
the two.
3 Max Temperature Acquired indicator—Right-click the max(x,y) output of the Max & Min function and select Create Indicator. Rename
the indicator as Max Temperature Acquired (deg C).

6. Test the VI, and observe the shift register logic.

 Turn on execution highlighting by clicking the Highlight Execution button.

© National Instruments

 Run the VI. Touch the thermocouple to make the temperature increase and decrease, and observe how the logic of the shift register,
Max & Min function, and DAQmx Read VI work together to keep track of the maximum temperature acquired.
The Max Temperature Acquired indicator should show the maximum temperature acquired over all While Loop iterations.

 Click the Highlight Execution button again to disable execution highlighting. The VI runs at regular speed.

LabVIEW Core 1
| 7-21
Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

Your Turn
1. From the Project Explorer window, open the Threshold Exceeded VI.

2. Run and explore the VI. The Threshold Currently Exceeded? indicator turns on if
the DAQmx Read VI output exceeds the Max Threshold control value.

3. Add a Boolean indicator named Threshold Ever Exceeded? to the front panel.

4. Modify the VI so that the Threshold Ever Exceeded? indicator turns on and stays
on if the DAQmx Read VI output ever exceeds the Max Threshold control value.
(Hint: Use a shift register that stores the data if the max threshold has ever been
exceeded).

Answer:
You can compare your answer with the solution in <Solutions>\LabVIEW Core 1\
Exercise 7-4 directory.

On the Job
In your own application(s), do you have a need to use a shift register to keep track of
a value in the previous iteration?

End of Exercise 7-4

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 7-5: (Self-Study) Using Stacked Shift

Registers
Goal
Use a stacked shift register to store and access values from multiple previous
iterations.

Instructions
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Stacked Shift Registers\
Using Stacked Shift Registers.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open Running Average Using Stacked Shift
Register VI.

3. Explore the stacked shift register on the block diagram.

 Notice the stacked shift register.

 The first (top) left shift register returns data from the previous iteration.

 The second left shift register returns data from the second-most recent
iteration. If there was a third left shift register, it would return data from the
third most recent iteration.

4. Examine the functionality of the block diagram.

 The purpose of the stacked shift register in this VI is to help calculate the
average of the three most-recent temperature measurements. The DAQmx
Read VI in the While Loop returns the current measurement, the first (top) left
shift register returns the previous measurement, and the second left shift
register returns the measurement before the previous measurement.

 The Average Temperature Chart indicator displays the running average of the
three most recent temperature measurements.

 Notice that this VI reads one temperature measurement before the While Loop
and uses this initial temperature measurement to initialize each stacked shift
register.

5. Test the VI.

 Run the VI.

 Compare the Average Temperature Chart and the Temperature Chart

indicators. The Average Temperature Chart indicator should be smoother due
to the averaging.

 Turn on execution highlighting by clicking the Highlight Execution button to

examine how the stacked shift register stores and returns data.

 Click the Stop button to stop the VI when finished.

© National Instruments | 7-23

Lesson 7 Executing Code Repeatedly Using Loops

6. Resize the stacked shift register to access data from even earlier loop iterations.

 Hover your mouse cursor over the bottom border of the last left shift register.

 When the mouse cursor changes to the resize cursor, drag the shift register
downwards to add more elements shift register to access data from even
earlier loop iterations.

Alternatively, you can right-click the stacked shift register and select
Add Element.

Your Turn
Modify the VI so that the Average Temperature Chart indicator displays the average
of the five most recent temperature measurements.

To view the answer, open the project in <Solutions>\LabVIEW Core 1\

Exercise 7-5 (Your Turn).

End of Exercise 7-5

7-24 | ni.com
8 Working with
Groups of Data

In this lesson, you learn how to work with array and

waveform data types and how to work with single-channel
and multi-channel acquisition data.

Exercises
Exercise 8-1 Creating and Viewing an Array
Exercise 8-2 Examining the Waveform Data Type
Exercise 8-3 Using Analysis Functions and VIs to Analyze Data
Exercise 8-4 Visualizing N-Channel Data
Exercise 8-5 Extracting a Subset of an N-Channel Data Array
Exercise 8-6 Exploring Auto-Indexing Tunnels
Exercise 8-7 Processing Data For Each Channel in an N-Channel Data
Array
Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Exercise 8-1: Creating and Viewing an Array

Goal
Create and view a numeric array.

Instructions
1. Create a new project. Save the project as Create Array.lvproj in the
<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Create Array directory.

2. Create and open a new VI. Rename the VI as Create Array.vi.

3. Create an array of numeric controls.

 Add an Array shell to the front panel. Rename it as My Numeric Array.

 Add a numeric control inside the unconfigured array.

4. Resize the array to show 6 elements.

 Select the entire array control so that a blue line outlines the array, as shown
below.

 To resize the array horizontally, drag the dot on the far right until 6 elements
appear on the front panel.

Notice that the six elements appear grayed out. This is because these elements
are uninitialized and contain no actual data.

5. Enter data into the array control. Enter 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 into the array, as shown
below. Notice that in this example, the last element is still grayed out and
uninitialized.

Question 1 - Check your understanding of the array index.

 What is the value of the array element at index 2? _____

 What is the value of the array element at index 4? _____

 What is the value of the array element at index 0? _____

8-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Remember, arrays are zero-indexed, which means the very first element of the
array is at index 0.

6. Examine the array index display.

1 Index display—Controls which array element is shown at the leftmost element.

Use the increment and decrement buttons to change the value in the index
display.
If you set the index display to 2, then the leftmost element in the array will show
the element at index 2, and the element to its right will show the element at
index 3.

 Increase and decrease the index display to examine how it affects which
elements are shown in the array control.

7. View how the array data appears on a graph indicator.

 Place a waveform graph indicator on the front panel.

 Create the diagram, as shown in the following figure, to pass the array data to
the graph.

 Switch to the front panel and run the VI. Notice how the 1D array data is
visualized in the waveform graph indicator.

© National Instruments | 8-3

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

 Right-click the waveform graph indicator and select Properties to open the
Graph Properties dialog box. In the Plots tab you can configure the visual
representation of the plot. For now, configure plot as shown in the picture
below for the indicator to display sequentially connected points, which
represent the data values in the array control.

– On the y-axis of the waveform graph, double-click Amplitude and rename

it as Data Value.

– On the x-axis of the waveform graph, double-click Time and rename it as

Index.
Notice that the My Numeric Array control contains data values, but does
not contain any timing information. Therefore, the x-axis only represents
the array index number for each array data value. This is why you see
points at x-axis values of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4.

8-4 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Creating a Two-Dimensional (2D) Array

1. Change the number of dimensions from 1 to 2.

 Right-click index display of My Numeric Array and select Add Dimension.

2. View two dimensions (rows and columns) of data.

 Select the entire array control so that a blue line outlines the array.

 Drag the middle-bottom dot downwards until 4 rows are displayed on the front
panel.

3. Enter data into the 2D array, as shown in the following figure.

4. Examine the index display.

 Notice that there are now two numeric controls in the index display.

 The top numeric control refers to the row index. The bottom numeric control
refers to the column index.

 Increase and decrease the index display controls to examine how it affects
which elements are shown in the array control.

Question 2 - What is the row index and column index of the element containing
12?

Row Index

Column Index

5. View how the 2D array data appears on a graph indicator.

 Switch to the front panel and run the VI. Observe how the 2D array data is
visualized in the waveform graph indicator.

© National Instruments | 8-5

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

 Hover your cursor over the plot legend, and resize it to show three plots.

 Right-click the Waveform Graph indicator and select Properties. Configure

each plot as the first one in the Plots tab of the Properties dialog box. The
Waveform Graph indicator now displays points that represent the data values
in the array control. The lines connect the points sequentially.

Configure the Appearance of an Array Control

1. Right-click the body of My Numeric Array control.

2. In the Visible Items section of the drop down menu, you can configure whether to
show the label, caption, index display, horizontal scrollbar, and vertical scrollbar.

 Check and uncheck these items to observe their effect on the appearance of
the My Numeric Array control.

8-6 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Answers
Question 1 - Answers: 15, 25, 5

Question 2 - Answer: row index is 1; column index is 3

End of Exercise 8-1

© National Instruments | 8-7

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Exercise 8-2: Examining the Waveform Data Type

Goal
Recognize the components and visualization of the waveform data type.

Instructions
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Waveform Data Type\
Waveform Data Type.lvproj.

2. Open the Examine Waveform Data Type VI from the Project Explorer window.

3. Examine the VI.

 Examine the front panel, which consists of a waveform control and waveform
graph indicator.

 Examine the block diagram. Notice that the waveform control passes its data
directly to the graph indicator.

 Examine the waveform control, which has a waveform data type. Take notes
of the following information contained in the waveform data type.

Initial Time (t0)

Interval Time (dt)

Data Values (Y)

Index 0

Index 1

Index 2

Index 3

Index 4

Index 5

Index 6

Index 7

Index 8

Index 9

Index 10

 Based on the number of data values and the interval time, what do you think
is the total duration, in seconds, of this waveform?

8-8 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Run the VI.

 The waveform data type contains both data values and timing information. The
x-axis of the waveform graph indicator is in units of Time (seconds).

5. Modify the interval time (dt).

 Change the interval time from 0.1 seconds to 0.2 seconds.

What effect do you think this change will have on the waveform graph
indicator?

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the data values have remained the same. However, the amount of
time between each point on the graph is now 0.2 seconds, and the total
duration of the waveform on the graph has increased to 2 seconds.

6. Modify the initial time (t0).

Currently the x-axis of the waveform graph indicator shows relative time in units
of seconds, where the initial time is always displayed as 0.

 View the initial time (t0) in units of absolute date/time on the graph indicator.

– Right-click the Waveform Graph indicator and select Properties.

– In the Display Format tab select Default editing mode.

– Set Type to Absolute time.

Notice that the Time axis now displays units of absolute date and time.

 Modify the date and time in the initial time element of the waveform control.
What effect do you think this change will have on the waveform graph
indicator?

 Run the VI.

Notice that the initial time on the left side of the Time axis now shows the new
initial time.

© National Instruments | 8-9

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Note To go back to displaying the time in seconds, right-click the

waveform graph indicator, select Properties, and set the type back to
Automatic formatting in the Display Format tab. You can also try
experimenting with the other Display Format Type options.

7. Try making additional modifications to t0, dt, and Y array, and examine the effects
on the graph indicator.

1D Array of Waveform
1. Open the Examine 1D Array (Waveform) Data Type VI from the Project Explorer
window.

2. Examine the 1D Array (Waveform) control on the front panel.

Notice that this 1D array contains three waveform elements. All three waveform
elements contain the same initial time (t0) and interval time (dt).

1 The waveform at index 0 contains data values representing 1 sine wave.

2 The waveform at index 1 contains data values representing 1.5 sine waves with
an amplitude offset of 3.
3 The waveform at index 2 contains data values representing 1.5 sawtooth waves
with an amplitude offset of 6.

3. Examine the diagram. The 1D Array (Waveform) control passes its data directly to
the Waveform Chart indicator.

4. Observe the behavior of the VI.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that when you pass a 1D array of waveforms to a chart, the chart
displays each waveform in the array as a separate plot.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

5. Observe the effects of modifying the waveforms in the 1D Array (Waveform)

control.

 Change the dt of one of the waveforms from 0.1 to 0.2. Run the VI to observe
the effect.

 Change the t0 of one of the waveforms, e.g. from 6:05:10.000 to

6:05:11.000.

 Run the VI to observe the effect.

End of Exercise 8-2

© National Instruments | 8-11

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Exercise 8-3: Using Analysis Functions and VIs to

Analyze Data
Goal
Use analysis tools on your VI block diagram to analyze data.

Instructions
Analysis tools with the Waveform Data Type
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Analysis tools\
Analysis tools.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Using Analysis tools (Waveform data
type) VI.

3. Examine the front panel and the block diagram.

 Set Physical Channel, Desired Sample Rate (Hz), and Number of Samples
controls appropriately to acquire a signal from your DAQ device.

Note Make sure that you have your thermocouple connected to the
Thermocouple Input Connector, and that the BNC/Thermocouple Switch is
in the right position.

Simulated Hardware BNC-2120

Physical Channel PCI-6221/ai1 PCI-6221/ai1

(Thermocouple Input)

Desired Sample Rate (Hz) 1000 2560

Number of Samples 1000 256

 Notice that this VI performs a continuous acquisition.

 Notice that the Acquired Signal indicator is a waveform data type.

4. Observe the behavior of the VI.

 Run the VI.

 On the front panel, observe the behavior or the Acquired Signal waveform
chart.

 Stop the VI.

5. Analyze your data using analysis tools form the Signal Processing palette.

 Right-click in block diagram, find the Amplitude and Levels.vi under Signal
Processing»Waveform Measurements, and drag it to the block diagram.
Place it outside the loop.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

 Wire the data output of DAQmx Read VI to the signal(s) in input of the
Amplitude and Levels VI.

 Make sure that the Amplitude and Levels VI is outside the While Loop and that
the mode of the tunnel connecting the DAQmx Read VI to the Amplitude and
Levels VI is set to Indexing. This way the VI will analyze all acquired data.

 Notice as we set the tunnel mode to Indexing, the high state level and low
state level outputs of the Amplitude and Levels VI are 1D DBL arrays. This will
allow us to find the maximum and minimum values among all the acquisition.

 Place two copies of the Array Max & Min function to the block diagram. These
functions return the maximum and minimum values of the high state level and
low state level data.

 Wire the high state level output of the Amplitude and Levels VI to the input of
the first Array Max & Min function and the low state level output to the input
of the second Array Max&Min function.

© National Instruments | 8-13

  Right-click the max value output of the first Array Max & Min function and select Create Indicator. Do the same for the min value
8-14

Lesson 8
output of the second Array Max & Min function. Your block diagram should match the figure above.
|

6. View the results of the analysis tool.

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Working with Groups of Data

 Switch to the front panel and arrange the items as shown in the following figure.

 Run the VI and keep it running for a couple of seconds. Notice that the max value and min value indicators are not showing any data.

 Stop the VI.

 Now the max value and min value indicators display the maximum and the minimum values of the entire dataset recorded.

 Save the VI.

Your Turn
Experiment with using other analysis tools.

End of Exercise 8-3

 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 8-4: Visualizing N-Channel Data

Goal
• Become familiar with the different data types that represent N-channel data.
• View multiple channels of data in chart, graph, and array indicators.

Scenario
Select the column that best matches the needs of your applications.

Waveform Array

I need to store the t0 (initial time of the I only need to store the numeric values
measurement) and dt (time interval of the samples of my acquired data.
between samples) of my acquired data.

Check the option that best matches the needs of your applications.

N Channels, 1 Sample

N Channels, N Samples

Based on your answers to the previous questions, check which scenario(s) are most
relevant to your applications.

N Channels, 1 Sample | Data type: 1D DBL Array

N Channels, N Samples | Data type: 1D Waveform Array

N Channels, N Samples | Data type: 2D DBL Array

Instructions
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Visualize N-Channel Data\
Visualize N-Channel Data.lvproj.

2. Follow the instructions for the scenarios you selected in the Scenario section.

© National Instruments | 8-15

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

N Channel, 1 Sample (1D DBL Array)

In this section, you create a VI that acquires and visualizes one data sample from each
of the three different data sources at a rate of 1 Hz.

(BNC-2120) and (Simulated Hardware) Modify this VI to acquire 3 channels of voltage

(Sine Wave Function, TTL Square Wave Function and Temperature Reference) from
PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3.

1. From the Project Explorer window, open the N-Channel 1-Sample (1D DBL) VI.

2. Examine the properties of the DAQmx Create Channel VI.

 Click polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Create Channel VI and explore the
selected instance.

 Notice that this VI is configured for a Voltage measurement. You can modify
this configuration if you want to acquire from a different type of measurement.

3. Examine the DAQmx Timing VI.

 Notice that the sample rate is set to1 Hz. This sets the DAQ device to acquire
1 sample per channel per second.

4. Examine the DAQmx Read VI.

 Click polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Read VI and explore the selected
instance.

 Notice that this VI is set to Multiple Channels and Single Sample. This VI will
return a 1D DBL array that contains a single sample from multiple channels.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

5. Create the front panel.

1 Waveform Chart—Add a Waveform Chart to the front panel. Expand the plot
legend to display three plots.
2 Numeric Array Output—Add a Numeric Array control to the front panel, right-click
the control and press Change to Indicator. Resize this indicator to show 3 or more
elements and rename it 1D Numeric Output.

6. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to visualize the
multiple channels single samples data.

© National Instruments | 8-17

8-18

Lesson 8
1 3 2
|
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Working with Groups of Data

1 Array to Cluster—This function converts the 1D array data type to a cluster data type. To plot a single sample from multiple channels
on a waveform chart, you must pass the waveform chart a cluster data type containing the samples.
2 Waveform Chart—Chart that can be used to show historical data and append new data.
3 1D Numeric Output—This array indicator displays only the current array data in a specific iteration.

7. Configure the Waveform Chart properties.

 Resize the plot legend to show 3 plots.

 Double-click Time on the x-axis and rename it as Sample. The 1D array (DBL) data type does not contain any timing information, so
the x-axis just represents the sample number.

 Double-click the minimum and maximum numbers on the axis and change them to 0 and 10. Now the waveform chart will show the
most recent 10 samples per channel acquired.

 Right-click the waveform chart and select Chart History Length. Notice that the history length is set to 1024 by default.
This setting determines the maximum number of points per plot that the chart can show.
 8. Your front panel should look similar to the following figure when the VI is running.

9. Test the VI.

 On the front panel, set the Physical Channel control to PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3. This creates a DAQmx task that includes
PCI-6221 channels 0, 2, and 3.
© National Instruments

 Run the VI and notice the following things.

– The rate input (1 Hz) of the DAQmx Read VI controls the loop period.

– Every iteration, one sample from 3 channels are updated on the waveform chart.

LabVIEW Core 1
– Every iteration, the 1D DBL Array indicator only shows the data for the current iteration.
| 8-19

– The x-axis of the waveform chart is in units of Sample number (not seconds).
Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

– The waveform chart shows the most recent 10 samples per channel
acquired.

 Double-click the minimum and maximum numbers on the x-axis and change
them to 0 and 5. Now the waveform chart will show the most recent 5 samples
per channel acquired.

 Stop the VI when finished.

10. To clear the waveform chart between runs of the VI, right-click the chart and
select Data Operations»Clear Chart.

N Channel, N Samples (1D Waveform Array)

In this section, you create a VI that acquires and visualizes 3 channels of analog input
voltage. Each loop iteration acquires/visualizes 1000 samples per channel. The
samples are continuously acquired at a hardware timed rate of 1000 Hz. The
waveform data type contains the sample values (Y), the start time for the samples (t0),
and the time interval between each sample (dt).

(BNC-2120) and (Simulated Hardware) Modify this VI to acquire 3 channels of voltage

(Sine Wave Function, TTL Square Wave Function and Temperature Reference) from
PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3, at a sample rate of 2,560 Hz and number of samples
of 256.

1. From the Project Explorer window, open the N-Channel N-Samples (1D Waveform)
VI.

2. Examine the DAQmx Create Channel VI.

 Click polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Create Channel VI and explore the
selected instance.

Notice that this VI is configured for an Analog Input Voltage measurement.

Modify the configuration if you want to acquire from a different type of
measurement.

3. Examine the sample rate and number of samples controls.

 The Desired Sample Rate (Hz) control sets sample rate of this DAQ task.

 The Number of Samples control sets how many samples per channel the
DAQmx Read VI will wait for and output in each loop iteration.

 If the sample rate is 1000 Hz and number of samples is 1000, then during each
While Loop iteration, the DAQmx Read VI acquires from multiple channels at
a sample rate of 1000 Hz and outputs 1000 samples per channel.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Examine the DAQmx Read VI.

 Click polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Read VI and explore the selected
instance.

Notice that this VI is set to Analog»Multiple Channels»Multiple Samples»1D

Waveform (Samples).

5. Create the front panel.

 Add a waveform graph to the front panel. Resize the plot legend to show 3
plots.

 Add a waveform chart to the front panel. Resize the plot legend to show 3
plots.

 Create a 1D waveform array indicator.

– Add an array shell on the front panel. Rename it

1D Waveform Indicator.

– Add a waveform control inside the unconfigured array.

– Resize the array to show 4 elements.

– Right-click the array and select Change to Indicator.

© National Instruments | 8-21

 6. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure.
8-22

Lesson 8
1
|
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Working with Groups of Data

2

1 Waveform Graph—Graphs display the current array data in a specific iteration.

2 Waveform Chart—Chart that can be used to show historical data and append new data.
3 1D Waveform Indicator—This indicator displays only the current data in a specific iteration. Each array element is the waveform data
received from an individual channel.

7. Configure the Waveform Graph properties.

 Switch to the front panel and double-click Time on the x-axis and rename it as Time (s). The waveform data type contains timing
information in units of seconds.

8. Configure the waveform chart properties.

 Right-click the Waveform Chart indicator and select Properties, then in the Display Format tab make sure that the Default editing
mode is selected and set Type to Floating point. Click OK to save changes.

 Double-click Time on the x-axis and rename it Time (s). The Waveform data type contains timing information in units of seconds.

 Double-click the minimum and maximum numbers on the x-axis and change them to 0 and 5. Now the waveform chart will show the
most recent 5 seconds of data acquired.

 Right-click the waveform chart then select Chart History Length and change the history length from 1,024 to 5,000.
This setting determines the maximum number of points per plot that the chart can show.

Note Because this VI acquires 1000 samples per channel per second, changing the history length to 5,000 configures the chart
to show 5,000 samples per channel, which is equivalent to the most recent 5 seconds of data.
 9. Your front panel should look similar to the following figure when the VI is running.
l

10. Test the VI.

 On the front panel, set the Physical Channels control to PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3. This creates a DAQmx task that includes
PCI-6221 analog input channels 0, 2, and 3.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the following things happen every iteration.

– Multiple samples from 3 channels are appended to the waveform chart.

© National Instruments

– The waveform graph shows the data only for the current iteration (that is, the 1,000 samples read in that specific iteration).

– The 1D waveform indicator shows the data only for the current iteration.I

 Notice that the x-axis of the waveform chart is in units of time (s). This is because the waveform data type includes timing

LabVIEW Core 1
information.

 Stop the VI when finished.

| 8-23
Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

N Channel, N Samples (2D DBL Array)

In this section, you create a VI that acquires and visualizes 3 channels of analog input
voltage. Each loop iteration acquires/visualizes 256 samples per channel. The samples
are continuously acquired at a HW-timed rate of 2,560 Hz. The 2D DBL array data type
contains the sample values.

(BNC-2120) and (Simulated Hardware) Modify this VI to acquire 3 channels of voltage

(Sine Wave Function, TTL Square Wave Function and Temperature Reference) from
PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3 at a sample rate of 2,560 Hz and number of samples of
256.

1. From the Project Explorer window, open N-Channel N-Samples (2D DBL) VI.

2. Examine the DAQmx Create Channel VI.

 Switch to the block diagram, click the polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx
Create Channel VI and explore the selected instance.

Notice that this VI is configured for an Analog Input Voltage measurement.

Modify the configuration if you want to acquire from a different type of
measurement.

3. Examine the sample rate and number of samples controls.

 The Desired Sample Rate (Hz) control sets the sample rate for this DAQ task.

 The Number of Samples control sets how many samples per channel the
DAQmx Read VI will wait for and output in each loop iteration.

 If the sample rate is 2,560 Hz and number of samples is 256, then during each
While Loop iteration, the DAQmx Read VI will acquire from multiple channels
at a sample rate of 2,560 Hz and output 256 samples per channel.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Examine the DAQmx Read VI.

 Click the polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Read VI and explore the
selected instance.

Notice that this VI is set to Analog»Multiple Channels»Multiple Samples»

2D DBL.

5. Create the front panel.

 Switch to the front panel, add the following indicators.

– Waveform Graph indicator

– Waveform Chart indicator

– 2D Array indicator

© National Instruments | 8-25

 6. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to visualize the multiple channels multiple samples (2D DBL) data.
8-26

Lesson 8
1 2
|
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Working with Groups of Data

3

1 Transpose 2D Array—You must transpose the 2D array before passing it to the chart for the chart to correctly interpret the 2D array as
4 channels of data with 256 samples per channel.
2 Waveform Graph indicator—Graph that displays the current array data in a specific iteration.
3 Waveform Chart indicator—Chart that can be used to show historical data and append new data..
4 2D Numeric Array indicator—This indicator displays only the current data in a specific iteration. Each row contains the data points for
a channel. When you run this VI, you will notice that for a “3 channel, 256 samples per channel” acquisition, the 2D array has 3 rows
and 256 columns.

7. Configure the waveform graph properties.

 Switch to the front panel.

 Resize the plot legend to show 3 plots.

 Double-click Time on the x-axis and rename it as Sample. The 2D DBL data type does not contain any timing information, so the x-axis
just represents the sample number.

8. Configure the waveform chart properties.

 Resize the plot legend to show 3 plots.

 Double-click Time on the x-axis and rename it as Sample. The 2D DBL data type does not contain any timing information, so the x-axis
just represents the sample number.
  Double-click the minimum and maximum numbers on the x-axis and change them to 0 and 1280. Now the chart will show the most
recent 1,280 samples per channel acquired.

 Right-click the waveform chart then select Chart History Length and change the history length from 1,024 to 1,280. This setting
determines the maximum number of points per plot that the chart can show.

Note Because this VI acquires 256 samples per channel per second, changing the history length to 1,280 configures the chart to
show 1,280 samples per channel, which is equivalent to most recent 5 seconds of data.

9. Your front panel should look similar to the following figure when the VI is running.
© National Instruments

10. Test the VI.

 On the front panel, set the Physical Channels control to PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3. This creates a DAQmx task that includes
PCI-6221 analog input channels 0, 2, and 3.

LabVIEW Core 1
Note Set the Physical Channels control to channels that are appropriate for your DAQ device.
| 8-27

 Run the VI.

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

 Notice that the following things happen every iteration.

– Multiple samples from 3 channels are appended to the waveform chart.

– The waveform graph shows the data only for the current iteration (that is,
the 1,000 samples read in that specific iteration).

– 2D numeric array indicator shows the data only for the current iteration.

 Notice that the x-axis of the waveform chart indicates the sample number of
a data point (not seconds). This is because the 2D DBL data type does not
includes timing information.

 Stop the VI when finished.

End of Exercise 8-4

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 8-5: Extracting a Subset of an N-Channel

Data Array
Goal
Extract a single channel of data using the Index Array function.
Extract multiple channels of data using the Array Subset function.

Scenario
In this exercise, the acquisition data is a 1D waveform array containing the following
data.

1D Waveform Array Index Signal Description

0 Temperature Reference / Simulated Input 1

1 Sine Wave Function / Simulated Input 2

2 TTL Square Wave Function / Simulated Input 3

Hardware Setup
(BNC-2120) Make sure that you have Sine/Triangle BNC Connector connected to the
Analog Input 2 and the TTL Square Wave BNC Connector connected to the Analog
input 3, also make sure that the Sine/Triangle Waveform Switch is set to Sine.

Explore acquisition data in an existing VI

1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Extract Data from
N-Channel Array\Extract Data from N-Channel Array.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Extract Data from N-Channel Array
(1D Waveform) VI.

3. Explore the front panel and the block diagram.

The block diagram code performs a continuous acquisition.
By clicking polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Read VI and exploring the
selected instance you can determine that this VI reads N samples from N channels
and returns the data as a 1D waveform array.

4. Examine the behavior of the VI.

 On the front panel, set the Physical Channels control to PCI-6221/ai0,

PCI-6221/ai2:3.
This creates a DAQmx task that includes PCI-6221 analog input channels 0,
2, and 3.

 Set Desired Sample Rate (Hz) to 2560.

© National Instruments | 8-29

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

 Set Number of Samples to 256.

Note Set the Physical Channel, Rate, and Number of Samples controls to
values that are appropriate for your DAQ device.

5. Run the VI.

 Notice that the All Channels indicator displays data for the three channels
specified by the Physical Channels control:

– AI0 channel

– AI2 channel

– AI3 channel

6. In this exercise we are going to separate these three channels into different data
sets.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Extract Data for a Single Channel

1. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to extract data for a
single channel.

1 Index Array function—When you pass this function a 1D waveform array and an
index value, this function will return a single waveform element at the specified
index in the 1D waveform array.

2. Use the context help and LabVIEW Help to learn about the Index Array function.

3. Test the VI.

 On the front panel, set the following values.

Physical Channel PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3

Rate 2560

Number of Samples 256

 Run the VI.

 Change the value of the index control to 0, 1, and 2. Notice that this control
determines which channel is extracted and displayed in the Indexed Channel
indicator.

 Stop the VI when finished.

4. Save the VI.

© National Instruments | 8-31

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Extract a Subset of Channels

1. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to extract a subset of
channels.

1 Index Array function—Use this function to extract the third channel (index 2).
Right-click the Index control, select Change to Constant. Set the constant value
to 2.
2 Array Subset function—Use this function to extract the first and second channels
(indices 0 and 1).
a. Right-click the index input and select Create Constant. Set the constant value
to 0.
b. Right-click the length input and select Create Constant. Set the constant
value to 2.
c. Right-click the subarray output and select Create Indicator. Rename the
indicator as Subset of Channels.

2. Use the context help and detailed LabVIEW Help to learn about the Array Subset
function.

3. Test the VI.

 On the front panel, set the following values.

Physical Channel PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3

Rate 2560

Number of Samples 256

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the Indexed Channel indicator displays the AI3 channel.

8-32 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

 Notice that the Subset of Channels indicator displays the AI0 and AI2
channels.

 Stop the VI when finished.

4. Save the VI.

Extract a Subset of Channels—Alternate Approach Using

Index Array and Build Array
1. From the Project Explorer window, open the [Alternate Method] Extract Data from
N-Channel Array (1D Waveform) VI.

 Notice how this VI uses the Index Array function to extract multiple channels
and then group them together into a new array using the Build Array function.

2. Add a new Index Array function and a Build Array function.

 Notice how you can resize the Index Array function to extract multiple array
elements. Notice how you can resize the Build Array function to take multiple
inputs. Use the context help and detailed LabVIEW Help to learn about these
two functions.

© National Instruments | 8-33

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Explore How to Extract Channels From 2D DBL Array Data

Type
1. From the Project Explorer window, open the Extract Data from N-Channel Array
(2D DBL) VI.

2. Examine the behavior of the VI.

 On the front panel, set the following values.

Physical Channel PCI-6221/ai0, PCI-6221/ai2:3

Rate 2560

Number of Samples 256

 Run the VI.

 Stop the VI when finished.

3. On the block diagram, Click polymorphic VI selector of the DAQmx Read VI and
explore the selected instance.

 Notice that the DAQmx Read VI is using the floating point data type. Notice
that the output data type is 2D DBL array.

4. Notice that the Index Array function is used to extract one channel of data
(1D array = 2,560 samples from channel 0).

5. Notice that wiring a 2D array to the Index Array function causes the Index Array
function to show both a row index input and column index input.

8-34 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

 If you want to extract a row (1D array) from a 2D array, only wire the index
of the row to the index (row) input and leave the disabled index (col) input
unwired.

 If you want to extract a column (1D array) from a 2D array, only wire the index
of the column to the disabled index (col) input and leave the index (row) input
unwired.

 If you want to extract an individual element (single numeric) from a 2D array,

then wire the row index to the index (row) input and wire the column index to
the disabled index (col) input.
In this VI, the 2D array wired to the Index Array function contains 3 rows and
2,560 columns, where each row represents 2,560 samples acquired from one
channel. Therefore, to extract one channel of data (represented by 1D array),
this VI wires the row index and leaves the column index unwired to extract one
row of data from the 2D array.

6. Notice that the Array Subset function is used to extract two channels of data.

 A row index of 0 and a length of 2 causes this function to extract 2 rows of

data starting from row index 0.

Your Turn
Option 1
1. Create a VI that acquires N-channel N-sample data and try extracting individual or
groups of channels from that acquisition data array.

2. (Simulated Hardware) Try acquiring 4 channels (10 samples per channel) of data.
Extract an individual channel or groups of channels.

Option 2: Experiment with Index Array and Array Subset functions

1. From the Project Explorer window, open [Unguided] Example 2D Array VI.

2. Familiarize yourself with the functionality of the Index Array and Array Subset
functions by wiring the 2D array to these functions, experimenting with how the
input terminal values of these functions affect their output values, and exploring
the LabVIEW Help.

You can resize the Index Array function to extract more than one element/row/column.

End of Exercise 8-5

© National Instruments | 8-35

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

Exercise 8-6: Exploring Auto-Indexing Tunnels

Goal
Explore the behavior of auto-indexing input and output tunnels.

Instructions
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Auto-Indexing\
Auto-Indexing.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Auto-Indexing Tunnels VI.

3. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to create an

auto-indexing input tunnel and auto-indexing output tunnel to the For Loop.

 Wire the 1D DBL Array Input control to the left border of the For Loop, which
by default creates an auto-indexing input tunnel. Then, wire the input tunnel
to the Input Tunnel Result indicator.

Note If you wire an array to a For Loop or While Loop, you can read and
process every element in that array by enabling indexing. When you wire an
array from an external node to an input tunnel on the loop border and enable
indexing on the input tunnel, elements of that array enter the loop one at a
time, starting with the first element.

 Wire the output of the Multiply function to the right border of the For Loop,
which by default creates an indexing output tunnel. Then, wire the output
tunnel to the Output Tunnel Result indicator.

Note For indexing output tunnels, scalar elements accumulate sequentially

into 1D arrays, 1D arrays accumulate into 2D arrays, and so on.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Right-click the indexing input tunnel. In the appeared menu you can set the
behavior of any loop input tunnel to enable or disable indexing.

5. Right-click the indexing output tunnel. In the Tunnel Mode section, notice that
Indexing is selected. This is where you can set the behavior of any loop output
tunnel to Last Value, Indexing, or Concatenating.

6. Turn on Highlight Execution.

7. Run the VI.

 On the front panel, observe the behavior of each control/indicator.

 On the block diagram, observe how elements of the 1D DBL Array enter the
loop one at a time, starting with the first element.

 Observe how the Output Tunnel Result indicator is a 1D array that consists of
every result passed into the indexing output tunnel while the For Loop
executed.

 Notice how the For Loop output tunnel does not return anything until the entire
For Loop has finished executing.

© National Instruments | 8-37

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

 Run the VI multiple times with Highlight Execution turned on to make all the
above observations.

 Stop the VI when finished.

8. Save the VI.

Comparing the Behaviour of Auto-Indexing vs. Keeping Last

Value
1. Open Compare Auto-Index and Last Value VI.

2. Explore the front panel and the block diagram.

 Notice that for each For Loop input tunnel and output tunnel, there is an
indexing indicator and a last value indicator.

 On the block diagram, select each tunnel. Notice how each tunnel is
configured.

 Turn on Highlight Execution.

3. Run the VI.

 Observe the differences in data type and behavior for the input tunnels.

 Observe the differences in data type and behavior for the output tunnels.

 Stop the VI when finished.

4. Save the VI.

End of Exercise 8-6

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 8-7: Processing Data For Each Channel in an

N-Channel Data Array
Goal
Process data for each channel by using a For Loop to iterate through each channel in
an N-channel data array.

Process Channels Using VIs Compatible with N-Channel Array

Data Types
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Process N-Channel Array\
Process N-Channel Array.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open Process N-Channel Array VI.

3. Examine the VI.

 Explore the front panel and the block diagram.

 Notice that the data output of the DAQmx Read VI is a 1D waveform array
data type.

 Run the VI.

 Stop the VI when finished.

© National Instruments | 8-39

Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

4. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the figure below, to process all channels
by scaling their values by 100 and filtering the signals using the following items.

2 1

4
6

1 Multiply function—The input of this function can adapt to accept the 1D

waveform array data type.
2 Right-click in the block diagram and search for the DBL Numeric Constant, then
wire it to the second input of the Multiply function. Set the value of the constant
to 100. This function will multiply all Y values in every waveform element in the
array by 100.
3 Right-click the output of the Multiply function and select Create Indicator.
Rename the indicator Scaled Channels.
4 Digital IIR Filter VI—Right-click in the block diagram, click Search from the
Functions palette and type Digital IIR Filter. Drag the first appeared result
into the while loop. Wire the 1D waveform array from the DAQmx Read VI to the
input of the Digital IIR Filter VI. Notice that the Digital IIR Filter VI will process
each waveform contained in the array.
5 Right-click the IIR filter specifications input and select Create Control.
6 Right-click the signal out output of the Digital IIR Filter VI and select Create
Indicator. Rename the indicator as Filtered Channels.

Note Many Math VIs and functions can adapt to accept the 1D waveform
array data type. A real-world application can use Math VIs and functions to
scale acquired data from units of voltage to the appropriate engineering unit,
such as temperature (deg Celsius), acceleration (g), etc.

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 5. Arrange and modify your front panel similar to the following figure. Make sure that the IIR filter specifications cluster control is set as
shown in the figure.
© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
| 8-41
Lesson 8 Working with Groups of Data

6. Examine the behavior of the VI.

 On the front panel set the Physical Channels control to PCI-6221/ai0,

PCI-6221/ai2:3.

– (BNC-2120) Make sure that you have Sine/Triangle BNC Connector

connected to the Analog Input 2 and the TTL Square Wave BNC Connector
connected to the Analog input 3, also make sure that the Sine/Triangle
Waveform Switch is set to Sine.

– (BNC-2120 and Simulated Hardware) Set the value of Lower Fc control to

1.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the Scaled Channels and Filtered Channels waveform graph
indicators show that the Multiply function and Digital IIR Filter VI processed all
channels in the 1D waveform array.

 Stop the VI when finished.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

Process Channels Using a VI that is not Fully Compatible with

N-Channel Array Data Types
1. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to run all channels
through a VI that is not fully compatible with the 1D waveform data type.

4
3

1 For Loop—Add a For Loop to the block diagram.

2 RMS VI—Right-click in the block diagram, click Search from the Functions
palette, type RMS.vi. Drag the first appeared result into the while loop.
The input of this VI isn't fully compatible with 1D Waveform data type, because
if you wire the waveform directly to the input of this VI, the output will show the
RMS value for only one channel, instead of four used in this exercise.
3 Wire the data output of DAQmx Read VI to the left border of the For Loop and
into the RMS VI input. Notice the indexing input tunnel. On the first iteration of
the For Loop, this indexing input tunnel will return the first element in the array.
On the second iteration of the For Loop, this input tunnel will output the second
element in the array, and so on.
4 Wire the rms value output of the RMS VI to the right border of the For Loop. This
creates an indexing output tunnel. When the For Loop finishes executing, the
output of this indexing output tunnel will be a 1D array with its elements
containing what the indexing output tunnel received in each For Loop iteration.
5 Right-click the indexing output tunnel and select Create Indicator.

Note This For Loop code works for any N-channel array, whether it
contains 2 channels or 16 channels.

© National Instruments | 8-43

 2. Arrange your front panel similar to the following figure.
8-44

Lesson 8
|
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Working with Groups of Data

 LabVIEW Core 1

3. Examine the behavior of the VI.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the RMS values 1D DBL array indicator shows the RMS value of
each channel, which means that the For Loop processed all channels in the 1D
waveform array.

 Stop the VI when finished.

4. Save the VI.

Your Turn
The following pseudocode shows how to take one channel of data and process it to
display the data in the frequency domain (frequency vs. amplitude graph).

1. Create a copy of the VI in this exercise.

2. Modify the VI to perform the above algorithm on all channels.

Answer
The answer is located in the <Solutions>\LabVIEW Core 1\Exercise 8-7 directory.

End of Exercise 8-7

© National Instruments | 8-45

9 Executing Code
Based on a
Condition

In this lesson, you learn how to execute code based on a

condition by using a Case Structure.

Exercises
Exercise 9-1 Executing Code Based on a Condition
Lesson 9 Executing Code Based on a Condition

Exercise 9-1: Executing Code Based on a Condition

Goal
Use a Case structure to execute code based on a condition.

Hardware Setup/Scenario
BNC 2120 option
 Make sure, that the thermocouple is connected to the Thermocouple Input
Connector (AI1) properly.

Execute Code Conditionally Based on a Measurement

Result—Conditionally Display Data on a Graph
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Execute Conditional Code\
Execute Conditional Code.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Condition Based on Measurement
Result VI.

3. Explore the VI.

 Explore the front panel and the block diagram.

 Set the DAQmx Physical Channel input to PCI-6221/ai1.

 Run the VI.

– Data will appear on the Current Temperature graph.

 Stop the VI when finished.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Modify the VI, as shown in the following figure, to display temperature data on the
Last exceeded temperature graph only if the temperature data has exceeded a
user-specified threshold.

1 2 3

1 Waveform Min Max VI—The Y max output returns the maximum value of the Y
array in the waveform.
2 Greater? function—Right-click the y input of the Greater? function and select
Create Control. Rename it Temperature threshold (C).
3 Case structure—This VI will use the Case structure to update the Last exceeded
temperature waveform graph indicator only when the acquired temperature
exceeds a threshold.
4 Last exceeded temperature indicator—Add a waveform graph indicator to the
front panel and wire the corresponding terminal as shown.

5. Configure front panel items.

 Configure the Last exceeded temperature waveform graph to show the

absolute time, so you can see the exact date and time of when the acquired
data last exceeded the threshold.

– Right-click on the waveform graph, then select X Scale»Formatting.

– In the opened window, make sure that the editing mode is set to Default
and select Absolute time in the Type section.

 Wire this indicator as shown in figure above.

© National Instruments | 9-3

Lesson 9 Executing Code Based on a Condition

6. Arrange the front panel, as shown in the following figure.

7. Set the control values, as shown in the figure above. Otherwise set the values to
whatever is appropriate for your hardware setup.

8. (BNC 2120) Lower the Temperature threshold to 30.

You should be able to exceed the temperature threshold in the next step by firmly
pressing the thermocouple.

9. Examine the behavior of the VI.

 Run the VI.

 Adjust the value of the Temperature threshold (C) control and/or the acquired
signal, so that Current temperature exceeds Temperature threshold from time
to time.

 Notice that every time the Current temperature graph contains a value above
the Temperature threshold (C) control value, that data is passed to the Last
exceeded temperature graph.

 Notice that the x-axis of the Last exceeded temperature graph shows the
absolute date and time of the last temperature waveform that exceeded the
threshold.

 Stop the VI when finished.

10. Select File»Save All to save the VI.

11. Close the VI.

End of Exercise 9-1

9-4 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 9-2: Execute Code Conditionally Based on a

User Setting/Parameter/Configuration
Goal
Explore a DAQmx example that sets the triggering behavior based on a user-input.

Hardware Setup/Scenario
BNC 2120 option
 Make sure, that the Quadrature Encoder’s UP/DN terminal is connected to the
PFI1 input.

1. From the Project Explorer window, open the Condition based on User Input
(Triggering) VI.

2. Explore the block diagram.

Notice that the Case structure executes code based on the value of the
Triggering Enabled? control.

3. Test the VI.

 Set the following control values.

Physical Channel PCI-6221/ai1

Digital Trigger Source PCI-6221/PFI1

Edge Rising

Triggering Enabled? On

 Run the VI.

The VI is now waiting on the PCI-6221/PFI1 line to detect a rising edge from
a digital signal.

 (BNC 2120) Rotate the Quadrature Encoder clockwise. The VI should

immediately return data on the Graph indicator.

© National Instruments | 9-5

Lesson 9 Executing Code Based on a Condition

If you set the Triggering Enabled? control to Off on the front panel and run the
VI again, you will see that VI immediately returns data and no longer waits for
a trigger.

 (Simulated hardware) Because you are using a simulated DAQ device, the
PCI-6221/PFI1 line randomly changes between True and False. When this line
goes from False to True, the VI detects this as a rising edge, which triggers
the VI to acquire data.

 On the block diagram, use execution highlighting to observe how the

Triggering Enabled? control value determines which case the Case structure
executes.

4. Close the VI when finished.

Challenge
Add code to the Condition Based on Measurement Result VI to display a running total
of number of times the threshold has been exceeded since the VI started running.

 Hint: Use a shift register to store the running total. Increment the running total
in the Case structure.

 Solution: Open <Solutions>\Exercise 9-1\[Challenge] Condition Based

on Measurement Result with Running Total.vi.

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 LabVIEW Core 1

On the Job
1. In your own applications, do you need to execute code conditionally based on a
measurement result? If so, describe it below.

2. In your own applications, do you need to execute code conditionally based on a

user input (e.g. Boolean On/Off button)? If so, describe it below.

End of Exercise 9-2

© National Instruments | 9-7

10 Writing and
Reading Data to
File

In this lesson, you explore how to write data to file and

read data from file.

Exercises
Exercise 10-1 Using High-Level I/O VIs/functions
Exercise 10-2 Using Low-Level File I/O VIs/functions to Stream Data
to a Text File
Exercise 10-3 Streaming N-Channel Acquisition Data to a Text File
Exercise 10-4 Programmatically Creating Filenames Based on Current
Timestamp
Exercise 10-5 Reading and Analyzing Data from a File in LabVIEW
Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

Exercise 10-1: Using High-Level I/O VIs/functions

Goal
Use high-level file I/O VIs and functions to write an array of acquisition data to a file.

Hardware Setup
• BNC-2120—Set up the Temperature Reference, Thermocouple, and Sine Wave
Function & TTL Square Wave Function inputs (ai0:3).
• Simulated—Set up ai0:3 of an analog input module.

Instructions
Finite Acquisition of N Channels and N Samples
1. Open the following project: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\
High-Level Write to File\High-Level Write to Text File.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the High-Level Write to Text File –
N-Channel VI.

3. Examine the VI.

 Notice that the DAQmx Read VI is configured to read multiple samples from
multiple channels as a 2D DBL array.

 Notice that the DAQmx Timing VI configures this VI to perform a finite

acquisition of N samples per channel (Number of Samples control) at a defined
sample rate (Sample Rate control).

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 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figures, to write the
acquisition data to a file.

3 2 1

1 Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI—Use the first Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI to

write the header to the file. Place the VI on the block diagram.
2 Right-click the file path input and select Create Control. Rename the control Data
log filepath.
3 String Array Constant—Place an Array Constant on the block diagram. Create a
String Constant and drag it into the Array Constant, which changes the Array
Constant to a string array constant. Right-click the array index, select Properties»
Size, and set Dimensions to 2. Resize the constant and set the values in the first
row, as shown. Wire the constant to the 2D data input of the Write Delimited
Spreadsheet VI, which will adapt to the 2D string array data type.
4 Notice that the append to file input is unwired, so it will default to False. This
means that if a text file already exists at the data log file path, this VI will
overwrite any data in that file.

© National Instruments | 10-3

Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

 Configure the Data log filepath control.

– Switch to the front panel.

– Right-click the Data log filepath control and select Properties.

– In the Browse Options tab set Selection Mode as shown in the figure
below. This allows the user to browse to a new or existing file path where
the user wants to save the log file.

– Set Pattern Label to Text file.

– Set Pattern to *txt.

10-4 | ni.com
  Refer to the following figure to transpose the 2D array to represent data by column instead of row and write numeric data to the file.

3 2

1 Transpose 2D Array function—Use this function to transpose the 2D array so that each channel’s data is represented by a column
instead of a row. In this exercise, this is how we want the spreadsheet file to show the data.
2 Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI—use the second Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI to write the numeric data to the file.
The previous Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI adds headers to the text file, and this Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI appends data to
the file after the headers.
3 Wire the file path terminals between the two Write Delimited Spreadsheet VIs, as shown in the figure. This tells the second VI to write
to the same file as the first VI.
© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
| 10-5
 5. Complete the wiring as shown in the following figure.
10-6

Lesson 10
|
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Writing and Reading Data to File

6. Create the text file.

 On the front panel, set the Physical Channel control to the following value:

(BNC-2120/Simulated Hardware) PCI-6221/ai0:3

 On the front panel, click the … button of the Data log filepath control. In the Save As dialog box, set the file path to
<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\High-Level Write to File\Finite Acquisition Data.txt.

 Run the VI.

 LabVIEW Core 1

7. Explore the text file created by this VI.

 In Windows Explorer, navigate to the data log file and double-click it to view
the contents.

 Notice the file includes a header describing each channel.

 Verify that the log file looks similar to the following figure.

 Try opening the text file using Microsoft Excel. Verify that the log file looks
similar to the following figure.

© National Instruments | 10-7

Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

Your Turn
1. Use the LabVIEW Help to learn more about each node.

2. Experiment with the VI to better understand its functionality. For example:

 What is the effect on the log file if you modify the values in the 2D string array
for the header text?

 What is the effect on the log file if you remove the Transpose 2D array
function?

 What is the effect on the VI if you remove the filepath input of the first Write
Delimited Spreadsheet VI?

On the Job
1. Do any of your applications require logging data from an N-channel N-sample finite
acquisition?

2. If so, how many channels? ______________

How many samples per channel? ________________

List the column header names below.

End of Exercise 10-1

10-8 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 10-2: Using Low-Level File I/O VIs/functions

to Stream Data to a Text File
Goal
Stream single channel, single sample temperature data to text file.

Instructions
1. Open the following project: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\
Low-Level Stream to Text File (1Chan 1Samp)\Low-Level Stream to Text
File (1Chan 1Samp).lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Stream to Text File – 1 channel 1
sample VI.

3. Examine the VI.

 Notice that the DAQmx Create Channel VI configures the task to acquire
measurements from a thermocouple.

 Notice that the DAQmx Timing VI configures the task to acquire

measurements continuously at a sample rate of 1 Hz.

 Notice that the DAQmx Read VI reads 1 sample from 1 channel as a single DBL
data type.

Question 1 - How frequently does the While Loop execute? _________ times per
second.

© National Instruments | 10-9

 4. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to stream data to a text file.
10-10

Lesson 10
2 3 4 5 6
| ni.com

Writing and Reading Data to File

1

1 Open/Create/Replace File function—Specify the filepath of the data log file. In this exercise, leave the file path input unwired so that
when the user runs this VI, this function will launch a file dialog box for the user to choose the file path for the data log file.
2 Concatenate Strings function—Use this function to create the header string with an End of Line constant.
3 Write to Text File function—Use the first Write to Text File function to write the header to the first line of the file before the VI enters
the While Loop.
4 Format Into String function—Use this function to convert the numeric DBL data into a string data type because the Write to Text File
function requires a string input.
This function, as configured in this exercise (formating string syntax is “%.3f%s”), will format a DBL input of 5.123456789 into the
string “5.123<end-of-line character>”. Refer to the LabVIEW Help for more details on this function and the format string syntax.
5 Write to Text File function—Use the second Write to Text File function to continuously write data to file inside the While Loop.
6 Close File fucntion—Closes the file. You should always close a file when you are done accessing the file in the VI.

5. Save the VI.

6. Run the VI.

 On the front panel, set the Thermocouple Channel control to a single thermocouple channel on your DAQ device (e.g. PCI-6221/ai1).

 Click the Run button.

 LabVIEW Core 1

 Save the file as <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Low-Level Stream to

Text File (1Chan 1Samp)\Stream Data (1Chan 1Samp).txt.

 Let the VI run for about 10 seconds, so the VI can acquire and log
approximately 10 temperature measurements.

 Click the Stop button.

7. Explore the text file.

 In Windows Explorer, navigate to and double-click the data log file to view its
contents.

 Notice the file includes a header describing each channel.

 Verify that the log file looks similar to the following figure.

8. Try opening the text file using Microsoft Excel.

Your Turn
Create a log file with two column headers (“Current Temperature (deg C)”,
“Current Temperature (deg F)”) and two columns of data.

Answers
Question 1 - Answer: The While Loop executes 1 time per second. The DAQmx
Read VI reads one sample each iteration. The sample rate is 1 Hz, so the DAQ
device acquires 1 sample per second. Therefore, the While Loop only executes one
time per second because the DAQmx Read VI must wait until a sample is available
to read.

End of Exercise 10-2

© National Instruments | 10-11

Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

Exercise 10-3: Streaming N-Channel Acquisition

Data to a Text File
Goal
Explore examples that stream N channel 1 sample and N channel N sample acquisition
data to a file.

Instructions
N Channels, 1 Sample (1D DBL) Streaming Example
1. Open the following project: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Low-Level Stream to
Text File (NChan)\Low-Level Stream to Text File (NChan).lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Low-Level Stream to Text File (NChan
1Samp) VI.

10-12 | ni.com
 3. Explore the block diagram.

1 2

1 Array to Spreadsheet String function—This function is configured to create a spreadsheet string, which adds a delimiter between each
array element and adds an end-of-line constant at the end of the string. In this VI, it turns the incoming string array into the following
string:

Channel 0<tab> Channel 1<tab> Channel 2<tab> Channel 3<end-of-line>.

2 Array to Spreadsheet String function—Use this function to convert the 1D DBL array data into a string data type because the Write to
Text File function requires a string input.
The first Array to Spreadsheet String function will create the following result.
© National Instruments |

LabVIEW Core 1
10-13
Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

The second Array to Spreadsheet String function, as configured in this exercise, would
format a 1D DBL input to a spreadsheet string, as shown in the following example.

4. Test the VI.

 Run the VI.

 In the file dialog box, save the log file as <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\
Low-Level Stream to Text File (NChan)\Stream Data (NChan 1Samp).txt.

 Click the Stop button after approximately 10 seconds.

 In Windows Explorer, open and explore the text file.

5. Use a probe to view wire values to better understand the functionality of the
functions and VIs. You can also create indicators of wires and view the indicator
values on the front panel, if you prefer.

10-14 | ni.com
 N Channels, N Samples (2D DBL) Streaming Example
1. From the Project Explorer window, open the Low-Level Stream to Text File (NChan NSamp) VI.

2. Explore the block diagram.

1 2 3

1 Array to Spreadsheet String function—In this VI, the Array to Spreadsheet String function is configured to create a spreadsheet string,
which adds a delimiter between each array element and adds an end-of-line constant at the end of the string. In this example, it turns
the incoming string array into the following string:
Channel 0<tab> Channel 1<tab> Channel 2<tab> Channel 3<end-of-line>.

2 Transpose 2D Array function—Rearranges the elements of 2D array such that 2D array becomes transposed array.
© National Instruments |

3 Array to Spreadsheet String function—Use this function to convert the 2D DBL array data into a string data type because the Write to
Text File function requires a string input.

 The first Array to Spreadsheet String function, as configured in this exercise results in the following output.

LabVIEW Core 1
10-15
10-16

Lesson 10
| ni.com

Writing and Reading Data to File

 The Transpose 2D Array function rearranges the elements of the array, as shown in the following figure.

 The Second Array to Spreadsheet String function, as configured in this exercise, would format the output of the Transpose 2D Array
function to a spreadsheet string, as shown in the following figure.
 LabVIEW Core 1

3. Test the VI.

 Run the VI.

 In the file dialog box, save the log file as <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\
Low-Level Stream to Text File (NChan)\Stream Data (NChan NSamp).txt.

 Click the Stop button after approximately 10 seconds.

 In Windows Explorer, open and explore the text file.

4. Use a probe to view wire values to better understand the functionality of the
functions and VIs. You can also create indicators of wires and view the indicator
values on the front panel, if you prefer.

On the Job
Answer the following questions for your own applications.

1. Do you need to continuously stream multi-channel data to a text file?

2. If so, which of the above examples is closest to meeting your needs?

N Channels, 1 Sample (1D DBL) Streaming Example

OR
N Channels, N Samples (2D DBL) Streaming Example

3. What modifications do you need to make to these examples to meet your needs?

End of Exercise 10-3

© National Instruments | 10-17

Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

Exercise 10-4: Programmatically Creating Filenames

Based on Current Timestamp
Goal
Explore example code that programmatically creates filenames based on the current
date and time.

Examine Code to Generate a Timestamped Filename in

Relative Path
1. Open the following project: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\
Timestamped Filepath\Timestamped Filenames.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Generate Timestamped Filepath VI.

3. Examine the block diagram.

2 3

1 Format Date/Time String function—Converts a timestamp of the current time or

numeric value into a string that displays the corresponding time. Using the time
format string in this block diagram, this function will return a string similar to the
following:
<year><month><day>_<hour><minute><second>_Acquired Data.txt

Example: 201901014_101530_Acquired Data.txt

2 Application Directory VI—Returns the path to the directory containing the current
project (.lvproj).
3 Build Path function—Creates a new path by appending a filename or relative path
to an existing path. In this VI, the output of this function will be a timestamped
filename in the directory containing the current project. (For example,
C:\Exercises\LabVIEW Core 1\Timestamped Filepath\
20170601_101530_Acquired Data.txt)

Note Refer to the LabVIEW Help for how to use the time format string
input.

10-18 | ni.com
 4. Test the code.

 Run the VI multiple times.

 On the front panel, notice that the generated filename changes to match the current date and time.

 Notice that the filepath directory is the same as the directory containing the current project file (.lvproj).

Examine Timestamped Filename Code in a Data Logging VI

1. From the Project Explorer window, open the [Timestamped File] High-Level Write to Text File VI.

2. Examine the block diagram. Notice how the timestamped filename code passes the timestamped filepath to the file path input of the file
Write Delimited Spreadsheet VI.
© National Instruments |

LabVIEW Core 1
3. Test the VI.

 Run the VI.

10-19
Lesson 10 Writing and Reading Data to File

 Navigate to the log file in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Timestamped

Filepath directory.
Notice that the filename indicates the date/time when the VI created that file.

 Run the VI a couple more times.

 Examine the additional log files that the VI generated in the

<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Timestamped Filepath directory.
Notice that their filenames also indicate the date/time when the VI created
those files.

Your Turn
Modify the VI so that the VI creates a timestamped filename that looks similar to the
following format and saves the file in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\
Timestamped File directory.

<year><month><day>_<hour><minute><second>_<your own custom filename>

Example: 20190511_090030_Batch ABC.txt

On the Job
Would any of your applications benefit from creating a new timestamped filename
every time you run your VI?

End of Exercise 10-4

10-20 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

Exercise 10-5: Reading and Analyzing Data from a

File in LabVIEW
Goal
Read and analyze data from a text file in LabVIEW.

Instructions
1. Examine the text file containing the data that we want to read into LabVIEW.

 Open and examine the following text file: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\

Read Delimited File\Acquired Data (NChan NSamp).txt.

 Notice that the first row is a header.

 Notice that the text file contains 4 columns of data. Each column represents a
different channel.

2. Open the following project: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Read Delimited File\

Read Delimited File into VI.lvproj.

3. From the Project Explorer window, open the Read Delimited File into VI.

© National Instruments | 10-21

 4. Examine the block diagram.
10-22

Lesson 10
| ni.com

1 3 5

Writing and Reading Data to File

2 4 6 7

1 Application Directory VI—Returns the path to the directory containing the current project (.lvproj)
2 File Dialog Express VI—Displays a dialog box with which a user can specify the path to a new or existing file or directory.
3 Read Delimited Spreadsheet VI (string)—Returns the contents of the delimited text file as a 2D string array.
4 Index Array function—Extracts the first row, which contains a string for each column header.
5 Read Delimited Spreadsheet VI (DBL)—Returns the contents of the delimited text file as a 2D DBL array.
6 Array Subset function—The first line in this tab-delimited text file is a header. Use this function to remove the first line, so that the array
output contains only the numeric data.
7 Transpose 2D Array function—Transposes the 2D array. The output 2D array contains one row for every channel.

Note If you wire a 2D DBL array to a graph, the graph will interpret each row of the 2D DBL array as a separate plot, which is
why you must transpose the 2D array in this VI.
 5. Examine the functionality of the VI.

 Run the VI.

 In the file dialog box, navigate to the following text file: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Read Delimited File\Acquired Data (NChan
NSamp).txt.

 Use Highlight Execution and probes to examine the functionality of this VI.

Your Turn
1. Open and examine the following text file: <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Read Delimited File\Acquired Data (NChan NSamp).txt.

2. Modify the block diagram to process the multi-channel data that this VI has read from the text file.

 Display the minimum and maximum values of each channel.

 Your front panel should look similar to the following figure.

© National Instruments |

LabVIEW Core 1
End of Exercise 10-5
10-23
11 Reusing Code

In this lesson, you learn to recognize the benefits of reusing

code and create a subVI with a properly configured
connector pane, meaningful icon, documentation, and
error handling.

Exercises
Exercise 11-1 Creating and Using a SubVI
Lesson 11 Reusing Code

Exercise 11-1: Creating and Using a SubVI

Goal
Create the icon and connector pane for a VI so that you can use the VI as a subVI.

Scenario
You will explore a VI that generates a timestamped file path in the same directory
containing the project. Create an icon and a connector pane so that you can use this
VI as a subVI.

Design
The Generate Timestamped Filepath VI contains the following inputs and outputs.

Inputs Outputs

Appended filename timestamped relative filepath

Error In Error Out

Creating a SubVI
1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Create SubVI\
Create and Use SubVI.lvproj.

2. From the support folder of the Project Explorer window, open the Generate
Timestamped Filepath VI.

Note It is common practice to place subVIs and support files in a

subdirectory and place the main top-level VI in the parent directory. This
allows the main top-level VI to be more visible and accessible to the user.

11-2 | ni.com
 3. Place an Error In control and Error Out indicator on the front panel, as shown in the figure below.

4. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure.

 Drag a Select function and Path constant to the block diagram from the Quick Drop menu.

 Wire the block diagram as shown in the figure below.

© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
| 11-3
Lesson 11 Reusing Code

5. Connect the inputs and outputs to the connector pane, as shown in the following
figure below.

 The connector pane is located in the upper-right corner of the front panel.

 Click any input or output you want to assign and then click the corresponding
control or indicator on the front panel.

 You can change the number of input and output terminals by right-clicking the
connector pane and selecting a suitable connector pane pattern in the Patterns
shortcut menu.

 Right-click the appended filename input terminal and select This Connection
Is»Required from the shortcut menu.

Now when you use this subVI in a main VI, the Run button of the main VI will
be broken until the appended filename input terminal is wired.

11-4 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

6. Create an icon, as shown in the figure below.

 Double-click the VI icon in the upper-right corner of the front panel to open the
Icon Editor. Search for delay and path and place the corresponding graphics
onto the VI icon.

 Click the OK button when finished.

7. Create a description for the subVI.

 Click File in the upper-left corner of the VI and select VI Properties.

 Select Documentation from the Category pull-down menu and enter the
following description: Generates a timestamped filepath with an appended
user-specified name and the same directory containing the project.

 Click OK.

8. Save the VI.

9. Test the VI when Error In contains no error.

 On the front panel, set the appended filename control to a string value, such
as MyData.

 Verify that the Error In control has a status of False.

 Run the VI.

 Notice that the VI returns a timestamped relative file path similar to

<Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Create SubVI\
20190509_093000_MyData.txt.

10. Test the VI when Error In contains an error.

 Set the status element of the Error In control to TRUE. Set the code element
to -1.

 Run the VI.

© National Instruments | 11-5

Lesson 11 Reusing Code

Notice that the VI returns an empty path in the timestamped relative filepath
indicator. Notice that the error information is passed to the Error Out indicator.

Use the SubVI in a Main VI

1. From the Project Explorer window, open the Main VI.

2. Examine the Open/Create/Replace File function on the block diagram.

Notice that its file path input is unwired, which means when you run the VI, this
function will launch a file dialog for you to specify the file path.

3. Use the Generate Timestamped Filepath subVI to output a timestamped filename

in the same directory as the current project file (.lvproj).

 Drag the Generate Timestamped File VI from the Project Explorer window to
the block diagram of the Main VI.

 Right-click the appended filename input and select Create Constant. Set the
constant to string value, such as MyData.

 Wire the timestamped relative filepath output of the Generate Timestamped

Filepath VI to the Open/Create/Replace File function.

4. View the subVI description.

 Open the Context Help window by pressing <Ctrl-H>.

 Hover your mouse cursor over your subVI. Notice that the Context Help
window populates with the text that you previously entered for the subVI’s VI
Description.

5. Examine the behavior of the VI.

 Set the Thermocouple Channel to an appropriate channel.

 Run the VI. After a few seconds, stop the VI.

 In Windows Explorer, go to the <Exercises>\...\Create and Use SubVI

directory and notice the timestamped file created by the VI.

 Run the VI a couple more times. Notice the additional timestamped files
created by the VI.

6. Now you can reuse the Generate Timestamped Filepath subVI in other VIs where
you want the same functionality.

11-6 | ni.com
 Your Turn
Create a subVI that reads a temperature measurement, compares it to the set temperature threshold, and returns if the threshold is exceeded
or not.

The following figure shows how your completed Temperature Warning subVI could be used in an example VI.

Note For the answer, refer to the <Solutions>\LabVIEW Core 1\11-1\[Your Turn] Create SubVI directory.

On the Job
Is there code you will commonly reuse in your applications? Would the application benefit from putting that code in a subVI?

Do you have any code that uses a lot of nodes but accomplishes one modular task (for example, algorithm)? Would the top-level application
be more readable if that code was put inside a subVI?
© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
End of Exercise 11-1
| 11-7
12 Grouping Data
of Mixed Data
Types

In this lesson, you learn how to create and use clusters to

group data of mixed types.

Exercises
Exercise 12-1Grouping Related Data Using a Cluster
Lesson 12 Grouping Data of Mixed Data Types

Exercise 12-1: Grouping Related Data Using a Cluster

Goal
• Group related data into a new cluster.
• Create a subVI with cluster input/output.
• Pass cluster data into/out of a subVI from a main VI.

Scenario
Group weather-related data into a Weather Data cluster.

Another developer has created a VI that displays temperature warnings. This VI is part
of a temperature weather station project. Your task is to update this VI to use clusters
instead of individual controls/indicators for inputs and outputs.

Instructions
Determine Warnings SubVI
In this section, you will create a subVI that handles temperature warnings. All the
weather-related data is grouped together in a Weather Data cluster.

1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Clusters\Weather Warning Cluster\

Weather Warnings.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Determine Warnings VI.

3. Place existing controls and indicators in a cluster named Weather Data, as shown
in the following figure.

2 3

1 Cluster—Drop a cluster control from the Data Containers palette and change the
label to Weather Data.
2 Select controls and indicators to include in the cluster. <Shift>-click to select
multiple objects.
3 Drag the controls and indicators into the Weather Data cluster.

12-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

4. Resize the cluster so that all the elements are visible and arranged vertically, as
shown in the following figure.

1 Autosize cluster—LabVIEW can rearrange and resize the cluster for you.
Right-click the border of the Weather Data cluster and select AutoSizing»Arrange
Vertically.

5. Reorder the items in the cluster, as shown in the following figure.

 Right-click the border of the Weather Data cluster and select Reorder Controls In
Cluster. Verify that your Weather Data cluster order matches the order in this
figure.

© National Instruments | 12-3

Lesson 12 Grouping Data of Mixed Data Types

6. Modify the VI to receive and return cluster data.

1 2

1 Weather Data In—<Ctrl>-click the Weather Data cluster and drag it to create a
copy. Rename the copy Weather Data In.
2 Weather Data Out—Right-click the original Weather Data cluster and select
Change to Indicator. Rename the indicator Weather Data Out.

12-4 | ni.com
 7. Modify the block diagram, as shown in the following figure, to extract and modify data from the input cluster.

1 2

1 Unbundle By Name—Wire the Weather Data In cluster and expand the Unbundle By Name function to display three items. Wire the
outputs of the Unbundle By Name function to the broken wires in the order shown. Because you moved individual controls and indicators
into a single cluster, you must use the Unbundle By Name function to access each cluster element.
2 Bundle By Name—Wire the Weather Data In cluster around the analysis code to the input cluster of the Bundle By Name function. Display
two elements and click to select the Warning? and Warning Text elements. Connect the broken wires to the inputs of Bundle By Name
as shown.

Note If the order of the elements in the Unbundle By Name or Bundle By Name functions is different than what you want, you
© National Instruments

can click the elements to change the order.

8. Save the Determine Warnings VI.

Test

LabVIEW Core 1
1. Enter values in the Current Temperature, Max Temperature and Min Temperature controls in the Weather Data In cluster.
| 12-5

2. Run the VI and verify that the Weather Data Out indicator displays correct values.
 3. Save and close the VI.
12-6

Lesson 12
Explore Another VI Using the Weather Data Cluster
|
ni.com

Main VI

Grouping Data of Mixed Data Types

In this section, you explore a full example that uses the Weather Data cluster in multiple places.

1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Clusters\

Full Weather Warnings Example\Full Weather Warnings Example.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Main VI.

3. Examine the block diagram. Notice the following places where the VI uses the Weather Data cluster.
1 2 4

3 6

1 Weather Data cluster constant as input to the Bundle By Name function.

2 Output of the Bundle By Name function.
3 Input and output terminals of the Determine Warnings subVI.
4 Weather Data indicator.
5 Input of the Unbundle By Name function.
6 Input terminal of the Log Warnings subVI.
 Your Turn
Log SubVI
How would you modify the following subVI block diagram to use a cluster instead of 5 individual controls?

Note To view the solution, open the Log Warnings subVI from Full Weather Warnings Example.lvproj.

On the Job
1. In your own applications, what data should you group into a cluster? Sketch your potential cluster data types below.
© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
End of Exercise 12-1
| 12-7
13 Propagate Data
Type Changes
Using Type
Definitions

In this lesson, you use type definitions to propagate data

type changes throughout an application.

Exercises
Exercise 13-1 Using a Type Definition
Lesson 13 Propagate Data Type Changes Using Type Definitions

Exercise 13-1: Using a Type Definition

Goal
• Create a weather data cluster type definition.
• Place the type definition in several places (e.g. subVI input/output, main VI
controls/indicators).
• Update the type definition and save to propagate data type changes to all
instances of the type definition

Scenario
As a LabVIEW developer, you can encounter situations where you need to define your
own custom data types in the form of clusters and enums. A challenge associated with
using custom data types is that you may need to change them later in development.
In addition, you may need to change them after they have already been used in VIs.
For example, you create copies of a custom data type and use them as controls,
indicators, or constants in one or more VIs.

Then you realize that the custom data type needs to change. You need to add, remove,
or change items in the cluster data type or the enum.

As a developer, you must ask yourself the following questions:

• What should happen to the copies of the custom data types used in VIs that are
already saved?
• Should the copies remain unchanged or should they update themselves to reflect
changes to the original?

Usually, you want all the copies of the custom data type to update if you update the
original custom data type. To achieve this, you need copies of the custom data types
to be tied to a type definition, which is defined as follows:

Type Definition—A master copy of a custom data type that multiple VIs can use.

Implementation
In this exercise, you modify the Determine Warnings subVI in such a way that the
changes to the Weather Data type definition propagate through the application.

When completed, the Weather Station application monitors temperature and wind
information.

1. Open <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\Type Def.s\Type Def.s.lvproj.

2. From the Project Explorer window, open the Determine Warnings VI.

3. Experiment with changing an existing cluster.

 Place a file path control in the Weather Data In cluster control.

 Notice that the Determine Warnings VI is broken. This is because the

Weather Data In and Weather Data Out clusters are no longer the same data
type.

13-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

 Open the block diagram and notice the broken wire connected to the
Weather Data Out terminal.

 Press <Ctrl-Z> to undo the addition of the file path control.

4. Make a type definition.

 On the front panel, right-click the border of the Weather Data In control and
select Make Type Def.

Notice in the Project Explorer window that this has created a new file on your
hard drive marked Control 1.

 On the block diagram, the Weather Data In terminal now has a black triangle
on the upper-left edge indicating that it is connected to a type definition.

 Right-click the Weather Data In control and select Open Type Def. to display
the type definition in a new window.

The type definition window looks like the front panel of a VI but it does not
have a block diagram.

 Rename the cluster as Weather Data.

 Press <Ctrl-S> to save the type definition and name the type definition file as
Weather Data.

 In the Project Explorer window, move the type definition file into the support
directory by dragging the file.

 Close the type definition window when finished.

 On the block diagram of the Determine Warnings VI, notice the coercion dot
on the Weather Data Out indicator terminal. This shows that the indicator is
not tied to the type definition.

5. Replace the Weather Data Out indicator with the type definition you just created.

 On the front panel of the Determine Warnings VI, delete the Weather Data Out
indicator.

 Drag the Weather Data type definition item from the Project Explorer window
to the front panel.

 Right-click the border of the Weather Data type definition on the front panel
and select Change to Indicator. Rename the indicator as Weather Data Out.

 Go to the block diagram and notice that the Weather Data Out terminal has a
black triangle on the upper-left edge, which indicates that it is connected to a
type definition.

© National Instruments | 13-3

Lesson 13 Propagate Data Type Changes Using Type Definitions

 Update the VI connector pane to include the Weather Data Out indicator
because the indicator you previously deleted had been connected to the
connector pane.

– The connector pane is located in the upper-right corner of front panel.

– Connect the second-from-the-top terminal on the right side to the Weather

Data Out indicator, as shown in the following figure.

Note You can no longer add or remove elements to or from a type definition
cluster control/indicator on the front panel. You must open and edit the type
definition file to add or remove the element.

 Save the Determine Warnings subVI.

6. Edit the Weather Data type definition to include wind speed information.

 Right-click the border of the Weather Data In control and select Open Type
Def. from the shortcut menu.

 Modify the front panel as shown in the following figure.

1 Numeric Control—Place a numeric control in the cluster and rename it as Current

Windspeed.

 Apply the changes (File»Apply Changes) and Save the Weather Data type
definition before closing its window.

13-4 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

 On the Determine Warnings VI, notice that the Weather Data In control and
Weather Data Out indicator have been updated with the changes you made to
the Weather Data type definition. Arrange the front panel of the VI as shown
in the following figure.

7. Run and save the Determine Warnings subVI.

Your Turn
1. In this project, update the Main VI and Log Warnings VI. Replace all instances
(listed below) of the cluster in these VIs to use the Weather Data type definition.

 Weather Data instances in the Log Warnings VI

– Weather Data In cluster

Note Make sure you reconnect the new type definition to the connector
pane

 Weather Data instances in the Main VI

– Weather Data cluster constant

– Weather Data indicator

2. Modify the Weather Data type definition to include a numeric Max Windspeed
element and a Boolean Windspeed Warning? element. Rename the original
Warning? element as Temperature Warning?.

3. Verify that all instances of the type definition in all VIs are updated to include the
new elements.

© National Instruments | 13-5

Lesson 13 Propagate Data Type Changes Using Type Definitions

Your Turn
1. Create a new project and a new VI.

2. Create an enum that contains 3 items (e.g., Add, Subtract, and Multiply).

3. Convert the enum into a type definition.

4. Add the type definition to multiple places and VIs.

5. Modify the enum type definition to include a fourth item (for example, Divide).
Save the type definition.

6. Verify that all instances of the enum type definition update to include the new
element.

On the Job
1. List all the clusters and enums that will exist in your own application.

2. Should you make these clusters and enums a type definition?

If the cluster or enum exist in more than one place, you should definitely make it
a type definition.

End of Exercise 13-1

13-6 | ni.com
14 Implementing a
Sequencer

In this lesson, you learn how to sequence the tasks in your

application by using the state machine design pattern.

Exercises
Exercise 14-1 Creating a State Machine
Lesson 14 Implementing a Sequencer

Exercise 14-1: Creating a State Machine

Goal
Create a VI that implements a state machine using a type definition enum.

Scenario
You must design a VI for a user interface state machine. The VI acquires a temperature
every half a second, analyzes each temperature to determine if the temperature is too
high or too low, and alerts the user if there is a danger of heatstroke or freeze. The
program logs the data if a warning occurs. If the user has not clicked the Stop button,
the entire process repeats. The state machine must also allow for expansion, because
processes may be added in the future.

Design
Use a state machine to create the VI in this exercise. The state transition diagram in
the following figure describes the logic for this application.

14-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

The following table describes the states in this state machine.

State Description Next State

Acquire Set time to zero and acquire data from “Analyze”

the temperature sensor

Analyze Read front panel controls and determine “Log” if a warning occurs
the warning level “Check Time” if no warning
occurs

Log Log the data in a tab-delimited ASCII file “Check Time”

Check Check whether time elapsed is greater “Acquire” if time has elapsed
Time than or equal to 0.5 seconds “Check Time” if time has not
elapsed

Implementation
1. Open Weather Station.lvproj in the <Exercises>\
LabVIEW Core 1\State Machine directory.

2. Open the Weather Station UI VI from the Project Explorer window.

The figure below shows the front panel of the Weather Station UI VI that has been
provided for you. You modify the block diagram to create a state machine for the
weather station.

© National Instruments | 14-3

Lesson 14 Implementing a Sequencer

The following figure shows the starting point of the block diagram for the Weather
Station UI VI. You edit this block diagram to implement a state machine for the
weather station application.

1 These are the unused controls and indicators from the front panel. You will use
these controls and indicators to program different cases.

3. Create a new type definition to control the weather station application.

 Open the block diagram and create an enum constant to the left of the While
Loop.

 Right-click the enum constant and select Edit Items to open the Enum Constant
Properties window. On the Edit Items tab, add the enum items, as shown in
the following figure.

 Right-click the enum constant on the block diagram and select Make Type Def.

4. Modify the new type definition and add it to the Weather Station project.

 Right-click the enum constant and select Open Type Def.

14-4 | ni.com
  Rename the label on the enum control to States.

 Apply the changes made to type definition (File»Apply Changes).

 Save the type definition as Weather Station States in the <Exercises>\LabVIEW Core 1\State Machine\Supporting Files
directory.

 Close the Type Def window.

 In the Project Explorer window, drag the Weather Station States type definition to your Supporting Files folder.

5. Place a Case Structure inside the While Loop, as shown in the following figure. This is part of the state machine design pattern.
© National Instruments

LabVIEW Core 1
| 14-5
 6. Control the state machine with the type definition enum and update the framework as shown in the following figure.
14-6

Lesson 14
|
ni.com

Implementing a Sequencer
4
5

1
3

1 Shift Register—Right-click the While Loop and select Add Shift Register.
2 Type definition enum constant—In the Properties window, enable the Show Label checkbox. Rename the label as Beginning State.
Wire the Beginning State constant to the shift register to initialize the shift register to the Acquire state. Wire the shift register to the
Selector input of the Case Structure.
3 Add more cases. Right-click the Case Structure and select Add Case For Every Value to create different cases for each value in the enum.
4 Weather Data—Drag the Weather Data type definition from the Project Explorer window to the block diagram to create a type definition
cluster constant.
5 Shift Register—Place another shift register on the While Loop and wire the Weather Data constant to it.
6 Wire as shown.

Note After you finish wiring the Acquire case in the following step, some tunnels are empty because not all cases are wired yet.
 7. Complete the Acquire state shown in the following figure.

1
2

1 DAQmx Read—In the Polymorphic VI Selector, set the following values:

Channel Type: Analog
Channel Count: Single Channel
Sample Count: Single Sample
Data Format: DBL
2 Temperature History—Move this indicator into the Acquire state of the Case Structure.
3 Bundle By Name —Set the element to Current Temperature. Wire the data output of the DAQmx Read VI to the Current Temperature
© National Instruments

input.
4 Next State enum—Press <Ctrl> and click the Beginning State enum and drag a copy into the Acquire case. Rename this copy of the
Weather Station States type definition as Next State. Set the enum to Analyze and wire it through a tunnel on the Case Structure to
the shift register on the While Loop.
5 TRUE Constant—Create a TRUE constant and wire it through the Case Structure to the Elapsed Time shift register. The TRUE constant
resets the Elapsed Time counter every time the VI executes the Acquire case.

LabVIEW Core 1
6 Wire the DAQmx task, file reference, Weather Data cluster, enum, error, and Boolean through the block diagram to their corresponding
shift registers as shown.
| 14-7
 8. Complete the Analyze case as shown in the following figure.
14-8

Lesson 14
|
ni.com

4 7 5

Implementing a Sequencer
1 2
3
6

1 Upper Limit and Lower Limit—Move these controls into the Analyze state of the Case Structure.
2 Bundle By Name—Replaces the Max Temperature and Min Temperature items with the values from the Upper Limit and Lower Limit
controls. The Bundle By Name function makes it possible to wire the Upper Limit and Lower Limit values to the Weather Data In input
of the Determine Warnings subVI.
3 Determine Warnings—In the Project Explorer window, find Determine Warnings VI inside the Supporting Files folder and drag it to the
block diagram.
4 Unbundle By Name—Returns the values of specific items from the cluster.
5 Select—Determines which state to execute next depending on whether or not a warning occurs.
6 Weather Station States—Wire two copies of the Weather Station States type definition enum renamed as Next State to the Select
function. You can create these copies from the Beginning State enum.
7 Warning—Move this indicator into the Analyze state of the Case Structure.
8 Wire the DAQmx task and file reference through the case as shown.
 9. Complete the Log case as shown in the following figure.

1 2

1 Log Warnings—From the Project Explorer window, find Log Warnings VI inside the Supporting Files folder and drag it to the block
diagram. This subVI logs weather data to file.
© National Instruments

2 Next State—Create a copy of the Weather Station States type definition enum , label it Next State, and set the next state to Check
Time.
Wire the DAQmx task and Weather Data cluster through the case as shown.

LabVIEW Core 1
| 14-9
 10. Complete the Check Time case as shown in the following figure.
14-10

Lesson 14
| ni.com

Implementing a Sequencer
2

1 Next State—Wire two copies of the Weather Station States type definition enum to the Select function.
2 Select—Determines which state to execute next depending on whether or not time has elapsed.
3 Wait (ms)—This function allows the CPU to do other tasks while this VI repeatedly executes the Check Time case until the Elapsed
Timer VI returns a TRUE value when 0.5 seconds have elapsed.
4 Stop—Move the Stop button terminal from outside the While Loop. Wire the Stop button terminal to the Or function outside of the Case
Structure.
5 Use Default if unwired—Right-click these tunnels and select Use Default If Unwired. These Boolean tunnels will output a value of FALSE
in cases where these tunnels are unwired.

Wire the DAQmx task, file reference, and Weather Data cluster through the case as shown.

11. Save and test the VI.

 LabVIEW Core 1

Test
1. Run the VI.

 Name the log file Weather Warning Log.txt when prompted.

 Enter values for the Upper Limit and Lower Limit controls and observe the
behavior of the VI. Does it behave as expected?

2. Stop the VI.

3. Navigate to the Weather Warning Log.txt file and open it.

4. Notice the changes in the upper and lower limit values and the placement of tabs
and line breaks.

5. Close the log file.

6. Save and close the VI and the project.

On the Job
1. Back at your job, can your application’s logic be described by a state transition
diagram? If so, then draw the state transition diagram below:

2. Will you use a state machine to implement your state transition diagram in
LabVIEW code?

End of Exercise 14-1

© National Instruments | 14-11

A Advanced File
I/O

In this lesson, we will take a closer look at TDMS files and

binary files.

Topics
+ File Formats
+ Access TDMS Files in LabVIEW and Excel
+ Write and Read Binary Files
Appendix A Advanced File I/O

A. File Formats
You can view this entire lesson from the Advanced File I/O multimedia module,
available in the <Exercises>\...\Multimedia folder.

Common Log File Formats

There are three common file types that you might work with in LabVIEW:
• Text (ASCII) files
• TDMS files
• Binary files

Text files are the easiest format to use and share, as many applications, such as
notepad and Microsoft Excel, can read from or write to a text file. Data is represented
as strings in text files.

TDMS is a binary file format created by National Instruments that is optimized for
saving measurement data to file. You can use TDMS files to organize data and store
information about your data. You can also use TDMS files to write and read data at
high speeds. You can also use an add-in to view TDMS files in Microsoft Excel.

Binary is a file format that you can use when you want to write to or read from a binary
file with a specific binary format.

Explore the table below to compare text, binary, and TDMS files.

Text (ASCII) Binary TDMS

Easily Readable X

Small disk footprint X X

High-speed streaming X X

Searchable X

Inherent attributes X

B. Access TDMS Files in LabVIEW and Excel

In this section, we will learn about TDMS files.

TDMS File Format

The TDMS file format is a binary format that was designed specifically for saving
measurement data to file.

It contains two types of data—raw data and metadata.

You can use the TDMS file format to store measurement data along with
channel-specific properties such as channel name, measurement units, test limits, and
sensor information.

A-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

The TDMS index file is a binary file that provides consolidated information on all the
attributes and pointers in the TDMS file. This speeds up access to data. The TDMS
index file automatically regenerates if it is lost.

TDMS Files—Data Hierarchy and Properties

The TDMS file format is structured using three levels
• File
• Channel group
• Channel

A single TDMS file can contain multiple channel groups, and each channel group can
contain multiple channels. You can choose how to organize your data to make it easier
to understand.

For example, you may have one group for your raw data and another group for your
analyzed data in a single file. Or, you might have multiple groups that correspond to
sensor types or locations.

Additionally, at each level, you can store multiple properties to provide metadata. This
helps you achieve well-documented and search-ready data files.

© National Instruments | A-3

Appendix A Advanced File I/O

Channel A segment of a TDMS file that stores measurement signals or raw data as
binary data. Each channel can have properties that describe the data.
Channel group A segment of a TDMS file that contains properties to store information as well
as one or more channels. Use channel groups to organize your data and to
store information that applies to multiple channels.

TDMS Functions
Use the TDMS functions to write to, read from, and search TDMS files.

Demonstration: Writing and Reading TDMS Files

C. Write and Read Binary Files

In this section, we will briefly discuss writing and reading binary files.

In the example shown in the figure below, the Writer VI passes a 1D double-precision
array containing 100 values to the Write to Binary File function.  Each DBL has a size
of 64 bits which is 8 bytes.  The binary file created by the Writer VI will contain 800
bytes because there are 100 DBLs and each DBL is 8 bytes.

To read a binary file correctly, the Reader must know exactly how the binary file
organizes its data.  Because we know that this binary file contains multiple DBLs next
to each other, this VI uses the Get File Size to get the file size in bytes. In this case
the file is 800 bytes.  The Reader VI then divides the total number of bytes by the size
of the DBL data type, which is 8 bytes, to get the total number of DBL numbers in this
file.

A-4 | ni.com
 Then, the Read from Binary File function is configured to interpret the read data as a DBL and is configured to read 100 DBLs from the file.

Binary File Considerations and Summary

You should evaluate using text and TDMS files before considering using binary files.
© National Instruments |

• Compared to other formats, binary files are complex to work with and require an intimate knowledge of the file format.
• Debugging code can add considerable time to the development cycle if things go wrong.

LabVIEW Core 1
A-5
B Additional
Information and
Resources

National Instruments provides global services and support

as part of our commitment to your success. Take
advantage of product services in addition to training and
certification programs that meet your needs during each
phase of the application life cycle; from planning and
development through deployment and ongoing
maintenance.
Appendix B

A. NI Services
To get started, register your product at ni.com/myproducts.

As a registered NI product user, you are entitled to the following benefits:

• Access to applicable product services.
• Easier product management with an online account.
• Receive critical part notifications, software updates, and service expirations.

Log in to your National Instruments ni.com User Profile to get personalized access to
your services.

B. Services and Resources

• Maintenance and Hardware Services—NI helps you identify your systems’
accuracy and reliability requirements and provides warranty, sparing, and
calibration services to help you maintain accuracy and minimize downtime over the
life of your system. Visit ni.com/services for more information.
– Warranty and Repair—All NI hardware features a one-year standard warranty
that is extendable up to five years. NI offers repair services performed in a
timely manner by highly trained factory technicians using only original parts at
a National Instruments service center.
– Calibration—Through regular calibration, you can quantify and improve the
measurement performance of an instrument. NI provides state-of-the-art
calibration services. If your product supports calibration, you can obtain the
calibration certificate for your product at ni.com/calibration.
• System Integration—If you have time constraints, limited in-house technical
resources, or other project challenges, National Instruments Alliance Partner
members can help. To learn more, call your local NI office or visit ni.com/alliance.
• Training and Certification—The NI training and certification program is the most
effective way to increase application development proficiency and productivity.
Visit ni.com/training for more information.
– The Skills Guide assists you in identifying the proficiency requirements of your
current application and gives you options for obtaining those skills consistent
with your time and budget constraints and personal learning preferences. Visit
ni.com/skills-guide to see these custom paths.
– NI offers courses in several languages and formats including instructor-led
classes at facilities worldwide, courses on-site at your facility, and online
courses to serve your individual needs.
• Technical Support—Support at ni.com/support includes the following resources:
– Self-Help Technical Resources—Visit ni.com/support for software drivers and
updates, a searchable KnowledgeBase, product manuals, step-by-step
troubleshooting wizards, thousands of example programs, tutorials,
application notes, instrument drivers, and so on. Registered users also receive
access to the NI Discussion Forums at ni.com/forums. NI Applications
Engineers make sure every question submitted online receives an answer.
– Software Support Service Membership—The Standard Service Program (SSP)
is a renewable one-year subscription included with almost every NI software
product, including NI Developer Suite. This program entitles members to direct
access to NI Applications Engineers through phone and email for one-to-one
technical support, as well as exclusive access to online training modules at

B-2 | ni.com
 LabVIEW Core 1

ni.com/self-paced-training. NI also offers flexible extended contract options

that guarantee your SSP benefits are available without interruption for as long
as you need them. Visit ni.com/ssp for more information.
• Declaration of Conformity (DoC)—A DoC is our claim of compliance with the
Council of the European Communities using the manufacturer’s declaration of
conformity. This system affords the user protection for electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC) and product safety. You can obtain the DoC for your product
by visiting ni.com/certification.

For information about other technical support options in your area, visit
ni.com/services, or contact your local office at ni.com/contact.

You also can visit the Worldwide Offices section of ni.com/niglobal to access the
branch office websites, which provide up-to-date contact information, support phone
numbers, email addresses, and current events.

C. Other National Instruments Training Courses

National Instruments offers several training courses for LabVIEW users. These courses
continue the training you received here and expand it to other areas. Visit
ni.com/training to purchase course materials or sign up for instructor-led, hands-on
courses at locations around the world.

D. National Instruments Certification

Earning an NI certification acknowledges your expertise in working with NI products
and technologies. The measurement and automation industry, your employer, clients,
and peers recognize your NI certification credential as a symbol of the skills and
knowledge you have gained through experience. Visit ni.com/training for more
information about the NI certification program.

© National Instruments | B-3