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Including Examples with VIP package


Thoric

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I'm attempting to create my first VIP package which will be to create an installer for a toolkit that includes some example VIs.

 

Folllowing NI's help documentation, one has to create a ".bin3" file using the "Prepare Example VIs for NI Example Finder" and place the resultant bin3 file in the following location: <labview>\examples\exbins\

 

In VIPM Package Builder there is a destination for the examples called "Examples" and it points to a subfolder in <labview>\examples specific to the toolkit - which is great, but there's nothing for exbins. So I'm creating my own Destination called "Examples_exbin" which will point to <labview>\examples\exbins but it won't let me. When I create it and set the destination it then seems to corrupt the original "Examples" destination. If I restore the "Examples" destination to what it should be, my new "Examples_exbin" folder is corrupted and now also pointing to the subfolder in <labview>\examples specific to the toolkit. The two seem to be linked/confused by the Destinations editor panel.

 

I've hence created a Destination called "exbin", which seems to be allowed and doesn't confuse the original "Examples" folder, and in Source File Settings I point my newly created bin3 file to this Destination. When I create the package and try installing it on a clean LabVIEW installation it I got the appropriate files in the correct places, but double clicking an example within the NI Example Finder states the VI is not found, then shows a relative path that is different to the actual example subfolder path.

 

This seems so very over-complicated. Surely there are many toolkits distributed through VIPM that require examples to be placed in the LabvIEW\Examples folder with an associated bin3 file. I'll get it working eventually, but it'll have taken me nearly half a day to figure it out and hack something together that will leave an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

 

So I ask those that have done this before: am I missing something here!?

 

Regards,

 

Thoric

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OK, so I've managed to do this, finally, with a bit of guidance from a grand master at JKI (thank you!)

 

There are instructions included in the LabVIEW help on how to prepare your VIs for the Example Finder. This information can be found in the help, go to the Index and type "Prepare", then select "Prepare Example VIs for NI Example Finder dialog box". The help refers to a LabVIEW tool used to create a database file known as as a bin3 file that defines your example VIs by location, category and keyword. Make sure your example VIs are already in the <LabVIEW>\examples folder, under a suitably named subfolder of choice, before running this tool!

 

Once done, include the new database "bin3" file in your toolkit, and create a new Destination entry that points to the <LabVIEW>\examples\exbins folder and point this database file to there. Point your example VIs to the relative examples folder location you had them before as the database will look for your examples using a relative path structure.

 

This worked for me, once I got it right, so I'm happy now. But let's please all encourage JKI and National Instruments to work together to allow for greater integration of the VIPM utility with LabVIEW to make things like this easier in future releases! :lol:

 

Thanks all! I hope this information helps somebody :rolleyes:

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