FieldPoint I/O Point

FieldPoint I/O points refer to data items configured in LabVIEW and Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) and saved in FieldPoint configuration (.iak) files. A FieldPoint item represents a channel or group of channels on a FieldPoint module.

The FieldPoint IO Point function is supported only in LabVIEW 7.0 and later. If you want to run a VI that uses the FieldPoint IO Point function on a computer that does not have LabVIEW 7.0 or later, you must modify the VI.

The .iak file that LabVIEW uses for FieldPoint I/O points in a VI depends on whether the VI is part of a project and, if so, which project the VI is part of.

Using FieldPoint I/O in Project VIs

When you use a FieldPoint I/O point in a VI that is part of a project, the default .iak file is the one associated with the project. You can add items to the VI from another .iak file by adding that file to the configuration list of the VI. To add an .iak file, click Browse on the FieldPoint I/O point control and add the .iak file on the View Configurations tab.

I/O Control outside a Project

When you use a FieldPoint I/O point in a VI that is not part of a project, the default .iak file is the last one saved in MAX. You can add items to the VI from another .iak file by adding that file to the configuration list of the VI. Click Browse on the FieldPoint I/O point control and add the .iak file on the View Configurations tab.

Note  LabVIEW identifies the last-saved .iak file when you create a new I/O point control or block-diagram constant, browse on an I/O point control, or run a VI that contains FieldPoint I/O. If you change the .iak file in MAX to a different file, you must exit and relaunch LabVIEW for the change to take effect.

Note  If you save a VI outside a project and later open it inside a project, LabVIEW looks for FieldPoint I/O items in the project .iak file. If you save a VI inside a project and later open it outside the project, LabVIEW looks for FieldPoint I/O items in the .iak file last saved in MAX. If you load a different .iak file in MAX and you want a nonproject LabVIEW VI to use the new file, you must exit and relaunch LabVIEW. If you use MAX to make changes to the .iak file that a nonproject VI is using, and you want the changes to take effect in the VI, go to the Browse dialog and select Refresh.

FieldPoint I/O Points in Embedded Applications

If you are using FieldPoint I/O in a real-time application, LabVIEW uses the project .iak file. When you run the VI embedded on an RT target, LabVIEW automatically downloads local and remote FieldPoint item names to the RT target.

Building LabVIEW Executable Applications Using FieldPoint I/O Points

If you create an executable LabVIEW application to run on a host machine, you must use MAX to save the .iak file associated with the project. Otherwise, the application will return an error message and prompt the user to select an .iak file.