Desired information represents the type of information you want to retrieve about the motion controller. The following table has a complete list of information values, as well as output parameters relevant for each type of information returned. Desired Information Relevant Output Terminal Possible Output Values Board Family (0)  Numeric out, Value out NI-Motion Family (0) Board Name (1)  String out  Name of controller Board Type (2)  Numeric out  PCI_7344 (28) PXI_7344 (27) PCI_7342 (37) PCI_7334 (32) PXI_7342 (36) PXI_7350 (35) PCI_7350 (34) PXI_7334 (25) PCI_7340 (61) PXI_7340 (62) PCI_7330 (63) PXI_7330 (64) PCI_7390 (71) FW_7344 (41) SOFTMOTION (99) Bus Type (3)  Numeric out, Value out PCI Bus (1) PXI Bus (2) 1394 Bus (3) CAN Bus (4) Number of Axes (5)  Numeric out  1–n, where n is number of axes Firmware Version (10)  String out, Numeric out  Version-build code (MMmmbbbb) Note  To read this information, you must convert it to hexadecimal format. Refer to LabVIEW Help for information about converting this value to hexadecimal format. DSP Version (11)  String out, Numeric out  Version-build code (MMmmbbbb) FPGA Version (12)  String out, Numeric out  Version-build code (MMmmbbbb) FPGA2 Version (14)  String out, Numeric out  Version-build code (MMmmbbbb) Controller Serial Number (15) String out, Numeric out Controller serial number Local or Remote (16) Boolean out True (remote) False (local) Driver Version (17) String out, Numeric out Version-build code (MMmmbbbb)
	Board ID is a unique number assigned by Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) used to send and receive commands and data to or from a specific NI motion controller.
	error in (no error) describes error conditions that occur before this VI runs. The default input of this cluster is no error. If an error already occurred, this VI returns the value of error in in error out. The VI runs normally only if no incoming error exists. Otherwise, the VI passes the error in value to error out. The error in cluster contains the following parameters: status is TRUE if an error occurred before this VI was called, or FALSE if not. If status is TRUE, code is a nonzero error code. If status is FALSE, code is zero or a warning code. code is a number identifying an error or warning. If status is TRUE, code is a nonzero error code. If status is FALSE, code is zero or a warning code. Use the error handler VIs to look up the meaning of this code and display the corresponding error message. source is a string that indicates the origin of the error, if any. Typically, source is the name of the VI in which the error occurred.
	String out contains the output value for some of the Desired information inputs.
	Bd ID Out is provided for flow control. You can string together NI-Motion VIs by wiring the Board ID Out terminal of one VI to the Board ID terminal of the next VI.
	Value out contains the output value for some of the Desired information inputs.
	error out contains error information. If error in indicates an error, error out contains the same error information. Otherwise, it describes the error status that this VI produces. status is TRUE if an error occurred, or FALSE if not. If status is TRUE, code is a nonzero error code. If status is FALSE, code is zero or a warning code. code is a number identifying an error or warning. If status is TRUE, code is a nonzero error code. If status is FALSE, code is zero or a warning code. Use the error handler VIs to look up the meaning of this code and display the corresponding error message. source is a string that indicates the origin of the error, if any. Typically, source is the name of the VI in which the error occurred.
	Numeric out contains the output value for some of the Desired information inputs.
	Boolean out contains the output value for some of the Desired information inputs.

Using This VI

This VI returns selected information about NI motion controllers including controller type and family, bus type, number of axes, and so on.

NI-Motion also has four information types for retrieving the version numbers and release dates of the firmware segments loaded in the onboard Flash ROM. All firmware segments are field upgradable using the Update Firmware option in Measurement & Automation Explorer. Versions are returned in a version-build code format:

Version-build code = MMmmbbbb, where
   MM is the major version number,
   mm is the minor version number, and
   bbbb is the build number.

Remarks

This section includes information about how the behavior of this VI differs among the controllers that support it.

NI SoftMotion Controller Considerations

The following list includes considerations you must make when you are using this VI with the NI SoftMotion Controller:

• The NI SoftMotion Controller does not support the following enumerations for the Desired Information parameter:
  • Firmware Version
  • DSP Version
  • FPGA Version
  • FPGA2 Version