How can one target older CVI versions during build?

Question

I am currently using LabWindows/CVI 2012 to develop lab automation software. My customer's lab stations all have the CVI 9.0 runtime environment (RTE) installed. The customer strongly prefers to avoid updating their lab stations to the latest CVI RTE.

I have installed the older version of LabWindows (9.0) on my machine and successfully built my project so I know that my code compiles under both environments.

Ideally I would like to use LabWindows 2012 and just tell it to target the older CVI RTE. Is this possible?

Answer 1

No, this is not possible. Applications built in LabWindows/CVI are only compatible with the same version of the Run-Time Engine or later versions. Also note that up until CVI 2012 only one version of the Run-Time Engine can be installed on a system at a time. In CVI 2012, the side-by-side Run-Time Engine was introduced, which allows for multiple versions to be installed on the same system and for applications to be bound to a specific version (2012 or later).

You can, however, install multiple versions of the CVI environment on a system. This would allow you to develop in CVI 2012, but build in CVI 9.0. You would need to pay particular attention that you do not use any features or library functions introduced in CVI 2012 or later. The user interface UIR files can be saved for older versions using the Save As menu item. Additionally, you would need to downgrade your project to the older version. Since CVI 9.0 and 2012 are pretty close in version, this is likely not a major issue (it might work without any problems).