Saving Executable Vi's

[Paul]

I was wondering how to save a VI without a block diagram, only allowing the user to access the GUI.

[Bryan]

FILE >> SAVE WITH OPTIONS >> CHANGED VIs >> REMOVE DIAGRAMS

Make sure you keep a copy with the diagrams, if you don't you won't be able to make changes to it later.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Hey, you can always add a password.

File>>VI Properties then select ->Security

[Bryan]

I would make it a long password too. Not too long ago I was browsing the NI Developer Zone and came across a VI that cracks password protected VIs via the brute force method. The longer the password was, the longer it took. I have a 10 or so character password that I apply to some of my VIs and I didn't have the patience to wait around long enough to see if it could crack them.

[Paul]

Would saving without the block diagram prevent the user from accidently/intentionally rearanging the front panel icons, or is there a seperate lock command for those?

[Bryan]

If you go to the very last button to the right on the tool bar, (the one that contains "move forward" "group" "ungroup" etc.) There's a selection called "Lock".

Just select all controls that you want to lock in place and go up and select "Lock" and there ya go.

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Would saving without the block diagram prevent the user from accidently/intentionally rearanging the front panel icons, or is there a seperate lock command for those?

1255[/snapback]

Actualy, password locking would prevent ANY editing including front panel changes.

If you go to the very last button to the right on the tool bar, (the one that contains "move forward" "group" "ungroup" etc.) There's a selection called "Lock".

Just select all controls that you want to lock in place and go up and select "Lock" and there ya go.

1258[/snapback]

Yes, this is a good option as well. It sounds like you are running LV code on a test system and your operators are aborting the VI or something. When you build your VI, you should design it so it automatically runs on startup and has all the menus and toolbars disabled. If you have to click the RUN button to execute your application then something is wrong.

[Bryan]

Actualy, password locking would prevent ANY editing including front panel changes.

Really? I actually didn't know that. I've always done mine like you suggested below:

Yes, this is a good option as well. It sounds like you are running LV code on a test system and your operators are aborting the VI or something. When you build your VI, you should design it so it automatically runs on startup and has all the menus and toolbars disabled. If you have to click the RUN button to execute your application then something is wrong.

1259[/snapback]

That reassures me that I'm programming wisely. I've never had a whole lot of interaction with other LabVIEW programmers, I've learned all I know right now pretty much on my own and have worked independently with LabVIEW (most places I've worked, I have been the only LabVIEW programmer in my department).

It's great to get confirmation from seasoned LabVIEW programmers that I'm going down the right path.