Distribute .lvproj with Block Diagrams Removed

[martin_g]

Hi, 

 

I've got an RT project which I need to distribute the source code, My .lvproj contains multiple .lvlibs + deployment info for a cRIO.

 

I'd ideally like to create a distribution that includes the .lvproj file and also removes the block diagram of certain VI's in this distribution, if I can't do that I'd at least like to password protect some key VI's.

 

Options I've tried:

 

- ZIP file - this includes the .lvproj and all the RT info I need, but there is no way to add passwords or remove a block diagram.

 

- Source distribution - I can remove block diagrams, but I can't include the .lvproj file with my RT info. 

 

I could go in and add passwords to every VI in my hierarchy that needs protection, but that will take a while, and I don't require the passwords in my development copy, just in the distribution.

 

Is there a way to do what I want? 

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[jcarmody]

 

I could go in and add passwords to every VI in my hierarchy that needs protection, but that will take a while, and I don't require the passwords in my development copy, just in the distribution.

 

 

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-19943 This makes adding passwords easier.

[hooovahh]

But a password does NOTHING to secure your IP. The password keeps casual users from modifying VIs, such as folks using your test bench. If you want to breach that wall, it is a wall made of tissue paper. Always has been.  If you want to secure your IP, remove the block diagram when you save. - 

 

Removing the block diagram is a much better solution, assuming you can live with the fact that the code will not be able to be recompiled for other versions of LabVIEW.  You can edit the code linked by jcarmody to save without block diagram.  Right now there is a constant for it.

[ensegre]

In the Build Specifications/Source File settings, I see all options of passwording, removing FP and BD for individual files and groups of them, even for Source Distribution builds. Never occurred me to try it out, but isn't it enough?

[martin_g]

Thanks jcarmody, hoovah. I'll try modifying that VI as my goal is to protect my IP - so removing the block diagram is my preference.

Ensengre - you do get all of those options when creating a source distribution, which is great. But you cannot include .lvproj information in a source distribution. I've got a compactRIO setup in my project, and I need to include that in the distribution that I create.

[ShaunR]

Hi, 

 

I've got an RT project which I need to distribute the source code, My .lvproj contains multiple .lvlibs + deployment info for a cRIO.

 

I'd ideally like to create a distribution that includes the .lvproj file and also removes the block diagram of certain VI's in this distribution, if I can't do that I'd at least like to password protect some key VI's.

 

Options I've tried:

 

- ZIP file - this includes the .lvproj and all the RT info I need, but there is no way to add passwords or remove a block diagram.

 

- Source distribution - I can remove block diagrams, but I can't include the .lvproj file with my RT info. 

 

I could go in and add passwords to every VI in my hierarchy that needs protection, but that will take a while, and I don't require the passwords in my development copy, just in the distribution.

 

Is there a way to do what I want? 

 

Cheers

 

Martin

 

Manually add the .lvproj file to the project (i.e. itself) then it will appear in the build source distribution.

Edited May 15, 2015 by ShaunR

[smithd]

Manually add the .lvproj file to the project (i.e. itself) then it will appear in the build source distribution.

That could work, but you'd probably have to make sure the lvproj links to the source distribution rather than the original. I doubt app builder will do anything with the lvproj file.

 

With the source dist option, you should also double check that your bitfile works correctly if you're using cRIO.

 

Back to the original question, I see this as being two fundamentally different issues. 

 

Basic protection is pretty simple as described above, you can use either a source dist or a lvlibp and remove the block diagrams. From an IP protection standpoint, you may want to remove front panels+turn off debugging on the code as well. After all if you can see the inputs and outputs to a function and run it, there might be a way to glean whats going on. Depends on what you're looking for/how paranoid you are. Also depending on your level of paranoia, I'd recommend walking through this series of whitepapers and making sure you at least understand what you are and are not doing to protect your system (just skip to the three links at the bottom): http://www.ni.com/white-paper/13069/en/

 

 

The second issue is less clear, as I'm not sure what benefit you get from including the lvproj. It seems like the easiest answer is what shaun said or to make a post-build VI which copies the lvproj file to the source dist's location. But I am curious why this is important. To me you'd normally build your exe in dev, make an image, and then use the image for deployment. I'm confused why you'd want to make a specific configuration but not build an exe out of it. 

[martin_g]

The second issue is less clear, as I'm not sure what benefit you get from including the lvproj. It seems like the easiest answer is what shaun said or to make a post-build VI which copies the lvproj file to the source dist's location. But I am curious why this is important. To me you'd normally build your exe in dev, make an image, and then use the image for deployment.

 

I tried adding the .lvproj file within the project but got an error message that 'An item with this path already exists in the project.' Shaun's suggestion is very simple, which I like, so I'll try a post build VI to copy the .lvproj.

 

Why I want to do it is a bit complicated, but briefly; deployment has been done with an .exe. There is now a requirement to share the entire source code for the project and I want to protect some IP within the project.

Edited May 16, 2015 by martin_g

[Zyga]

Why dont you do some post-build actions?
e.g. https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-19943