Overview
This example program allows you to launch the NI 488.2 Communicator from LabVIEW.
This VI uses System Exec.vi to open communicator.exe. Communicator.exe is the NI 488.2 Communicator, which is the window that you see when you right click on your GPIB instrument in Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) and choose Communicate With Instrument.
There are a few reasons that you might want to do this. First, the NI 488.2 Communicator has compatibility issues with some versions of Microsoft Office Communicator. There are some cases where Microsoft Office Communicator is opened when you try to launch the NI 488.2 Communicator from MAX. In this case, one workaround is to launch it manually. When opening communicator.exe, the NI 488.2 Communicator has to be told what GPIB card you are using. Therefore, it is not as easy as just opening the executable. This VI allows you to enter Parameters such as GPIB Board Number and Instrument Address. Again, these parameters can't be entered once the NI 488.2 Communicator is already opened, so this is important.
Another reason you may want to use this is to add troubleshooting functionality to an application. The NI 488.2 Communicator is a great tool for debugging and testing commands. If you are developing a GPIB application, it may be useful to be able to launch the NI 488.2 Communicator from your application so that you can test your connection or certain commands.
