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NI Vision Development Module 2018 SP1 Readme

November 2018


This file contains important information about National Instruments Vision Development Module, including installation instructions, new features, fixed issues, and known issues.


Overview
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems
Product Security and Critical Updates
NI Application Software Support
External Library Support
New Features
Updates and Improvements
Known Issues
Installation Instructions
How to Activate the NI Vision License
Deploying Vision Applications
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Documentation and Examples
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations
Legal Information


Overview

The NI Vision Development Module (VDM) provides hundreds of image processing and machine vision functions. Along with programming libraries, the NI Vision Development Module also includes NI Vision Assistant. Installing this software may remove previous versions of the NI Vision Development Module that are currently installed.


Note: The NI Vision Development Module overwrites existing NI Vision examples and NI Vision VIs. Move modified examples or VIs that you want to save to another directory before installing the NI Vision Development Module.


For information about licensing NI Vision software, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code LicenseVision. Refer to the NI Vision website at ni.com/labview/vision for the latest information about the NI Vision Development Module.


System Requirements

The development computer must meet the following system requirements to run the NI Vision Development Module.


  Minimum Recommended
Processor 233 MHz Pentium or equivalent Pentium 4/M or equivalent
Memory 256 MB RAM 512 MB RAM
Display (Vision Assistant) 1,152 × 864 resolution video adapter with a 16-bit display 1,152 × 864 resolution video adapter with a 24- or 32-bit display
Display (other environments) 1,024 × 768 resolution video adapter with a 16-bit display 1,024 × 768 resolution video adapter with a 24- or 32-bit display
Free Hard Disk Space 3.2 GB

Supported Operating Systems

NI Vision Development Module 2018 SP1 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows 10 IoT Enterprise (64-bit)3
  • Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit)1
  • Windows 7 SP1 (32- and 64-bit)2
  • Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1(32- and 64-bit)2,3
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)1
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (64-bit)2

Note: In 2016 NI Vision Development Module dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. NI Vision Development Module 2018 SP1 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI Vision Development Module 2018 SP1 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI Vision Development Module 2018 SP1, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.


For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to KB 79UC78LS, Why Does my LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Measurement Studio, or TestStand Built Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Server 2003?.


Note: Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code PAESupport.


1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.1. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.


2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.


3Only supported as pre-installed on NI hardware.


Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.


NI Application Software Support

The following table lists the NI application software versions, including service packs, supported by the NI Vision Development Module. The installer specifically allows side-by-side installations of Vision Development Module for each of the supported versions of LabVIEW, enabling you to use the NI Vision Development Module with multiple versions of LabVIEW. National Instruments recommends that you install LabVIEW, LabVIEW Real-Time, or any other supported development environment, before installing the NI Vision Development Module.


NI Application Software Versions Supported by NI Vision Development Module
NI LabVIEW 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
NI LabVIEW FPGA Module 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
NI LabWindows™/CVI™ 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017

NI Vision Development Module .NET Support

NI Vision Development Module 2013 SP1 was the last version to release updated support for the .NET Framework 1.1, .NET Framework 2.0, .NET Framework 3.5, and .NET language integration into Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008. Visual Studio 2010 and later are not supported.


NI Vision Development Module FPGA Support

For more information and the complete list of Vision functions and hardware supported on FPGA, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code VisionFPGASupport.


External Library Support

The NI Vision Development Module supports the external vision library OpenCV. Refer to the National Instruments Web site to download the NI Vision OpenCV support utilities.


NI Vision OpenCV support utilities enable the use of OpenCV algorithms in LabVIEW and NI Embedded hardware. NI Vision OpenCV support utilities provide:


  • Pre-built OpenCV binaries for Windows and NI Linux RT
  • C++ development files to create an interface between NI Vision Image and OpenCV Mat.
  • Utilities to create LabVIEW APIs to call OpenCV entry points
  • LabVIEW examples

New Features in Vision Development Module 2018 SP1

The 2018 SP1 release of the Vision Development Module includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2018 SP1 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Deep Learning: Model Importer Updates:
    • New TensorFlow version 1.8 support
    • Optimized TensorFlow libraries for better inference performance
    • New Model Importer Example
  • Pattern Matching Auto Crop for improving template creation.
  • Image display:
    • Overlay Improvements:
      • Programmatically update color for group of Overlays (supports text & shape overlays)
      • New IMAQ SetOverlayColor API
    • Zoom to Fit ( supported on LV NXG only)
      • This tool on the display control allows user to select a subsection and zoom to fit with a single click
  • New APIs:
    • IMAQ Cast Image 2: New method input
    • IMAQ Copy Vision Info

    • IMAQ Find Straight Edges 4 & IMAQ Find Edges 2


  • Updated APIs:
    • IMAQ Cast Image 2:
    • IMAQ Copy Vision Info:

    • IMAQ Find Straight Edges 4:


    • IMAQ Find Edges 2:


  • Vision Assistant:
    • Parameters Presets support in Map Defects step
    • FPGA: Color BCG Lookup and x8 Nth Order Filter
  • Vision FPGA - New IPs:
    • IMAQ FPGA ColorBCGLoookup for RGB supports x1 and x8 processing
    • ROI support is added for AutoBThreshold
    • x8 processing is supported for IMAQ FPGA Nth Order filter
  • NI Package Manager installation of development support:
    • NI Vision APIs for LabVIEW and C/C++ environments
    • Vision Assistant application and code generation for LabVIEW and C/C++ environments

Updates and Improvements

Refer to the National Instruments Website for an up-to-date list of all bug fixes in this release.


Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments Web site for an up-to-date list of known issues in the NI Vision Development Module.


Installation Instructions

Installing from the LabVIEW Platform Suite

If you purchased LabVIEW, you can install all of your LabVIEW products—including the NI Vision Development Module—using the LabVIEW Platform Suite.


To request additional LabVIEW Platform Suite, refer to the National Instruments Web site.


Installing from the NI Vision Development Module Installation Media

Complete the following steps to install the NI Vision Development Module from the NI Vision Development Module installation media.


  1. Log on as an administrator or as a user with administrator privileges.
  2. Insert the NI Vision Development Module installation media.
  3. If you do not have autorun enabled, double-click autorun.exe. If you have autorun enabled, autorun.exe runs automatically.
  4. Follow the onscreen instructions.
  5. (Optional) Activate NI Vision Development Module when prompted by the installer, or activate at a later time using the NI License Manager.

Installing from an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle

If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchase to install this product.


How to Activate the NI Vision License

When you run an NI Vision application for the first time, it prompts you to activate a license for the product. If you do not activate a valid license, the NI Vision application will run in Evaluation Mode and continue to prompt you to activate a license on each subsequent launch.


Complete the following steps to activate the NI Vision license through an Internet connection.


  1. Run the product you want to license.
  2. Click Yes when prompted to interactively activate your product.
  3. Ensure that Automatically activate through a secure Internet connection is selected, and click Next.
  4. Enter the product serial number, and click Next.
  5. Enter your registration information, and click Next.

Tip: Enter your email address to receive a copy of your activation code for your records.


Deploying Vision Applications

Deployment refers to developing an application so that it can be distributed, or deployed, on a different computer than the one on which the application was developed. The NI Vision Development Module provides everything you need to deploy custom NI Vision applications to target computers. The NI Vision Development Module provides the following options:


  • The ability to create NI Vision Runtime installers, which integrate with the LabVIEW Application Builder, applications built in LabWindows/CVI, or a custom installer.
  • The ability to install the NI Vision Runtime directly from the NI Vision Development Module installation media.
  • One NI Vision Runtime License, which allows you to install a custom application on a single machine.

The NI Vision Development Module installer contains the runtime installer for NI Vision. The runtime installer is installed at <Vision>\Run-Time Engine, where <Vision> is the location to which the NI Vision Development Module is installed. Visit the ni.com to download software upgrades for NI Vision and the NI Vision Runtime installers.


Purchasing NI Vision Deployment Licenses

You must purchase an NI Vision Runtime License (part number 778044-03) for each target machine onto which you want to install your custom NI Vision application, even if you install the NI Vision Runtime directly from the NI Vision Development Module installation media. The NI Vision Development Module ships with one runtime license. Contact a National Instruments sales representative or visit ni.com to purchase additional runtime licenses.


Note: Additional NI Vision Runtime licenses do not include installation media. To install additional licenses, use the original NI Vision Development Module installation media and the serial number provided by National Instruments.


Using the NI Vision Runtime

You can call the NI Vision Runtime installer from the application installer. If you create the application installer with the LabVIEW Application Builder or with LabWindows/CVI, you can direct the installer to call the NI Vision Runtime installer.


Refer to the LabVIEW Help for more information about the LabVIEW Application Builder. Refer to the NI LabWindows/CVI Help for more information about building and distributing LabWindows/CVI applications.


You can also direct a custom application installer to call the NI Vision Runtime installer. This may be useful if you are creating an installer for applications created in other development environments. Refer to the documentation that came with the installer software to learn how to call executables from the custom installer. If you are using a custom installer, call the NI Vision Runtime installer at the end of the installation procedure because the installer may require the system to be restarted.


To call the NI Vision Runtime installer silently (non-interactively), you must add /q /AcceptLicenses yes as command line arguments to the runtime installer. For example, enter <Vision>\Run-Time Engine\vision<version>rte.exe /q /AcceptLicenses yes, where <Vision> is the location to which NI Vision is installed, and <version> is the version number of the NI Vision Runtime installed. Refer to the Automating the Installation of NI Products section for more information on how to change the level of interactivity of the installer or whether it automatically initiates a system restart.


Distributing LabVIEW Applications

The NI Vision Runtime installer does not install LabVIEW VIs. If you use the LabVIEW Application Builder to create an application (EXE) or dynamic link library (DLL), the Application Builder automatically includes the VIs used by the application. If you distribute a VI, you must include all subVIs that comprise the top-level VI. You must include the appropriate LabVIEW Runtime as part of the installation.


Refer to the LabVIEW Help for more information about viewing the hierarchy of VIs and for more information about using the LabVIEW Runtime.


Distributing LabWindows/CVI Applications

In addition to including the NI Vision Runtime with the installer, you must include the appropriate LabWindows/CVI Runtime. Refer to the NI LabWindows/CVI Help for more information about creating an executable, creating a dynamic link library, and distributing applications.


Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.


If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.


For more information, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:


Documentation and Examples

Documentation and examples are installed onto your hard drive with the NI Vision Development Module. To view the documentation, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Documentation»Vision Documentation, or navigate to <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\Vision\Documentation.


Refer to the National Instruments Product Manuals Library at ni.com/manuals for the most recent versions of product documentation.


The following sections describe the documents available for each application development environment and where to find examples.


  • NI Vision Concepts Help—Describes the basic concepts of image analysis, image processing, and machine vision. This document also contains in-depth discussions about imaging functions for advanced users.

NI Vision for LabVIEW

  • NI Vision for LabVIEW Help—This document contains reference information about NI Vision VIs and details about how to use NI Vision with LabVIEW. It describes how to create machine vision and image processing applications in LabVIEW. It also describes how to create a real-time vision application using NI Vision and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, and how to use the Vision FPGA VIs with an FPGA target and the LabVIEW FPGA Module. You can access this help in LabVIEW by selecting Help»NI Vision for LabVIEW Help.
  • NI Vision for LabVIEW Examples—Illustrates common applications you can create with NI Vision. In LabVIEW, select Help»Find Examples. Click the Help button in the NI Example Finder to display the NI Example Finder Help. NI Vision examples for LabVIEW are installed to <LabVIEW>\examples\Vision and <LabVIEW>\examples\Vision FPGA, where <LabVIEW> is the location LabVIEW is installed.

NI Vision for LabWindows/CVI

  • NI Vision C Support Help—Contains reference information about NI Vision C functions.
  • NI Vision for LabWindows/CVI User Manual—Describes how to create machine vision and image processing applications in LabWindows/CVI using the NI Vision Development Module.
  • Function panel help within LabWindows/CVI—Allows you to right-click within each Vision function to access help for that function, control, function class, and function library. Function panels are installed at National Instruments\Shared\CVI\Bin\NIVision.lfp.
  • NI Vision LabWindows/CVI example programs are installed at <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\CVI\samples\Vision.

NI Vision for Eclipse and other Text-based Development Environments

  • NI Vision C Support Help—Contains reference information about NI Vision C functions.
  • Getting Started with C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time, Eclipse Edition with the NI Vision Development Module and NI-IMAQdx—Describes how to use the C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time, Eclipse Edition to develop an example C application using the NI Vision Development Module API and/or NI-IMAQdx, and deploy it on a Linux remote target. This tutorial outlines the basic steps required to build and deploy an example application.
  • To view text-based example programs, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Examples»Vision Examples, or navigate to <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\Vision\Examples.

NI Vision Assistant

  • To access Vision Assistant documentation from the Start menu, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Documentation»Vision Assistant Documentation, or navigate to <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\Vision Assistant\Documentation.
  • To access Vision Assistant examples from the Start menu, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Examples»Vision Assistant Examples, or navigate to <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments\Vision Assistant\Examples.
  • NI Vision Assistant Tutorial—Describes the Vision Assistant software interface and guides you through creating example image processing and machine vision applications.
  • NI Vision Assistant Help—Contains descriptions of Vision Assistant features and functions and provides instructions for using them. In Vision Assistant, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI Classification Training Interface Help—Contains information about how to use the NI Classification Training Interface to classify binary samples. In the NI Classification Training Interface, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI Color Classification Training Interface Help—Contains information about how to use the NI Color Classification Training Interface to classify color samples. In the NI Color Classification Training Interface, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI OCR Training Interface Help—Contains information about how to use the NI OCR Training Interface to learn characters, save character sets, and verify characters by comparing them to a reference character. In the NI OCR Training Interface, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI Texture Training Help—Contains information about how to use the NI Texture Training Interface to train a texture classifier file for use in texture defect detection applications. In the NI Texture Training Interface, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI Calibration Training Help—Contains information about how to use the NI Calibration Training Interface to select and create a calibration for use in machine vision applications. In the NI Calibration Training Interface, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI Vision Template Editor Help—Contains information about how to use the NI Vision Template Editor to learn and edit template images that you can use with pattern matching, geometric matching, and golden template comparison functions. In the NI Vision Template Editor, select Help»Online Help.
  • NI Flat Field Creation Wizard Help—Contains information about how to use the NI Flat Field Creation Wizard to create a dark or bright field image and perform flat field correction in a machine vision application. In the NI Vision Flat Field Creation Wizard, select Help»Online Help.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.


LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations

The following sections detail considerations for using NI Vision Development Module with LabVIEW NXG.

LabVIEW NXG Operating Systems and Requirements

Software support for LabVIEW NXG differs in the following ways:


  • System requirements—Only 64-bit (x64) processors are supported.
  • Operating system—Only 64-bit operating systems are supported.

Note: Refer to the LabVIEW NXG Readme for additional system requirements.


Changes in VDM Supported in LabVIEW NXG

For information about VDM support in LabVIEW NXG, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code VisionNXGGuide.


Installing Vision Development Module for LabVIEW NXG

LabVIEW NXG is installed using NI Package Manager. Complete the following steps to install Vision Development Module for LabVIEW NXG.


  1. Visit ni.com/info and enter the info code NXGDownload to access the LabVIEW NXG download page.
  2. Click Download LabVIEW NXG.
  3. NI Package Manager installs, then automatically opens an installation window.
  4. Select LabVIEW NXG 3.0 and NI Vision Development Module 2018 SP1.
  5. Complete the installer instructions to download LabVIEW NXG and Vision Development Module support for LabVIEW NXG.

LabVIEW NXG Help

View context help in LabVIEW by pressing Ctrl+H and hovering over an object.


Search for items using the search bar in the upper right corner of the LabVIEW window. You can also view context help for the search results.


LabVIEW NXG Examples

Launch LabVIEW and click the Learning tab.


LabVIEW lessons are located in the Lessons tab, and LabVIEW Examples are located in the Examples tab. Follow the instructions in the lessons and examples.


Legal Information

Copyright


© 2003-2018 National Instruments. All rights reserved.


Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.


National Instruments respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.


End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices


You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights


If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.


IVI Foundation Copyright Notice


Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.


The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.


Trademarks


Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.


Patents


For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.


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