NI Switch Executive 2015 Readme

August 2015


Thank you for using NI Switch Executive. This file contains important information about NI Switch Executive and is organized into the following sections:


New Features

Release Notes

System Requirements

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Executable

Documentation

Finding Examples

Product Security and Critical Updates

Uninstalling/Modifying NI Switch Executive

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Legal Information


New Features

NI Switch Executive 2015 includes the following new features:


  • Addition of Get NI-SWITCH Session VI and Release NI-SWITCH Session VI. These VIs allow the user to programmatically control or modify attributes of NI-SWITCH devices during the NI Switch Executive session.
  • NI-SWITCH CA4 support
  • LabVIEW 2015 support
  • 64-bit support

NI Switch Executive 3.6 includes the following new features:


  • MAX Import and Export wizard support
  • TestStand deployment integration
  • NI Configuration Export (nce) file format added for niSE_ImportSpecific() and niSE_ExportSpecific() functions in LabVIEW, CVI, and VB APIs
  • niSE_IsConnected(), niSE_GetAllConnections(), and niSE_ExpandConnectionSpec() functions added to LabVIEW, CVI, and VB APIs
  • niSE_ExportPrevious() function added to LabVIEW, CVI, and VB APIs which enables export of previous NI Switch Executive configurations
  • Miscellaneous performance improvements

NI Switch Executive 3.5 includes the following new features:


  • NI SwitchBlock Configuration Wizard
  • Debug Panel
  • Support for Debug Deployment license
  • NI switch modules can now be used without IVI logical name and driver sessions
  • Support for Windows 7

NI Switch Executive 3.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for schematic configuration
  • Support for Microsoft Excel spreadsheet import and export
  • Support for sharing of route legs
  • Performance improvements
    • Find route is 36% faster for multi-device routes
    • Sorting and endpoint selection are faster in MAX

Release Notes

Please take note of the following before installing NI Switch Executive 2015:


  • NI Switch Executive 2015 properly upgrades any existing configurations created with previous versions of NI Switch Executive.
  • Licensing: At installation, NI Switch Executive defaults to use an evaluation license of the software. Activate the software at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI License Manager to enable a fully functional license. Refer to the NI Switch Executive Help for more information about activating your software.

System Requirements

If you are using NI Switch Executive 2015 with NI switch modules you must install NI-SWITCH 2.4 or later.

Supported Operating Systems

NI Switch Executive 2015 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 8.1/8.0 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (32-bit)
  • Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)

Note  NI Switch Executive 2015 and later does not support Windows Server non-R2 editions.


NI recommends that you have the most recent service pack for your operating system installed.


Minimum System Requirements

  • Development
    • Processor—
      • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): Pentium III/Celeron 600 MHz or equivalent
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 1 GHz or faster
    • RAM—
      • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): 128 MB
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 512 MB
    • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
    • A screen resolution of 800 x 600 with 256 colors
    • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP SP3, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • Deployment
    • Processor—
      • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): Pentium 200 MHz or equivalent
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 1 GHz or faster
    • RAM—
      • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): 128 MB
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 512 MB
    • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
    • A screen resolution of 800 x 600 or no screen
    • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP SP3, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • Debug Deployment
    • Processor—
      • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): Pentium III/Celeron 600 MHz or equivalent
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 1 GHz or faster
    • RAM—
      • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3): 128 MB
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 512 MB
    • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
    • A screen resolution of 800 x 600
    • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP SP3, with all available critical updates and service packs

Recommended System

  • Development
    • Processor—Pentium 4 or equivalent
    • RAM—
      • Windows XP SP3: 256 MB
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 1 GB (32-bit), 2 GB (64-bit)
    • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
    • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP SP3, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • Deployment
    • Processor—1 GHz or faster
    • RAM—
      • Windows XP SP3: 256 MB
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 1 GB (32-bit), 2 GB (64-bit)
    • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768 or no screen
    • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP SP3, with all available critical updates and service packs
  • Debug Deployment
    • Processor—Pentium 4 or equivalent
    • RAM—
      • Windows XP SP3: 256 MB
      • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista: 1 GB (32-bit), 2 GB (64-bit)
    • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
    • Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP SP3, with all available critical updates and service packs

Application Development Environments (ADEs)

Note  You should install ADEs, such as NI LabVIEW, NI LabWindows™/CVI™ or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing NI Switch Executive. To add support for ADEs installed after installing NI Switch Executive, modify your NI Switch Executive installation or launch the NI Switch Executive installer again.


  • NI LabVIEW 2012 SP1 (32-bit), 2012 SP1 (64-bit), 2013 SP1 (32-bit), 2013 SP1 (64-bit), 2014 SP1 (32-bit), 2014 SP1 (64-bit), 2015 (32-bit), or 2015 (64-bit)
  • LabWindows/CVI 2012 or later
  • Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) 6.0 or later

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Installed Software

<NIRootDir32> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
  • Windows 8.1 (32-bit)/8.0 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)/Vista (32-bit)/XP: \Program Files\National Instruments
  • Windows 8.1 (64-bit)/8.0 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit): \Program Files (x86)\National Instruments

File Locations

Item Installed Location on Windows 8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP
NI Switch Executive <NIRootDir32>\SwitchExecutive\SwitchExecutive.exe
NI Switch Executive Function Panel

<NIRootDir32>\Shared\CVI\bin\nise.lfp


<NIRootDir32>\Shared\CVI\bin\niseCfg.fp


NI Switch Executive Examples <NIRootDir32>\SwitchExecutive\Examples
NI Switch Executive Header files <NIRootDir32>\Switch Executive\API\C
NI Switch Executive Import Library files (32-bit) <NIRootDir32>\Switch Executive\API\C
NI Switch Executive Import Library files (64-bit) <NIRootDir32>\Switch Executive\API\C\Lib_x64
NI Switch Executive DLL* \Windows\System32
*Installed location on 32-bit operating systems only. Refer to the following table for installed locations on 64-bit operating systems.

Additional File Locations for Windows 8 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit)

Item Installed Location on Windows 8.1 (64-bit)/8.0 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)/Vista (64-bit)
NI Switch Executive DLL (32-bit) \Windows\SysWOW64
NI Switch Executive DLL (64-bit) \Windows\System32

Executable

Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Switch Executive»NI MAX with NI Switch Executive to launch NI Switch Executive.


Documentation

Documentation for NI Switch Executive is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Switch Executive»Switch Executive Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents:


Document Format Description
NI Switch Executive Help HTML/Windows Help Contains primary help content for NI Switch Executive products. The help is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to NI Switch Executive
  • How to get started with application development
  • A complete reference for all NI Switch Executive programming functions and VIs
NI Switch Executive Getting Started Guide Printed and PDF Contains software and hardware installation, MAX configuration, signal connection, and troubleshooting information for your device.
NI Switch Executive Readme HTML (this document) Contains information about supported operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices.

For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.


Note  To view PDFs, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. You can install the viewer from www.adobe.com/acrobat.


Finding Examples

In LabVIEW, you can use the NI Example Finder to search or browse examples. NI Switch Executive examples are classified by keyword, so you can search for a particular device or measurement function. In LabVIEW, select Help»Find Examples to launch the NI Example Finder. The NI Example Finder offers two ways to access all installed LabVIEW example VIs and their descriptions:


  • Click the Browse tab to locate modulation examples by task at Toolkits and Modules»NI Switch Executive.
  • Click the Search tab to search all installed examples by keyword. For example, search for "Switch Executive" to locate all NI Switch Executive examples.

You can also access all the installed NI Switch Executive examples for LabVIEW at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Switch Executive»Switch Executive Examples and online at ni.com/examples.


Product Security and Critical Updates

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


Uninstalling/Modifying NI Switch Executive

For Windows XP, complete the following steps:


  1. Launch the Control Panel by selecting Start»Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
  3. Select National Instruments Software.
  4. Click Change/Remove.
  5. Select NI Switch Executive 2015 from the dialog box that appears.
  6. Select Driver Runtime.
  7. Click Remove to uninstall the product(s); click Modify to change the components that are installed.

For Windows 7/Vista, complete the following steps:


  1. Launch the Control Panel by selecting Start»Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Programs and Features.
  3. Select National Instruments Software.
  4. Click the Uninstall/Change button.
  5. Select NI Switch Executive 2015 from the dialog box that appears.
  6. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

For Windows 8.x, complete the following steps:


  1. Right-click the Start screen.
  2. Select All apps and launch the Control Panel.
  3. Select Programs»Programs and Features.
  4. Select National Instruments Software.
  5. Click the Uninstall button.
  6. Select NI Switch Executive 2015 from the dialog box that appears.
  7. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

As part of the NI Switch Executive 2015 installation, the following software is installed. To completely remove the NI Switch Executive 2015 installation from your system, you must also remove all of the following packages:


  • NI IVI Compliance Package 15.0
  • NI Measurement & Automation Explorer 15.0
  • NI-VISA 15.0
  • NI I/O Trace 15.0

Caution  Several of the software packages listed above are shared with other NI software packages. If you attempt to remove a piece of software that something else is dependent on, a message launches to warn you about the software dependencies. You can choose to either uninstall all of the software or to leave the shared software installed. If you choose to uninstall the shared software, some of your other NI software may no longer function correctly.


Note  Do not attempt to uninstall by manually deleting files.


Known Issues

You can access the software known issues list online. Refer to the NI Switch Executive 2015 Known Issues at ni.com/info and enter the Info Code exjxuq for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI Switch Executive.


Bug Fixes

The following items are changes in NI Switch Executive 2015 from NI Switch Executive 3.6.


ID Fixed Issue
326078 Corrected an problem in which DPST and DPDT topologies displayed as independent topologies in the Schematic Configuration tab.
371416 Corrected a problem in which certain devices could not be operated in the Test Panel due to InitiallyConnectedChannelState channels.
526810 Corrected a problem in which NI Switch Executive configurations could not be imported in the .nce format.

The following items are changes in NI Switch Executive 3.6 from NI Switch Executive 3.5.


ID Fixed Issue
328878 Fixed the Find Route error in NI Switch Executive (CVI Error -1074126840).
345048 Fixed an issue in which TestStand took up to 10 seconds to load the SE Virtual Device names and Route(s) to Connect.

The following items are changes in NI Switch Executive 3.5 from NI Switch Executive 3.0.


ID Fixed Issue
122555 Fixed an issue in which multiple calls to the niSE Find Route VI yielded different results.
171277 NI Switch Executive now properly supports disconnected licenses.
196256 NI Switch Executive now checks out licenses based on context feature.

The following items are changes in NI Switch Executive 3.0 from NI Switch Executive 2.1.1.


ID Fixed Issue
109275 In some cases involving exclusions and hardwires, NI Switch Executive was not detecting exclusion conflicts. This fix might cause a previously validated configuration to not validate until the exclusion conflict is resolved.

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 about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:


How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, 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.


Using NI Launcher

NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.


Note  NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.

Pinning Frequently Used Applications

For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary.


Current ApplicationIcon LocationPin to Action
Windows 8.x Desktop Desktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to Taskbar
Windows 8.x Desktop Start screenRight-click application and select Pin to Start
Windows 8.x Start screen Desktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen

Finding All Programs

If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).


For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.


NI Switch Executive Drops Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 in 2016

National Instruments Switch Executive will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of NI Switch Executive that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes.


Product Info Code
NI LabVIEW lifecycle
NI LabWindows™/CVI™ cvi_lifecycle
NI Measurement Studio mstudiolifecycle
NI TestStand tslcp
NI DIAdem ddlcp
NI SignalExpress selcp
NI VeriStand nivslifecycle

Legal Information

Copyright


© 2002–2015 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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