An empty path is either an empty absolute path or an empty relative path. Use empty paths in LabVIEW VIs to prompt the user to specify a path.

  • Absolute path—Contains the complete address of a file's location within the file hierarchy.
  • Relative path—Contains the address of a file's location relative to the position of the user within the file hierarchy
    • Tip Use relative paths in VIs to avoid having to rework the paths if you build an application or run the VI on a different computer.

    Empty Paths and Windows

    An empty absolute path refers to the highest point in the file hierarchy. An empty absolute path in a path control appears as an empty string and when you wire it to a File I/O function, it refers to the list of drives mapped to the computer.

    An empty relative path appears as a period .. The empty relative path refers to the current position of the user within the file hierarchy.

    Empty Paths and macOS

    An empty absolute path in a path control appears as follows:

    • macOS 32-bit: empty string
    • macOS 64 bit: /

    When you wire the empty absolute path to a file I/O function, the empty path refers to the root directory.

    An empty relative path appears as a period .. The empty relative path refers to the current position of the user within the file hierarchy.

    Empty Paths and Linux

    An empty absolute path in a path control appears as a slash /. When you wire the empty absolute path to a file I/O function, the empty path refers to the root directory.

    An empty relative path appears as a period .. The empty relative path refers to the current position of the user within the file hierarchy.