Using a Loadable Compiled Module as a User Library

You can install your own libraries into the Library Tree. A user library has the same form as an instrument driver. You can load as a user library anything that you can load into the Instrument menu, provided the program is in compiled form. The main difference between modules you load as instrument drivers and those you load as user libraries is that you can unload instrument drivers using the Instrument»Unload command, but you cannot unload user libraries. You cannot edit and recompile user libraries while they are loaded.

To install a user library, right-click the Library Tree and select Customize Library Menu. The next time you run LabWindows/CVI, the libraries load automatically and appear in the Library Tree.

You can develop a user library module to provide support functions for instrument drivers or any other modules in your project. By installing a module through the Customize Library Menu command, you ensure that the library is always available in the LabWindows/CVI development environment. If you do not want to develop function panels for the library, create a .fp file without any classes or functions. In that case, LabWindows/CVI loads the library at startup but does not include the library name in the Library Tree.

User libraries must adhere to the requirements outlined in Compiler/Linker Issues.