LabVIEW provides access to other Windows-based applications using .NET and ActiveX technologies.

The .NET technology is the programming basis of the .NET environment you use to build, deploy, and run Web-based applications, smart client applications, and XML Web services. You must install .NET. Refer to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) website for more information about installing .NET.

Note Creating and communicating with .NET Framework objects in LabVIEW requires the .NET CLR 4.0 that installs with LabVIEW. You must use a .NET 2.0 configuration file if you want to load .NET 2.0 mixed-mode assemblies. Refer to the Requirements for using .NET Framework with LabVIEW for more information about .NET restrictions in LabVIEW. NI strongly recommends that you use .NET Framework objects only in LabVIEW projects.

ActiveX refers to Microsoft's ActiveX technology and OLE technology. With ActiveX Automation, a Windows-based application, such as LabVIEW, provides a public set of objects, commands, and functions that other Windows-based applications can access. Refer to the MSDN documentation for more information about ActiveX.

  • Inside OLE, by Kraig Brockschmidt, second edition
  • Essential COM, by Don Box

Refer to ActiveX and LabVIEW at ni.com for more information about using ActiveX with LabVIEW.