Archived: LabVIEW 8.5.1 PDA Module for Windows Mobile Known Issues

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Overview



This document contains the LabVIEW 8.5.1 PDA Module for Windows Mobile known issues that were discovered before and since the release of the LabVIEW 8.5.1 PDA Module for Windows Mobile. Not every issue known to NI will appear on this list; it is intended to only show the severe and more common issues that can be encountered.

Known Issues

The following items are known issues in the LabVIEW 8.5.1 PDA Module.

IDKnown Issue
 Installation Known Issues
(Windows 2000) The PDA Module installs Microsoft ActiveSync 4.2. You might receive a Microsoft Office Outlook error that states Either there is no default mail client or the current mail client cannot fulfill the messaging request. Please run Microsoft Office Outlook and set it as the default mail client.

Workaround—You do not need to install Microsoft Outlook nor does Outlook have to be your default mail client. Click the OK button to continue installation.
The PDA Module automatically installs ActiveSync 4.2 if ActiveSync is not already installed. When you install the PDA Module and do not already have ActiveSync, the installer automatically reboots the computer without alerting you.

Workaround—Rerun the installer (setup.exe) to complete the installation or install ActiveSync before you install the PDA Module.
If you install LabVIEW and the PDA Module to custom locations that contain non-ASCII characters, errors occur when you build PDA VIs into PDA applications.

Workaround—Install LabVIEW and the PDA Module to the default installation locations.
 General Known Issues
Several front panel and block diagram objects behave differently when the execution target is a PDA target. Refer to the PDA Module book in the LabVIEW Help for information about different or unsupported front panel or block diagram functionality.
2W0DTEJUThe PDA Module does not support significant digits.

Workaround—Use digits of precision instead.
If you flatten data that contains an extended precision or complex precision floating-point data type, the flattened data is incompatible with any other LabVIEW version or add-on except the PDA Module or the Touch Panel Module.
3Q39UPZOAny binary operation involving a dynamic data type and a non-scalar non-dynamic data type, such as a 1D array, does not work correctly.
44698H30If you copy and paste global variables, you receive a link error when you try to build the PDA VI into a PDA application.
44698H30When you create a VI that uses multiple global variables, do not copy controls from one global variable to another global variable. Controls copied from one global variable to another global variable result in errors when you build the PDA VI into a PDA application.
XON/XOFF flow control in serial communication causes a timeout if you use the Serial Compatibility VIs. This is not an issue if you use the VISA VIs and functions.
The fractional part of a timestamp is always zero because the Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and Pocket PC 2003 operating systems do not support time resolution at the fractional level. When a timestamp in a PDA VI is rounded to the nearest integer, the timestamp is always rounded down to the next lowest integer. The effect of this behavior is that the Round to Nearest and Round to -Infinity functions produce the same output.
3ZGG3OXELabVIEW stores colors as RGB values. Windows Mobile and Windows CE stores colors as BGR values. If you place a color box constant inside of a nested array or cluster constant, the colors might render incorrectly because the red and blue components are exchanged when you build a PDA VI into a PDA application.

Workaround—Place the color box constant inside a single array or cluster constant on the block diagram and use the Build Array or Bundle function to nest the array or cluster.
Different PDA devices have different button behaviors. Use the Button Input VIs example, located in the labview\examples\PDA\button input directory, to determine and test the button behavior for a device. Use the Key Events - Pocket PC example, located in the labview\examples\PDA\key events directory, to determine how to handle key events in an Event structure. You also can open these examples through the NI Example Finder.
PDA VIs do not support the values of Z, X, or T in digital data controls and digital waveform controls. You can use values of 0, 1, L, and H.
49KH9F00Smartphone menus can have only two top-level menu items no matter how many top-level items are in the VI.
447GK1X1The PDA Pick Color VI does not support Samsung or Motorola Q Smartphones.
4BCFMCOIThe PDA Module does not support creating a source distribution. If you right-click Build Specifications in the Project Explorer window and select New»Source Distribution from the shortcut menu, LabVIEW displays an error message in the Source Distribution Properties dialog box.
(Windows Vista/XP) You must install the Virtual PC 2007 to use PDA emulators for debugging or TCP/IP applications.
 Windows Vista Known Issues
ActiveSync has been replaced with Windows Mobile Device Center, which you must download from www.microsoft.com, in Vista.
460E2GYFIf you install the PDA Module on a computer that runs a non-English version of Vista, you might receive a Command line option syntax error. Type Command/? for Help error.

Workaround—Click the OK button to continue the installation.
 User Interface Known Issues
The 2D Boolean OK, Cancel, and Stop buttons do not support different text strings for TRUE and FALSE states.
49KH9R00Scroll bars and multiline inputs/outputs are unsupported for string controls if you use the password display mode.
481EQS00, 3W2EP1Z0PDA VIs do not support transparency for dials, meters, slides, and picture controls.
4369EOYFThe PDA Module does not support the Transpose Array item on the shortcut menu of a graph or chart.
Scroll bars are not visible on array controls when you run the application on the target.

Workaround—Use horizontal or vertical scroll bars and use a Property Node with the Index Values (Array) property.
452AA2LL3D borders on tank indicators do not scale with the rest of the indicator when you build a PDA VI into an application.
444EN6Z0Tab controls redraw slowly when you switch tabs. You might see shadows of the controls on the previous tab as LabVIEW redraws the controls on the current tab.
438ELTYFXY graphs with multiple plots do not draw correctly.
46I8J200Duplicate scales and plot legends are unsupported.
3O3AD7YFCaptions are always displayed behind the control.

Workaround—To resolve this issue for button controls, use Boolean text.
491GPM00Arrays of DAQmx task name controls are not visible on the front panel of a PDA application.

Workaround—You can use an array of DAQmx task name controls in a PDA VI to write values even though the controls are not visible in the PDA application.
481814YFYou cannot use front panel data binding with radio buttons controls.
 VIs and Functions Known Issues
Dynamic Add/Remove Signals is unsupported.
If you use the .NET Refnum, Event Callback Refnum, or Code Interface Nodes (CINs) in a PDA VI, you receive an error if you try to build the VI into a PDA application.
The PDA Module does not support paths in the Not a Number/Path/Refnum? function.
2X5FQMYFIf you right-click a terminal on a function to create a control or indicator, the control or indicator might have an incorrect data range for PDA targets. When this happens, the data range is from 0 to 0, which renders the increment and decrement arrows nonfunctional.

Workaround—You must manually change the data range of the control or indicator.
You must use strict C code in Formula Nodes you use in PDA VIs. However, LabVIEW does not check the C syntax in the Formula Node syntax while in edit mode. If you build a VI into a PDA application that contains a Formula Node with non-strict C code, LabVIEW returns a general error.
The Delay Values Express VI does not function correctly in PDA VIs because maintaining state in local variables between calls to a subVI is not supported.
The Configuration File VIs are unsupported.
 Property Nodes and Properties Known Issues
The PDA Module does not support the Update Value while Typing property for string objects.
4BMA1SZ0If you read from and write to properties on the same Property Node and you wire the error terminals, it produces a memory leak.

Workaround—Use two separate Property Nodes for reading from and writing to properties.
 Graphs and Charts Known Issues
The PDA Module does not support plotting waveforms with more than 32,000 elements.
378H49YFIf you are zooming a graph or chart in a PDA application and draw with the log scale, it might appear as if nothing has happened.

Workaround—Choose a larger zoom rectangle.
Pull-down menus are not visible while a chart or graph is updating.

Workaround—You can place the mouse pointer on the pull-down menu to display it to make a selection.
436A28YFPDA VIs do not support plotting dynamic data on a waveform chart.

Workaround—Plot dynamic data on a waveform graph instead.
 Tools and Drivers
You must install the VISA driver to use VISA. Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»VISA»Windows Mobile Driver Installation.
You must install the Virtual PC 2007 to use ARM-based emulators. Download the driver from the Windows Mobile 5.0 Web site.
Projects you created in version 8.0 of the PDA Module use the Microsoft eMbedded Visual Tools, which you had to download and install. You do not have to download and install these tools with version 8.2 or later of the PDA Module. However, if the eMbedded Visual Tools are not installed on the host PC, you receive a build error when you build the PDA VI into a PDA application.

Workaround—Download and install the eMbedded Visual Tools or use a new target. In version 8.2 or later, targets that are in all capital letters are eMbedded Visual Tools targets. If you need to download and install the eMbedded Visual Tools, visit the National Instruments Web site at ni.com/info and enter pdaevc for more information about the eMbedded Visual Tools.
 Additions to the PDA Module Help
You can use the Label property to get a reference to the label object of a control or indicator.
You can run PDA applications built for Pocket PC 2003 or Windows Mobile 5.0 devices on Windows Mobile 6.0 devices. Use a Pocket PC 2003 or Windows Mobile 5.0 target to programmatically download or run PDA applications from the project.
You might receive an error that states This property is writable only when the VI is in edit mode, or this method is available only when the VI is in edit mode. This error occurs if the VI is running on the host and you try to build the VI into an application. You must stop the VI on the host before building.
The Help button in the Add/Remove Headers dialog box does not open the correct help topic. To resolve this issue, select Add/Remove Headers dialog box (Embedded Targets, PDA, TPC) on the Index tab in the LabVIEW Help.
You now can wire a control reference to the Zoom Chart or Graph VI and the Clear PDA Chart VI.

 

Additional Resources

Glossary of Terms

 

  • Bug ID - When an issue is reported to NI, you may be given this ID or find it on ni.com.  You may also find IDs posted by NI on the discussion forums or in KnowledgeBase articles.
  • Legacy ID – An older issue ID that refers to the same issue.  You may instead find this issue ID in older known issues documents.
  • Description - A few sentences which describe the problem. The brief description given does not necessarily describe the problem in full detail.
  • Workaround - Possible ways to work around the problem.
  • Reported Version - The earliest version in which the issue was reported.
  • Resolved Version - Version in which the issue was resolved or was no longer applicable. "N/A" indicates that the issue has not been resolved.
  • Date Added - The date the issue was added to the document (not the reported date).