October 2021
This file contains important information about NI-FGEN, including installation instructions, supported operating systems, new features and application software.
You can find more release information on ni.com.
If you plan to use LabVIEW NXG, refer to LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations.
Product Security and Critical Updates
IVI Compliance Package Functionality
LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
NI-FGEN is an NI instrument driver that enables you to implement frequency sweeping and hopping, waveform linking and looping, and frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation for complex measurement solutions. NI-FGEN is an interchangeable virtual instrument (IVI)–compliant instrument driver, and it features a set of operations and properties that exercise the functionality of the waveform or signal generator and includes an interactive soft front panel and examples.
NI-FGEN 21.3 has the following requirements:
The following list details the hardware models supported in NI-FGEN 21.3:
| Hardware Product | Supported Under Windows 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| NI-DAQmx-Based Waveform Generators | ||
| PXI/PCI-5402 | √ | |
| PXI-5404 | √ | |
| PXI/PCI-5406 | √ | |
| PXI/PCI-5412 | √ | |
| PXI/PCI-5421 | √ | |
| PXI-5422 | √ | |
| PXI-5441 | √ | |
| PXIe–5442 | √ | |
| PXIe–5450 | √ | |
| PXIe–5451 | √ | |
| NI 5413, 5423, and 5433 Waveform Generators | ||
| PXIe–5413 | √ | |
| PXIe–5423 | √ | |
| PXIe–5433 | √ | |
NI-FGEN 21.3 supports the following operating systems:
Note NI-FGEN no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.1, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system. NI-FGEN 21.3 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI-FGEN 21.3 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI-FGEN 21.3, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.
For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit http://www.ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
NI-FGEN 21.3 supports the following application software versions, including service packs. If you are not using NI application software, refer to Microsoft Visual Studio Support.
| Application Software | Versions Supported by NI-FGEN |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| LabVIEW Real-Time Module1 | 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| LabVIEW Real-Time Module with NI Linux® Real-Time | 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| LabVIEW NXG | 5.0, 5.1 |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ | 2017 and later |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ Real-Time Module1 | 2017 and later |
1No support for PXIe-5413/5423/5433 waveform generators
If you are using the NI-FGEN .NET Class Library, the .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. The NI-FGEN .NET Class Library can be used with the Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET programming languages in any Visual Studio version that can target the .NET Framework 4.0 or the .NET Framework 4.5.
To use the .NET API, you must select the .NET Framework 4.0 Languages Support or the .NET Framework 4.5 Languages Support packages in the NI-FGEN installer to install the the .NET class libraries in addition to the NI device driver. For information about versions of the .NET Framework and the drivers each supports, as well as the download location of the installer files, refer to National Instruments .NET Driver Support.
Download the NI-FGEN installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.
Note
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. For information about critical updates from NI, refer to Available Critical and Security Updates for NI Software.
NI-FGEN no longer installs IVI Compliance Package (ICP). NI-FGEN supports IVI configuration and runtime, but no longer installs the following IVI components:
To use these features, you must install ICP separately. ICP is included in the Software Platform Bundle media. A stand-alone web distribution is available from ni.com/downloads.
NI-FGEN driver when used with NI Linux® Real-Time will not support Onboard Signal Processing. This feature remains supported on Windows.
The PXIe-5442, PXIe-5450, and PXIe-5451 have upgradeable device firmware. It is highly encouraged and may be required that you upgrade the firmware on these devices; newer firmware contains new features and important bug fixes. To update the firmware, run the Firmware Updater application for your device (54xxFirmwareUpdater_X.Y.Z.exe, where 54xx is the name of the device and X.Y.Z is the firmware version) that is installed in the Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\NI-FGEN\ directory. This application upgrades your firmware to the latest available version that works with this driver. After the application runs, you are required to power down your computer and PXI Express chassis to complete the firmware update.
The NI-FGEN Soft Front Panel has been replaced by InstrumentStudio, which is automatically installed when you install the NI-FGEN driver. You can access InstrumentStudio in one of the following ways:
Note The deprecated NI-FGEN Soft Front Panel remains available for download. Visit Legacy Soft Front Panels for NI-FGEN for more information.
Refer to the NI Signal Generators Help, accessible from Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-FGEN»NI-FGEN Documentation, for information about NI-FGEN.
You can access all the installed NI-FGEN examples for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, C, and .NET at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-FGEN»NI-FGEN Examples and online at ni.com/examples. Examples also are available online that demonstrate integrating NI waveform generators with NI toolkit software including the Modulation Toolkit. Refer to ni.com/examples for these examples and for more information.
Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI to launch the NI Example Finder. LabVIEW examples for NI-FGEN are located in the LabVIEW XXXX\examples\instr\niFgen directory. You can modify an example VI to fit an application, or you can copy and paste from one or more examples into a VI that you create.
The NI Example Finder offers two ways to access all installed LabVIEW example VIs and their descriptions:
The following sections detail considerations for using LabVIEW NXG with NI-FGEN.
| Hardware Product | Supported Under Windows 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| NI-DAQmx-Based Waveform Generators | ||
| PXI/PCI-5402 | √ | |
| PXI-5404 | √2 | |
| PXI/PCI-5406 | √ | |
| PXI/PCI-5412 | √ | |
| PXI/PCI-5421 | √ | |
| PXI-5422 | √ | |
| PXI-5441 | √ | |
| PXIe–5442 | √ | |
| PXIe–5450 | √ | |
| PXIe–5451 | √ | |
| NI 5413, 5423, and 5433 Waveform Generators | ||
| PXIe–5413 | √ | |
| PXIe–5423 | √ | |
| PXIe–5433 | √ | |
| 2 External calibration of this module is not supported in LabVIEW NXG. | ||
View context help in LabVIEW by pressing <Ctrl-H> and hovering over an object.
Search for items using the search bar in the upper right corner of the LabVIEW window. You can also view context help for the search results.
Additional documentation is available online at ni.com/manuals.
Launch LabVIEW and click the Learning tab.
LabVIEW lessons are located in the Lessons tab, and LabVIEW Examples are located in the Examples tab. Follow the instructions in the lessons and examples.
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.
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:
Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.
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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:
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Patents
For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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