NI VirtualBench 15.2 Readme

February 2016


This file contains important information about VirtualBench 15.2, including any system requirements and supported devices for the application and the driver software.


System Requirements

NI Application Software Support

Product Security and Critical Updates

New Features

Driver Version Naming Changes

Devices Supported in VirtualBench

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Legal Information


System Requirements

VirtualBench supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows 7 Service Pack (SP) 1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows Vista, SP 1 or greater (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows XP, SP3 or greater
  • Windows Server 2003 R2, SP2 or greater (32-bit)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2, SP1 or greater (64-bit)
  • Windows Server 2012 R2

NI Application Software Support

The following table lists the NI application software versions, including service packs, supported by VirtualBench.


NI Application Software Versions Supported by VirtualBench
LabVIEW 2013, 2014, 2015

Microsoft Visual Studio Support

The following table lists the programming languages and Microsoft Visual Studio versions supported by this version of VirtualBench.


Programming Language Visual Studio Versions Supported by VirtualBench
ANSI C 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.


New Features

This version of NI VirtualBench adds the following new features:


  • Analog and digital pulse-width triggers to both the driver software and the application
  • More FFT window types, reference channels, and arbitrary waveform generation (Windows only) to the application
  • Digital phosphor acquisition to the application (Windows and VB-8034 only)
  • Note  For additional information on features in Windows versus iOS, refer to the VirtualBench Features for Windows Application and iPad App. For more information on what has changed with each firmware update, refer to the VirtualBench Firmware Release Notes.


Driver Version Naming Changes

VirtualBench versions are now aligned with the versions of major NI application software products. This alignment gives you information about the year the driver was released and the most recent software version the driver was designed to work with. Driver versions now start with a two-digit year indicator: <ProductName><Year-BasedVersion>. For example, VirtualBench 15.0 is the version released with LabVIEW 2015. The last version released under the old numbering scheme is VirtualBench 1.2. The first version released under the new numbering scheme is VirtualBench 15.0.


Devices Supported in VirtualBench

The following devices are supported in VirtualBench:


  • NI VB-8012
  • NI VB-8034

Automating the Installation of NI Products

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. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.


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:


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

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.


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher.


Using NI Launcher

NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.


Note  NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.1. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.


Pinning Frequently Used Applications

For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:


Current ApplicationIcon LocationPin to Action
Windows 8.1 DesktopDesktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to Taskbar
Windows 8.1 Desktop Start screenRight-click application and select Pin to Start
Windows 8.1 Start screenDesktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen

Finding All Programs

If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).


For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.


VirtualBench Drops Support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 in 2016

NI will drop support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack), Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of VirtualBench that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:


Product Info Code
NI LabVIEWlifecycle
NI LabWindows™/CVI™cvi_lifecycle
NI Measurement Studiomstudiolifecycle
NI TestStandtslcp
NI DIAdemddlcp
NI SignalExpressselcp
NI VeriStandnivslifecycle

Legal Information

Copyright


© 2014–2016 National Instruments. All rights reserved.


Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.


NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.


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:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

Trademarks


Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.


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 National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.


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