LabVIEW 2015 Database Connectivity Toolkit Readme

Version 15.0.0


June 2015


This file contains important information about the LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit, including installation instructions, a partial list of recommended database client software for Database Connectivity Toolkit 2015, and known issues.


Overview

System Requirements

Installation Instructions

Recommended Database Client Software

Product Security and Critical Updates

Known Issues

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

Automating the Installation of NI Products

How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

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

Legal Information


Overview

The LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit provides tools for performing common database operations from LabVIEW. This toolkit connects to databases, such as Microsoft Access, SQL Server, and Oracle.


System Requirements

In addition to the system requirements for the LabVIEW Development System, the LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit has the following requirements:


  • LabVIEW 2015 Base, Full, or Professional Development System (32-bit)
  • At least 40 MB of disk space

Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW 2015.


Installation Instructions

The Database Connectivity Toolkit installs with LabVIEW and activates with the LabVIEW Professional license. If you purchased the Database Connectivity Toolkit separately, complete the installation instructions in this section.


Before installing the Database Connectivity Toolkit, uninstall any previous versions of the SQL Toolkit for G that you have installed. The Database Connectivity Toolkit and the SQL Toolkit for G use different methods of communicating with databases. Sharing VIs between toolkits can result in errors.


You can install all of your LabVIEW products—including the Database Connectivity Toolkit—using the LabVIEW 2015 Platform media. Refer to the LabVIEW Installation Guide on the LabVIEW Platform media for installation instructions and system requirements.


To request additional LabVIEW Platform media, refer to the National Instruments website.


Note


  • If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchase to install this product.
  • Due to differences between the ActiveX interface of different versions of the Microsoft ADO driver, National Instruments recommends that you mass compile the Database Connectivity VIs after installation to improve performance.

Recommended Database Client Software

The Database Connectivity Toolkit works with any database or data source that has ODBC or OLE DB drivers. The following list describes issues and recommendations for which database client software to use. Refer to the Known Issues section of this readme for database-specific issues.


  • Microsoft Access—National Instruments recommends that you use the Microsoft Jet 4.0 or later OLE DB Provider.
  • Microsoft SQL Server—National Instruments recommends that you use the Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server.
  • Oracle—You must install Oracle Client software on the machine to which you install the Database Connectivity Toolkit. National Instruments recommends that you use the Oracle Provider for OLE DB 8.1.6.2.0 or later. You can download the Oracle Provider from the Oracle website at www.oracle.com.

Product Security and Critical Updates

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


Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments website for an up-to-date list of known issues in the Database Connectivity Toolkit.


Accessing the Help

The LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit User Manual contains conceptual information about using the Database Connectivity Toolkit. Open this manual by navigating to the labview\manuals directory and opening DCT_User_Manual.pdf.


Refer to the LabVIEW Help, accessible by selecting Help»LabVIEW Help from LabVIEW, for information about the Database VIs and function.


Finding Examples

Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW to launch the NI Example Finder. Navigate to the Toolkits and Modules»Database Connectivity folder to find LabVIEW examples for the Database Connectivity Toolkit. You also can find these examples in the labview\examples\database 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.


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:


How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, 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.x. 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.x DesktopDesktop TaskbarRight-click application and select Pin to Taskbar
Windows 8.x Desktop Start screenRight-click application and select Pin to Start
Windows 8.x 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.x, visit ni.com/windows8.


NI LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit Drops Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 in 2016

National Instruments LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit 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
LabVIEWlifecycle
LabWindows™/CVI™cvi_lifecycle
Measurement Studiomstudiolifecycle
TestStandtslcp
DIAdemddlcp
SignalExpressselcp
VeriStandnivslifecycle

Legal Information

Copyright


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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.


National Instruments 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.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights


If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.


IVI Foundation Copyright Notice


Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.


The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.


Trademarks


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


Patents


For patents covering the National Instruments 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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