NI Vision Acquisition Software Release Notes

June 2008

This file contains important information about National Instruments Vision Acquisition Software and is organized into the following sections:

New Features
Upgrade Considerations for Vision Acquisition Software
Upgrade Considerations for NI-IMAQ Customers
Upgrade Considerations for NI-IMAQ for IEEE 1394 Cameras Customers
Upgrade Considerations for NI-IMAQ I/O Customers
Upgrade Considerations for RT Desktops
Minimum System Requirements
Software Support
Installation
Configuring NI-IMAQ
Configuring the NI 17xx smart camera
Configuring NI-IMAQdx
Documentation

NI Vision Acquisition Software allows you to acquire, display, and save images; control the digital I/O on IEEE 1394 hardware; and configure your driver software and hardware.

The readme.html file for each NI Vision Acquisition Software driver is installed to the following default locations, where <National Instruments> is the location to which National Instruments software is installed.

• NI-IMAQ—<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQ\Docs\readme.html
• NI-IMAQdx—<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQdx\Docs\readme.html
• NI-IMAQ I/O—<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQ IO\Docs\readme.html

This release of Vision Acquisition Software includes the following new features:

NI-IMAQ 4.1

NI-IMAQ is the National Instruments driver software for NI image acquisition devices. Using NI-IMAQ, you can program your image acquisition device to acquire images.

• Support for NI 1744, NI 1762, and NI 1764 smart cameras
• Support for LabVIEW 8.6

NI-IMAQdx 3.2

NI-IMAQdx is the National Instruments driver software for IEEE 1394 and GigE Vision cameras. NI-IMAQdx gives you the ability to use IEEE 1394 and GigE Vision industrial digital video cameras to acquire images.

• Support for LabVIEW 8.6
• Support for GenICam Version 1.1
• New GigE Vision Real-Time (RT) driver. The high performance driver has been ported to the LabVIEW Real-Time Module and provides support for the NI 8231 and NI 8234 GigE adapters. Visit ni.com/info and enter rdcygv for information about configuring your real-time system for GigE Vision cameras
• Update to the NI CVS-1450 Series Compact Vision System BIOS to support the Reliance file system and auto-IP configuration. The Reliance file system adds fault tolerant support to the flash memory on NI CVS-1450 devices. Auto-IP configuration allows remote targets to acquire a link local address in the absence of a DHCP server
• Update to the universal video driver to expand the video output support for RT targets. Tested RT targets now include the NI 8196/8106/8176/8186 PXI controllers, NI 8105/8130 PXIe controllers, NI CVS-1450 Series Compact Vision Systems, and RT desktops

NI-IMAQ I/O 2.2

NI-IMAQ I/O is the National Instruments I/O device driver software for controlling the digital I/O on IEEE 1394 hardware.

• Support for LabVIEW 8.6

Locations for camera files and examples have changed. Refer to the readme.html file for each NI Vision Acquisition Software driver, installed to the following default locations, for information on these changes.

• NI-IMAQ—<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQ\Docs\readme.html
• NI-IMAQdx—<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQdx\Docs\readme.html
• NI-IMAQ I/O—<National Instruments>\NI-IMAQ IO\Docs\readme.html

Note: If you have installed a prior version of NI-IMAQ on a Windows Vista system, uninstall the old version before installing NI-IMAQ software.

Region of Interest (ROI) and scaling settings in NI-IMAQ 2.x persist if you call Snap, Grab Setup, or Sequence a second time. In NI-IMAQ 3.0 or later, subsequent function calls change the ROI and scaling values to the defaults, as they were defined in MAX, unless you pass in new values for each.

NI-IMAQdx introduces a new, though similar, application programming interface (API) for acquiring images from GigE Vision and IEEE 1394 cameras. National Instruments recommends that you use the NI-IMAQdx API for future applications. The following information is important to those upgrading to NI-IMAQdx from NI-IMAQ for IEEE 1394 Cameras.

Note: If you have installed a prior version of NI-IMAQ for IEEE 1394 Cameras on a Windows Vista system, uninstall the old version before installing the NI-IMAQdx.

Existing Applications Will Continue to Work

NI-IMAQ for IEEE 1394 Cameras 2.0.5 files will be installed on the target machine. Existing compiled applications will continue to call into this driver and will run exactly as they did in NI-IMAQ for IEEE 1394 Cameras 2.0.x. This is also true for existing applications run from the development environment including National Instruments LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, Microsoft Visual Basic, and Visual C.

The following sections provide specific information about updating your software for use with your NI-IMAQ I/O device. NI-IMAQ I/O devices include the NI CVS-1450 Series compact vision system, the NI PCI-8254R, and the NI PCIe-8255R.

Note: If you have installed a prior version of NI-IMAQ I/O on a Windows Vista system, uninstall the old version before installing the NI-IMAQ I/O software.

NI Vision Builder AI

If you are using Vision Builder AI with your CVS-1450 device, you must have Vision Builder AI 2.5 or later installed. If you have Vision Builder AI 2.0 installed, go to ni.com/support, and click the Drivers and Updates link to find and install the latest update. Without this support, you cannot configure the CVS-1450 device. Refer to the Vision Builder AI readme.html file for additional information about this update.

Upgrading NI-IMAQ I/O Host VIs for Use with LabVIEW 8.x

A host VI is a VI that communicates with an FPGA VI to control an FPGA target. A host VI can run on a Windows computer or on a real-time (RT) target. If you previously used LabVIEW 7.x to program your NI-IMAQ I/O device and you upgrade to LabVIEW 8.x, host VIs that use the digital I/O functionality of the NI-IMAQ I/O device may have a broken Run arrow when you open the VIs in LabVIEW 8.x.

Complete the following steps to correct the broken Run arrow:

1. In LabVIEW 8.x, select Tools»Update 7.X VIs using NI-IMAQ I/O in the Getting Started window or in the Project Explorer window of an open project.
2. Click Add to add the host VIs that you want to upgrade to the VIs list.
3. Choose the location to save the VIs.
4. Click Continue. The Update 7.X VIs using NI-IMAQ I/O window will automatically close when the update is complete.

Upgrading FPGA VIs for Use with LabVIEW 8.x

An FPGA VI is a VI that runs on an FPGA target. If you created FPGA VIs using LabVIEW 7.x and the LabVIEW FPGA Module 1.x, you can update the VIs for use with LabVIEW 8.x and the LabVIEW FPGA Module 8.x. Refer to Upgrading FPGA VIs, Host VIs, and Embedded Projects from LabVIEW FPGA Module 1.x to 8.2 in the LabVIEW Help for more information about upgrading FPGA VIs to LabVIEW 8.x.

After you have updated the software on your host computer, you must also update the software on your RT target. Refer to the Configuring NI-IMAQdx for the LabVIEW Real-Time Module section for information about updating software on your RT target.

Upgrade Considerations for RT Desktop

If you upgrade an RT desktop formatted with a LabVIEW Real-Time 8.2.1 boot disk to LabVIEW Real-Time 8.6, and install any NI Vision Acquisition Software 8.6 components to the RT desktop, the RT desktop fails to complete the boot-up process. The RT desktop will hang before the Welcome to LabVIEW 8.6 message. To fix the hang, format the RT desktop with a LabVIEW Real-Time 8.6 utility USB drive. Install LabVIEW Real-Time 8.6 and NI Vision Acquisition Software 8.6.

Refer to the Using Desktop PCs as RT Targets with the LabVIEW Real-Time Module document for information about configuring a desktop PC as an RT target. This document installs with the LabVIEW Real-Time module and you can find it on ni.com/manuals.

The development computer must meet the following requirements to run NI Vision Acquisition Software:

• Pentium 4 1 GHz or equivalent processor
• 512 MB RAM
• Free hard disk space
  • NI-IMAQ: 460 MB
  • NI-IMAQdx: 360 MB
  • NI-IMAQ I/O: 850 MB
• 1024 × 768 resolution video adapter and monitor
• Internet Explorer 5.0 or later to view online documentation

This section describes the operating systems and application development environments (ADEs) supported by NI Vision Acquisition Software.

Operating Systems

• LabVIEW Real-Time Module (LabVIEW RT) 7.1.1 or later
• Microsoft Windows Vista/XP/2000. Refer to the following table for more information.
  
  

  Device	Windows Vista 32-bit	Windows Vista 64-bit
  NI 1405	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1407	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1408	No	No
  NI 1409	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1410	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1411	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1422	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1424	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1426	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1427	Yes	Yes*†
  NI 1428	Yes	Yes*
  NI 1429	Yes	Yes*†
  NI 1430	Yes	Yes*†
  NI 8231	Yes	Yes
  NI 8234	Yes	Yes
  NI 8252	Yes	Yes
  NI 8254R	Yes	Yes
  NI 8255R	Yes	Yes
  *  Applications developed using LabVIEW 8.2.1 or later will run on systems with more than 3 GB of physical memory. Applications developed using other development environments, such as Microsoft Visual C, Visual Basic, and .Net, are limited to systems with 3 GB or less of physical memory. All 32-bit applications, including those developed using LabVIEW, may not allocate more than 2 GB of memory total. †  A firmware update is available for this device to allow non-LabVIEW applications to run on systems with more than 3 GB of physical memory. To update the device firmware, launch MAX and select Tools»NI Vision»Update NI-IMAQ Device Firmware.

Development Environments

• LabVIEW 7.1.1 and LabVIEW 8.2 and later
• LabVIEW Real-Time Module 7.1.1 or later
• LabWindows/CVI 7.1.1 or later
• Microsoft Visual C/C++ 6.0 or later
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 or later
• Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 and later (except NI-IMAQ I/O)

Additional Software

You can also use NI-IMAQ, NI-IMAQdx, and NI-IMAQ I/O with the following National Instruments software packages to prototype, benchmark, and deploy your applications.

• NI Vision Development Module 7.1 or later
• NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (Vision Builder AI) 2.5 or later

NI 17xx Smart Camera

NI 17xx Smart Cameras require LabVIEW or Vision Builder AI for application development. Refer to Getting Started with the NI 17xx Smart Camera for information about the minimum software versions supported by your NI 17xx Smart Cameras.

Complete the following steps to install NI Vision Acquisition Software:

Note: You must have administrator access to install the NI Vision Acquisition Software.

1. Insert the NI Vision Acquisition Software installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
2. If you do not have autorun enabled, double-click autorun.exe. If you have autorun enabled, autorun.exe runs automatically.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

NI-IMAQ and NI-IMAQdx integrate with MAX, the National Instruments utility for configuring and testing your measurement and automation system. The MAX icon appears on your desktop after you install NI Vision Acquisition Software.

Complete the following steps to install an image acquisition device and configure NI-IMAQ:

Note: You must install NI-IMAQ before installing your image acquisition device.

Caution: Power off and unplug the computer before installing your hardware. Wait for any motherboard LEDs to power off before proceeding, since some computers remain powered for some time after being unplugged.

1. Install your image acquisition device, and connect the camera. Refer to the device documentation for specific hardware installation instructions.
2. Run MAX.
   1. Double-click the MAX icon on the desktop. You can use MAX to modify camera properties. Once you have saved these properties, they become the default settings for all NI-IMAQ applications.
   2. Expand Devices and Interfaces and NI-IMAQ Devices to display a list of the image acquisition devices installed on your computer.
3. Select a camera file, and acquire an image.
   1. Click the plus sign next to the image acquisition device to expand the menu tree and list the available channels or ports. Right-click the channel or port to display a list of available cameras.
   2. Select the appropriate camera type from the list. Camera type selection varies according to the image acquisition device installed.
   3. To change the camera settings, modify the parameters at the bottom of the image viewer panel.
   4. You can acquire an image in the following ways:
      • Use the Snap button to acquire and display a single image with the image acquisition device.
      • Use the Grab button to acquire images continuously. A grab allows you to focus the camera.

Tip: For a complete list of supported cameras, right-click the channel or port, select Camera, and click Search ni.com.

Note: Refer to the right side of the MAX user interface, which displays context-sensitive help, for information about configuring image acquisition devices with MAX.

Configuring a Remote PXI/Compact PCIe Image Acquisition Device

Use MAX to install NI-IMAQ for LabVIEW Real-Time from the host machine onto the target system. The NI-IMAQ for LabVIEW Real-Time components enable the remote device to acquire and analyze images as directed by the host machine.

Note: Install NI-IMAQ and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module on the remote system before you install and configure the image acquisition device. Follow the steps in the MAX help window to install software.

Tip: Configuring remote image acquisition devices is similar to configuring local image acquisition devices, except that the procedure for working with camera files is different. Refer to the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQ for information about working with camera files on remote image acquisition devices.

1. Launch MAX.
2. In the Configuration tree, expand Remote Systems.
3. Expand the appropriate system.
4. Expand Devices and Interfaces.
5. Expand NI-IMAQ Devices.
6. Expand the device you want to configure.

Refer to the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQ for information about configuring specific NI image acquisition devices. You can access this help file from the MAX Help menu by selecting Help»Help Topics»NI Vision»NI-IMAQ.

Use MAX to install NI-IMAQ and the LabVIEW Real-Time Module from the host machine onto the NI 17xx smart camera. The NI-IMAQ for LabVIEW Real-Time components enable the NI 17xx smart camera to acquire and analyze images as directed by the host machine.

Note: Follow the steps in the MAX help window to install software.

1. Launch MAX.
2. In the Configuration tree, expand Remote Systems.
3. Expand the appropriate NI 17xx smart camera.
4. Select imgO.

Refer to the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQ for more information about configuring the NI 17xx smart cameras. You can access this help file from the MAX Help menu by selecting Help»Help Topics»NI Vision»NI-IMAQ.

Complete the following steps to install and configure NI-IMAQdx.

Instructions for configuring an IEEE 1394 or GigE Vision camera are included in the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQdx. You can access this help file from the MAX Help menu by selecting Help»Help Topics»NI Vision»NI-IMAQdx.

Installing IEEE 1394 Hardware

Install your IEEE 1394 interface card. Follow the installation instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Installing the High Performance GigE Vision Driver

If you have an Intel Pro/1000 Series gigabit Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC), it is recommended that you install the High Performance GigE Vision Driver. This will ensure optimized performance and minimal configuration. To associate your hardware with the high performance driver, complete the following steps.

1. Install your NIC.
   1. If Windows does not prompt you to choose a driver, proceed to step 2.
   2. If Windows prompts you to choose a driver, proceed to step 3.
2. Right-click the NIC in the Device Manager, and select Update Driver.
3. Choose not to connect to the Windows Update Web site, and click Next.
4. Choose to Install from a list or a specific location, and click Next.
5. Choose Don't Search. I will choose the driver to install.
6. Click Next.
7. Select National Instruments GigE Vision driver from the list, and click Next.
8. Click Finish.

   Note: Windows may return a warning stating that the driver is unsigned. It is safe to ignore the warning.

Installing the Universal GigE Vision Driver

NI-IMAQdx will work with any standard gigabit Ethernet NIC. To use NI-IMAQdx with a standard gigabit Ethernet NIC, complete the following steps:

1. Install the NIC and any related drivers. Refer to the NIC device documentation for installation instructions.
2. Enable jumbo frames (frame packet size is greater than 1,500 bytes) on your NIC.
   1. Right-click the NIC in the Device Manager, and select Properties.
   2. Click the Advanced tab, and Jumbo Frames will appear in the Property list if supported by your NIC.
   3. Select the largest frame size available and click OK.

   Note: The procedure for enabling jumbo frames on your NIC may vary by manufacturer. Refer to the NIC device documentation for more information about enabling jumbo frames.

3. Disable the Windows Firewall or any additional third party firewalls on the port. Windows Firewall can be disabled on individual ports from the Advanced tab of the Windows Firewall applet.

Configuring Multiple Ports

If you plan to use multiple ports with NI-IMAQdx, complete the following steps:

1. Open the Network Connections window in Windows, and select all of the ports that cameras will be connected to by holding <Ctrl> while clicking each port.
2. Right-click one of the selected ports, and choose Bridge Connections.

   Note: If you are not using the High Performance Driver, you will be unable to use jumbo frames on bridged devices.

Configuring NI-IMAQdx for Windows

Complete the following steps to configure NI-IMAQdx for Windows:

1. Connect the IEEE 1394 or GigE Vision camera.
2. Run MAX.
   1. Double-click the MAX icon on your desktop. You can use MAX to modify camera attributes. After you have saved these attributes, they become the default settings for all NI-IMAQdx or NI Vision applications.
   2. Expand Devices and Interfaces»NI-IMAQdx in the configuration tree to display a list of the cameras installed on your computer.
   3. For IEEE 1394 cameras, NI-IMAQdx may not be associated with the camera. If this is the case, change the associated driver by right-clicking the camera and selecting Driver»NI-IMAQdx.
   4. Select the camera from the list. You then can view or modify the camera attributes on the Camera Attributes tab located below the image viewer.

Tip: Click the Show Help button to display the help window on the right side of the image viewer. Move your mouse over the properties to view context-sensitive help in the bottom half of the help window.

If you are using a Windows development machine, the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, and an RT target, complete the following steps to install and configure NI-IMAQdx:

Note: NI-IMAQdx only supports IEEE 1394 cameras on the LabVIEW Real-Time Module.

1. Install NI-IMAQdx software on your Windows development machine.
2. Ensure that your RT target is connected to the same subnet as the Windows development machine.
3. Run MAX.
   1. Double-click the MAX icon on your desktop.
   2. Expand the Remote Systems list in the configuration tree.
   3. Select your RT target in the list.
   4. Configure your network settings. Refer to the Remote Systems Help in MAX (Help»Help Topics»Remote Systems) for instructions about configuring network settings.
4. Install NI-IMAQdx on the RT target.
   1. Click the Software item below the RT target in the configuration tree.
   2. Click Install Software on the MAX toolbar to launch the LabVIEW Real-Time Install Software Wizard.
   3. Select NI-IMAQdx RT, as well as any additional software you would like to install on the target machine.
   4. Click Next. Review the list of software you selected to install.
   5. Click Next to begin downloading the software to the target machine. When MAX has finished downloading the software, it restarts the remote device.
   6. Click Finish.
5. Connect your camera to your remote system.

   Note: If you are using an NI CVS-1450 Series device with Vision Builder AI, refer to the Vision Builder AI documentation for camera configuration information.

6. Press <F5> to refresh the MAX configuration tree. Your IEEE 1394 camera should be listed in the Remote Systems list.

   Tip: Press <F5> to refresh the configuration tree whenever you connect a new device to an RT target.

7. Expand Devices and Interfaces»NI-IMAQdx in the configuration tree to display a list of the cameras installed on your computer.
8. Select the camera from the list. You then can view or modify the camera attributes from the Camera Attributes panel located below the image viewer.

The NI Vision Acquisition Software documentation is installed onto your hard drive with NI Vision Acquisition Software. The documentation ships as Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) files and HTML Help files.

To view the NI Vision Acquisition Software documentation, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Documentation. You can access the NI-IMAQ VI Reference Help and the NI-IMAQdx VI Reference Help from the LabVIEW Help menu.

Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader with Search and Accessibility 5.0.5 or later installed to view the PDFs. Refer to the Adobe Systems Incorporated Web site at www.adobe.com to download Adobe Reader.

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