LabVIEW packed project libraries are project libraries that package multiple files into a single file with a .lvlibp file extension. The top-level file of a packed library is a project library. By default, the packed library has the same name as the top-level project library.
You should build a packed library from VIs in a LabVIEW project for the following reasons:
From the Project Explorer window, right-click Build Specifications and select New�Packed Library from the shortcut menu to display the Packed Library Properties dialog box and configure settings to build a packed library.
A packed library contains only LabVIEW files. By default, LabVIEW saves non-LabVIEW files to the same destination directory as the packed library. Select Support Directory in the Destinations list and change the path in the Destination path text box to change where LabVIEW saves non-LabVIEW files.
To replace a project library with a packed library in a project, right-click the project library and select Replace with from the shortcut menu. When you select Replace with, all caller VIs of the project library in the LabVIEW project update with the qualified names of the packed library.
When you open a packed library, you see only the exported LabVIEW VIs. Exported VIs are VIs in project libraries with a public access scope or VIs in LabVIEW classes with a public or protected access scope.
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Note��To create a packed library from a LabVIEW class, add the LabVIEW class to a project library and build a packed library from the project library. |
To find the access scope of a file in a packed library, right-click the file from the project library and select Access Scope from the shortcut menu. You cannot change the access scope of files in a packed library unless you make changes from the LabVIEW project and then rebuild the packed library.
When you build a packed library, you can create it as a release build or a debug build.
A release build is the default build for a packed library. Create a packed library as a release build when you do not want to include block diagrams of the VIs in the library. If a VI is not a dialog box, you also can remove front panels on the Source File Settings page of the Packed Library Properties dialog box.
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Note��You cannot debug VIs in a packed library release build because the VIs do not have block diagrams. |
Create a packed library as a debug build when you want to include block diagrams of the VIs. Use a debug build to debug issues in the packed library. Because you cannot save changes to VIs in an existing packed library, save the changes to the original VIs and then rebuild the packed library.
To create a debug build, place a checkmark in the Enable Debugging checkbox on the Advanced page of the Packed Library Properties dialog box.
The following changes to a VI in a packed library require caller VIs to recompile:
If a VI calls a packed project library compiled for one target and you open the VI on another target that has a different operating system, the packed project library fails to load.
If a stand-alone application, a shared library, or a packed library calls a VI in a packed library, include the called packed library in the same directory as the other build specifications. When a build specification calls a VI in a packed library, you can replace the library with an updated version only if the connector panes of the updated packed library are compatible with the build specification.
If the connector panes of exported VIs in the packed library are not compatible with a VI in the build specification, rebuild the build specification with the caller VI after you rebuild the library.
When a change to a VI in a packed library impacts the compatibility of the connector panes, by default the caller VI adapts to the changes, which means that you do not need to recompile the VI that calls the library. If you want the caller VI to recompile, remove the checkmark from the Callers adapt at run time to Exported VI connector pane state checkbox on the Connector Pane State page of the Packed Library Properties dialog box.
(Real-Time Module) When a change to a VI in a packed library impacts the compatibility of the connector panes, by default you need to recompile the VI that calls the library. If you want the caller VI to run without recompiling when you change a VI in a packed library, place a checkmark in the Callers adapt at run time to Exported VI connector pane state checkbox on the Connector Pane State page of the Packed Library Properties dialog box.
The packed library has the same properties as the top-level project library. Because you cannot modify a packed library without rebuilding, you cannot make changes to properties in the Project Library Properties dialog box. To display the Project Library Properties dialog box, open a packed library, right-click the .lvlibp file, and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
To update the Project Library Properties dialog box, make changes to the properties of the top-level project library and rebuild the packed library.
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Note��The Project Library Properties dialog box has different properties from the Packed Library Properties dialog box, with the exception of the Version Number. When you create a packed library, the Version Number on the Version Information page of the Packed Library Properties dialog box overrides the Version Number on the General Settings page of the Project Library Properties dialog box. |