Configuring LabVIEW to Use Source Control

Before you use source control with LabVIEW, you must configure LabVIEW to work with the third-party source control provider you select. Refer to the KnowledgeBase for the most current list of third-party source control providers that work with LabVIEW.

Note  Source control is available only with the Professional Development System.

Complete the following steps to configure LabVIEW to work with a source control provider.

  1. Make sure the computer on which you are running LabVIEW also includes a third-party source control provider, which you should install and configure to meet the requirements of the current software project. Consult your source control administrator for additional assistance.
  2. From a LabVIEW project or a blank VI, select Tools»Source Control»Configure Source Control to display the Source Control page of the Options dialog box.

    You also can select Tools»Options from the Getting Started window to display the Options dialog box, then click the Source Control category to display the Source Control page.
  3. Select the source control provider you want to use with LabVIEW from the Source Control Provider Name pull-down menu. A dialog box from the third-party source control provider appears so you can configure connections, user information, and other settings for LabVIEW files under source control. For example, if you select Perforce Command Line, the Perforce Project Options dialog box appears.

    (Windows) LabVIEW scans the Windows registry to determine which source control providers are installed and uses that information to populate the Source Control Provider Name pull-down menu.

    (macOS and Linux) LabVIEW runs a query of environment variables to determine if Perforce is installed. LabVIEW searches the default environment path before login scripts run. If so, the Perforce Command Line option appears in the Source Control Provider Name pull-down menu.
  4. The source control project settings you select in the source control provider dialog box appear in the Source Control Project text box. Click the Change button to reconfigure the settings. If the provider does not support this functionality, the Change button is disabled.
  5. Click the Advanced button to set advanced optional configuration options specific to the source control provider. A dialog box from the source control provider appears. For example, if you are using the Perforce command line interface, the Perforce Configuration Options dialog box appears. If the provider does not support this functionality, the Advanced button is disabled.
  6. Set the source control display and prompt options you want. Close the provider dialog box.
  7. Click the OK button to save configuration settings and close the Options dialog box.
Tip Tip  Consider separating compiled code from VIs and other file types that you store in source control. By default, when you edit a VI, LabVIEW automatically recompiles all VIs that call the changed VI, which introduces unsaved changes to the calling VIs. If the calling VIs are stored in source control, you must check them out and then check them back in. However, if you separate compiled code from the VIs within a VI hierarchy, changes to one VI do not produce unsaved changes elsewhere in the VI hierarchy. This behavior allows you to check out only the VI you want to modify.

After you configure LabVIEW to work with the source control provider, you can add files to source control, check out files, check in edited files, rename files and get the latest version of files in source control within LabVIEW. You also can configure source control for individual LabVIEW projects. If you change the provider in the Source Control page, the change affects all VIs and projects you use in LabVIEW.

If you want to perform source control operations that are not available in LabVIEW, work directly from the source control provider for those specific functions.