Running VIs

Running a VI executes the operation for which you designed the VI. You can run a VI if the Run button on the toolbar appears as a solid white arrow. The solid white arrow also indicates you can use the VI as a subVI if you create a connector pane for the VI.

You can configure how a VI runs by selecting File»VI Properties and selecting Execution from the Category pull-down menu.

Complete the following steps to run a VI on the block diagram:

1. Wire all the subVIs, functions, and structures with the correct data types for the terminal.
2. Click the Run or Run Continuously buttons or the single-stepping buttons on the block diagram toolbar. Clicking the Run button runs the VI once. The VI stops when the VI completes its data flow. Clicking the Run Continuously button runs the VI continuously until you stop it manually. Clicking the single-stepping buttons runs the VI in incremental steps.

Note  The Abort Execution button stops the VI immediately, before the VI finishes the current iteration. Aborting a VI that uses external resources, such as external hardware, might leave the resources in an unknown state by not resetting or releasing them properly. Design VIs with a stop button to avoid this problem.

You also can run a VI outside of the block diagram in the following ways:

• Run a VI from a LabVIEW Project by right-clicking a VI in the Project Explorer window and selecting Run from the shortcut menu. The VI front panel opens in run mode.
• Run a VI programmatically using the Run VI method.
• Run a VI programmatically using the RunVI command line operation.