Separating Compiled Code from VIs and Other File Types

Separate compiled code from VIs, thereby creating source-only VIs, for the following reasons:

• To simplify source control—If you separate compiled code from all files in a VI hierarchy or LabVIEW project, changes to one file do not produce unsaved changes elsewhere in the hierarchy or project. This behavior allows you to check out only the VIs you want to modify instead of all VIs that call the changed VI.
• To prepare VIs in source control to be upgraded to a new version of LabVIEW—You can upgrade source-only VIs to a new version of LabVIEW without checking out the VIs from source control.
• To improve load time for VIs—LabVIEW can load source-only VIs more quickly than regular VIs. To maximize this benefit, separate compiled code from all the files in a VI hierarchy or project.

Do not separate compiled code from VIs that you intend to load or run using the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine. The Run-Time Engine cannot run these VIs because it has no access to the compiled object cache that stores the separate compiled code. If you intend for VI hierarchies that you check into source control to run on the Run-Time Engine, build a source distribution with the VIs.

From Which Files Do You Want to Separate Compiled Code?

• All new files by default
  Place a checkmark in the Separate compiled code from new files checkbox on the Environment page of the Options dialog box.
• All new project items in a single project by default
  Place a checkmark in the Separate compiled code from new project items checkbox on the Project page of the Project Properties dialog box.

  Note  This option does not separate compiled code from pre-existing files, even if you add the files to the project after you select this option.

• Existing project items in a single project
  Click the Mark Existing Items button on the Project page of the Project Properties dialog box. You can then select which items in the project you want to have separate compiled code.
• A single VI
  Place a checkmark in the Separate compiled code from source file checkbox on the General page of the VI Properties dialog box. You can also use the Contains Compiled Code property of a VI to separate compiled code from a single VI programmatically.
• A single project library, LabVIEW class, or XControl
  Place a checkmark in the Separate compiled code from source file checkbox on the properties page of the file. You can also use the Contains Compiled Code property of a project library to programmatically store the code of the project library in the object cache.

  Note  LabVIEW does not actually separate compiled code from these file types. Instead, when you select this option, LabVIEW stores the code for each of these source-only files in the object cache, obtaining the same benefits as source-only VIs.