NI Vision Acquisition Software 18.5 Readme

September 2018

This file contains important information about National Instruments Vision Acquisition Software, including installation instructions, new features, fixed issues, and known issues.

Overview
System Requirements
Product Security and Critical Updates
NI Application Software Support
Vision Standards Support
New Features
Updates and Improvements
Known Issues
Installation Instructions
Configuring NI-IMAQ
Configuring NI-IMAQdx
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Documentation and Examples
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
LabVIEW NXG Considerations
Legal Information

Overview

NI Vision Acquisition Software (VAS) allows you to acquire, display, and save images; control digital I/O on National Instruments image acquisition devices; and configure your driver software and hardware.

For information about licensing NI Vision software, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code LicenseVision. Refer to the NI Vision website at ni.com/vision for the latest information about NI Vision Acquisition Software.

NI Vision Acquisition Software includes the following drivers:

• NI-IMAQ is driver software for the following device types:
  • analog cameras
  • parallel digital cameras
  • Camera Link cameras
• NI-IMAQdx is driver software for the following device types:
  • Camera Link cameras in Windows using the supported frame grabbers
  • PCIe-1427
  • PCIe-1433
  • PCIe-1437
  • PXIe-1435
  • ISC-178x smart cameras
  • GigE Vision-compliant cameras
  • USB3 Vision-compliant cameras
  • IIDC/DCAM-compliant IEEE 1394 cameras
  • DirectShow-compatible cameras
  • Basler and Axis IP cameras
• NI-IMAQ I/O is driver software for controlling reconfigurable input/output (RIO) on image acquisition devices and real-time targets. The following hardware is supported by NI-IMAQ I/O:
  • NI CVS-1457RT
  • NI CVS-1458
  • NI CVS-1458RT
  • NI CVS-1459
  • NI CVS-1459RT
  • NI PCI-8254R
  • NI PCIe-8255R
  • NI PCIe-8237R
  • NI PCIe-1473R
  • NI PCIe-1473R-LX110
  • NI PCIe-1477
  • NI 1483 FlexRIO Adapter Module
• Note: New versions of Vision Acquisition Software no longer support the following hardware:
  • NI 17xx and NI 177x Smart Cameras
  • NI EVS-1463, 1463RT, 1464, 1464RT Smart Cameras
  • NI CVS-1454, 1455, and 1456 Compact Vision Systems

Additional Driver Software

Some hardware requires driver software in addition to Vision Acquisition Software drivers. Refer to the National Instruments website at ni.com/drivers for information about these drivers.

• The NI PCIe-1473R and NI PCIe-1473R-LX110 require NI FlexRIO software to access the DRAM resources in a LabVIEW FPGA project.
• The NI 1483 FlexRIO Adapter Module requires NI FlexRIO software.

System Requirements

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

For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to KB 79UC78LS, Why Does my LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Measurement Studio, or TestStand Built Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Server 2003?.

Note  Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code PAESupport.

¹ NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.

² NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.

³Only supported as pre-installed on NI hardware.

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.

NI Application Software Support

The following table lists the NI application software versions, including service packs, supported by NI Vision Acquisition Software. The installer specifically allows side-by-side installations of NI Vision Acquisition Software for each of the supported versions of LabVIEW, enabling you to use NI Vision Acquisition Software with multiple versions of LabVIEW. National Instruments recommends that you install LabVIEW, LabVIEW Real-Time, and any other supported development environment before installing NI Vision Acquisition Software.

NI Vision Acquisition Software .NET Support

NI Vision Acquisition Software February 2014 was the last version to release updated support for the .NET Framework 2.0, .NET Framework 3.5, and .NET language integration into Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008. Visual Studio 2010 and later are not supported.

New versions of NI Vision Acquisition Software will�not�provide new .NET feature support or development. It is recommended that you begin new development in other supported development environments.

Vision Standards Support

The following table lists the machine vision and imaging standards supported by NI Vision Acquisition Software.

New Features

This release of NI Vision Acquisition Software includes the following new features.

NI-IMAQ 18.5

• Added support for LabVIEW 2018 SP1

NI-IMAQdx 18.5

• Added support for LabVIEW 2018 SP1
• Added support for LabVIEW NXG 3.0
• For information about VAS support in LabVIEW NXG, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code VisionNXGGuide.

NI-IMAQ I/O 18.5

• Added support for LabVIEW 2018 SP1
• Added support for FPGA-based Camera Link acquisition in Windows using the following frame grabbers:
  • PCIe-1477

Updates and Improvements

Refer to the National Instruments Website for an up-to-date list of all bug fixes in this release.

Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments Web site for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI Vision Acquisition Software.

The following list contains potential high severity issues that you may want to review before using this product. Refer to the previous link to determine if any known issues have been resolved in a subsequent update.

• Installing or reinstalling certain drivers, including NI-IMAQdx or Vision RIO support, on top of previous installations on a Linux Real-Time target can put the target in an unreachable state unless you force it into safe mode using the reset button or manually reassociate driver dependencies on the target. To avoid this issue, format the target prior to installing or reinstalling software, or only perform reinstallations using a Recommended Software Set. To learn more about this issue and additional recovery options, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code nikalEmbeddedReinstall.

Installation Instructions

Complete the following steps to install NI Vision Acquisition Software.

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

1. Insert the NI Vision Acquisition Software installation media.
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 NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), the National Instruments utility for configuring and testing your measurement and automation system. The NI MAX icon appears on your desktop after you install NI Vision Acquisition Software.

Installing from an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle

If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchase to install this product.

Configuring NI-IMAQ

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 NI MAX.
   1. Double-click the NI MAX icon on the desktop. You can use NI 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 NI MAX.

Configuring a Remote PXI/Compact PCIe Image Acquisition Device

Use NI 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 NI 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 NI 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 NI MAX Help menu by selecting Help»Help Topics»NI Vision»NI-IMAQ.

Configuring NI-IMAQdx

Complete the following steps to configure NI-IMAQdx.

If you are using a USB webcam or other DirectShow-compatible camera, ensure that the camera driver is installed and functioning. For specific information about drivers and camera compatibility, consult your camera manufacturer documentation.

Instructions for configuring an IEEE 1394, USB3 Vision, GigE Vision, or IP 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 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 the NIC.
2. Right-click the NIC in the Device Manager, and select Update Driver.
3. Choose Browse my computer for driver software.
4. Browse to the driver location. The newest driver version is installed to <National Instruments>\NI-IMAQdx\Staging\NI GigE Vision.
5. Click Next.
6. Click Close.

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 NI-IMAQdx for Windows

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

1. Connect the camera.
2. Run NI MAX.
   1. Double-click the NI MAX icon on your desktop. You can use NI 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 and USB3 Vision cameras, NI-IMAQdx may not be associated with the camera if a third-party driver is installed. 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.

Configuring NI-IMAQdx for the LabVIEW Real-Time Module

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.

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 NI MAX.
   1. Double-click the NI 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 NI MAX (Help»Help Topics»Remote Systems) for instructions about configuring network settings.
4. Install NI-IMAQdx on the Real-Time target, using one of the following options:
   • Recommended Software Set on supported Smart Cameras, Embedded Vision Systems, Compact Vision Systems, CompactRIO controllers, NI Industrial Controllers, and FlexRIO controllers
     1. Click the Software item below the RT target in the configuration tree.
     2. Click Add/Remove Software on the NI MAX toolbar to launch the LabVIEW Real-Time Software Wizard.
     3. Select Vision Software, NI CompactRIO, NI Industrial Controller, or FlexRIO under the version of the LabVIEW Real-Time Module you are using.
     4. Click Next.
     5. Select any additional add-ons you would like to install to the target machine. For some real-time targets, such as CompactRIO controllers, NI-IMAQdx or supported camera types will appear as an add-on.
     6. Click Next. Review the list of software you selected to install.
     7. Click Next to begin downloading the software to the target machine. When NI MAX has finished downloading the software, it restarts the remote device.
     8. Click Finish.
   • Custom installation
     1. Click the Software item below the RT target in the configuration tree.
     2. Click Add/Remove Software on the NI MAX toolbar to launch the LabVIEW Real-Time Software Wizard.
     3. If you are given a choice of Recommended Software Sets, choose custom software installation and click Next to proceed with a custom installation.
     4. Select NI-IMAQdx, as well as any additional software you would like to install on the target machine.
     5. Click Next. Review the list of software you selected to install.
     6. Click Next to begin downloading the software to the target machine. When NI MAX has finished downloading the software, it restarts the remote device.
     7. Click Finish.
5. Connect your camera to your remote system.
6. Press <F5> to refresh the NI MAX configuration tree. Your 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.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.

If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.6.2, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.

For more information, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:

• For more information on silent installations of individual NI products, refer to KB 4CJDP38M, Automating the Installation of a Single Installer.
• For more information on silent installations of suited NI products, such as NI Developer Suite, refer to KB 4GGGDQH0, Automating the Installation of a Suited Installer.
• To determine what version of NI Installers your product contains, refer to KB 4CJDR18M, How Can I Determine the Type and Version of My National Instruments Installer?.

Documentation and Examples

Documentation and examples are installed onto your hard drive with NI Vision Acquisition Software. To view the documentation, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Documentation and then select the driver documentation. Some application-specific documents are installed to the application help folder, as listed in the following sections.

Refer to the National Instruments Product Manuals Library at ni.com/manuals for the most recent versions of product documentation.

NI Vision Acquisition Software Documentation for NI MAX

• You can access the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQ and the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help for NI-IMAQdx from the NI MAX Help menu by selecting Help»Help Topics»NI Vision. These documents are installed to <National Instruments>\MAX\Help.

NI Vision Acquisition Software Documentation for LabVIEW

• You can access the NI-IMAQ VI Reference Help, NI-IMAQdx VI Reference Help, and NI Vision-RIO VI Reference Help from the LabVIEW Help menu.
• NI Example Finder—Illustrates common applications you can create with NI Vision Acquisition Software. In LabVIEW, select Help»Find Examples. Click the Help button in the NI Example Finder to display the NI Example Finder Help. Vision Acquisition Software examples for LabVIEW are installed to <LabVIEW>\examples\Vision Acquisition, where <LabVIEW> is the location LabVIEW is installed.

NI Vision Acquisition Software Documentation for LabWindows/CVI

• NI-IMAQ Function Reference Help—Contains reference information about NI-IMAQ functions for LabWindows/CVI.
• NI-IMAQdx Function Reference Help—Contains reference information about NI-IMAQdx functions for LabWindows/CVI.
• Function panel help within LabWindows/CVI—Allows you to right-click within each function to access help for that function, control, function class, and function library. The niimaq.fp, NIIMAQdx.fp, and imaqio.fp function panels are installed to <National Instruments>\CVI\Bin.
• Example programs are installed to
  • C:\Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments\CVIversion\samples

NI Vision Acquisition Software for Eclipse and other Text-based Development Environments

• Getting Started with C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time, Eclipse Edition with the NI Vision Development Module and NI-IMAQdx—Describes how to use the C/C++ Development Tools for NI Linux Real-Time, Eclipse Edition to develop an example C application using the NI Vision Development Module API and/or NI-IMAQdx, and deploy it on a Linux remote target. This tutorial outlines the basic steps required to build and deploy an example application. This document is installed to <National Instruments>\Vision\Help.
• To view text-based example programs, select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Vision»Examples, and then select the driver you want to see examples for. You can also navigate to <Users>\Public\Public Documents\National Instruments.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.

LabVIEW NXG Considerations

For information about VAS support in LabVIEW NXG, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code VisionNXGGuide.

In LabVIEW NXG, NI-IMAQdx supports only the following:

• Camera Link cameras used with supported frame grabbers
• GigE Vision-compliant cameras
• USB3 Vision-compliant cameras
• IIDC/DCAM-compliant IEEE 1394 cameras (not available in the measurement panels or SystemDesigner)
• DirectShow-compatible cameras
• Basler and Axis IP cameras

For advanced camera configuration or renaming support, use NI MAX.

Installing NI-IMAQdx for LabVIEW NXG

LabVIEW NXG is installed using NI Package Manager. Complete the following steps to install NI-IMAQdx for LabVIEW NXG.

1. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code NXGDownload to access the LabVIEW NXG download page.
2. Click Download LabVIEW NXG.
3. NI Package Manager installs, then automatically opens an installation window.
4. Select�LabVIEW NXG 3.0�and�NI-IMAQdx 18.5.
5. �Complete the installer instructions to download LabVIEW NXG and NI-IMAQdx support for LabVIEW NXG.

Legal Information

Copyright

© 2018 National Instruments. All rights reserved.

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.

End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices

You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:

• Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
• EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
• Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights

If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.

IVI Foundation Copyright Notice

Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.

The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

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Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.

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