National Instruments PXI-GPIB Getting Started

Also see for PMC-GPIB: Getting started Installation guide Installation guide Hardware guide Installation guide

Contents

National Instruments PXI-GPIB Getting Started Manual pdf 25 page image

Chapter 4 Begin to Use the GPIB SoftwarePXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT4-2 ©National Instruments Corporationthe LabWindows/CVI Standard Libraries Reference Manual. To help youuse the GPIB functions, LabWindows/CVI provides function panels for theGPIB Library. To access the function panels, select GPIB/GPIB 488.2from the Library menu of the Project or Source windows. Forinformation about using function panels, refer to the function panelschapter in the LabWindows/CVI User Manual.If you need to program a GPIB instrument, you might want to use aninstrument driver. An instrument driver is a set of high-level C functions forcontrolling a specific instrument. The low-level steps to control theinstrument and read data are encapsulated in the high-level functions. Youcan write an instrument driver yourself, or you can use one that is alreadywritten. When you purchase LabWindows/CVI, you get free access to alibrary of drivers for hundreds of instruments. For more information aboutinstrument drivers, refer to the project window chapter in theLabWindows/CVI User Manual.For more information about NI products, please refer to our web site athttp://www.natinst.com/products/.Introduction to the Win32 Interactive Control UtilityYou can use the interactive control utility to enter NI-488 functions andNI-488.2 routines interactively and see the values returned by the functioncalls. You can use this utility to do the following:• Verify GPIB communication with your device quickly and easily.• Learn the NI-488 functions and NI-488.2 routines before you writeyour application.• Become familiar with the commands of your device.• Receive data from your GPIB device.• Troubleshoot problems with your application.To run the Win32 Interactive Control utility, select the Win32 InteractiveControl item under Start»Programs»GPIB Software.This utility includes extensive online help, which you can access byentering help at the : prompt. For more information about the Win32Interactive Control utility, refer to the GPIB User Manual for Windows 95and Windows NT.