Distributing .NET Assemblies with .NET Client Applications

After you create a .NET client application in LabVIEW, you can build that project or VI into a stand-alone application, shared library, packed project library, source distribution, or ZIP file. You then can distribute the application to another computer as long as you also supply the relevant assembly and configuration files that define the characteristics and behaviors of the .NET objects in the application.

Note

.NET 8.0 (Core) Considerations

LabVIEW only identifies assemblies as dependencies that are referenced directly from VIs. If you need additional assemblies, you have to add them manually.

Note

.NET Framework Considerations

NI recommends that the target computer for the distributed application have the same or later version of .NET Framework installed as the version that LabVIEW used to build the application. Refer to Compatible Class Libraries for more information about the .NET Framework requirements of the target computer.

You must distribute the following files along with any application that you build from a .NET Framework client application:

Note You can build an installer for your distributed application that includes the relevant files.
  • data directory of the application—When you create an application, LabVIEW automatically copies any necessary .NET Framework assemblies that were not located in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) into this directory.
  • Private .NET Framework assemblies that are located in the GAC—LabVIEW does not copy these assemblies into the data directory, so you must distribute them yourself.
  • .NET configuration file —If a project or VI relies on a .NET Framework configuration file, any application that you build from that project or VI requires a similar configuration file. You do not need to distribute a configuration file in the following situations:
    • The original project or VI does not require a configuration file.
    • You are building a .NET Framework interop assembly.

Where to Save Distributed Files on a Target Computer

For a distributed .NET Framework application to run on a target computer, the relevant files must be saved in the following locations on the target computer:

  • data directory—Store this directory in the same directory as the application.
  • Private .NET Framework assemblies from the GAC—Store the assemblies in the GAC or in another location that the CLR searches.
  • .NET Framework configuration file—The location for the configuration file depends on what type of application you are distributing.
    • Stand-alone application—Store the configuration file in the same directory as the application.
    • Shared library, packed project library, source distribution, or ZIP file—Store the configuration file in the directory of the application that is using the shared library, packed project library, source distribution, or ZIP file.