LabVIEW 2021 Features and Changes

Released August 2021

Improvements to the Probe Display

Default probes for integer wires show the radix option in the probe display, which you can use to view data in decimal, hexadecimal, octal, or binary format, or SI notation.

SFTP Support

SFTP VIs and nodes allow users to securely interact with data and files on an SFTP server.

Python Support

LabVIEW 2021 supports Python 3.6 through 3.9 and removes support for Python 2.7.

Run When Opened

When a user launches a VI that is configured to run when opened from a disk location other than standard NI installer locations, such as the LabVIEW 20XX or National Instruments\Shared folder, the user will be prompted to choose whether to run the VI or open it in edit mode.

nicurl Uses System Certificates on Windows

nicurl uses the OS certificate store on Windows rather than its own HTTPS certificate bundle.

OS Support

LabVIEW no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.x, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system.

Hidden Controls

You can choose to show hidden controls while editing by selecting Edit » Show Hidden Controls While Editing. Controls are still hidden at run time.

Use LVCompare with Git

You can use LVCompare with Git to diff VIs. You no longer need a wrapper script to convert paths from relative paths to absolute paths before passing them to LVCompare.

Improvements to Workflow for Comparing VIs and VI Hierarchies

When comparing VIs or VI hierarchies, you can filter out various types of diffs interactively. Previously, you had to specify filters prior to launching a diff and had to relaunch the diff to change the filters. These filters include attributes, front panel changes, including changes in object position and size, as well as functional and cosmetic changes on the block diagram.

Image Depth for GetImage and GetImageScaled Methods

The GetImage and GetImageScaled methods now support a 32-bit image depth.

Call MATLAB Functions

Use the MATLAB functions to call MATLAB® code from LabVIEW.

Named Tuples Support

When using the Python Node you can marshal clusters to named tuples so you can reference tuple items by name.

VI Names Listed in VI Abort Dialog

This new feature originated from a suggestion on the NI Idea Exchange discussion forums. When closing a project, deleting a target, or quitting LabVIEW, if user VIs are running, LabVIEW informs the user which top-level VIs will be aborted as part of that operation.

Improved Wire Routing

This new feature originated from a suggestion on the NI Idea Exchange discussion forums. When drawing a wire between terminals, auto-routing leaves space between the wire and any unwired terminals so that you can wire the lower terminals without crossing wires.