December 2020
This file contains important information about NI 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
Deprecated 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
NI Vision Acquisition Software Drops Support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and All 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems in 2021
LabVIEW NXG Considerations
Legal Information
NI Vision Acquisition Software (VAS) allows you to acquire, display, and save images; control digital I/O on NI 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:
Some hardware requires driver software in addition to Vision Acquisition Software drivers. Refer to the NI website at ni.com/drivers for information about these drivers.
The development computer must meet the following requirements to run NI Vision Acquisition Software:
Processor | Pentium 4 1 GHz or equivalent | |
Memory | 512 MB RAM | |
Display | 1,024 × 768 resolution video adapter with a 16-bit display | |
Minimum Recommended Free Hard Disk Space | NI Vision Acquisition Software | 4.8 GB |
NI-IMAQ | 3.1 GB | |
NI-IMAQdx | 4.1 GB | |
NI-IMAQ I/O | 3.7 GB | |
Operating System |
|
Note NI Vision Acquisition Software August 2016 dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. NI Vision Acquisition Software August 2016 and later will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI Vision Acquisition Software August 2016 or later to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI Vision Acquisition Software August 2016 or later, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.
For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to Why Does My NI ADE Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Windows 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/r/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 or KB3125574 for more information about how to install these updates.
3Only supported as pre-installed on NI hardware.
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.
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. NI recommends that you install LabVIEW, LabVIEW Real-Time, and any other supported development environment before installing NI Vision Acquisition Software.
NI Application Software | Versions Supported by NI Vision Acquisition Software |
---|---|
NI LabVIEW | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
NI LabVIEW FPGA Module | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
NI LabVIEW NXG | 5.1 |
NI LabWindows™/CVI™ | 2015, 2017, 20191 |
NI Vision Development Module | 7.1 or later |
NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection | 2.5 or later |
1 NI-IMAQ I/O is not supported in NI LabWindows™/CVI™.
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.
Development and runtime support for .NET driver features are no longer included as of NI Vision Acquisition Software 19.0 and later
The following table lists the machine vision and imaging standards supported by NI Vision Acquisition Software.
Machine Vision or Imaging Standard | Version Supported by NI Vision Acquisition Software |
---|---|
Camera Link® | 2.1 |
GenICam™ | 3.1 |
GigE Vision® | 2.0 (select features) |
USB3 Vision® | 1.0.1 |
This release of NI Vision Acquisition Software includes the following new features.
NI-IMAQ 20.6
NI-IMAQdx 20.6
NI-IMAQ I/O 20.6
Refer to the NI Website for an up-to-date list of all bug fixes in this release.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI 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.
Complete the following steps to install NI Vision Acquisition Software.
Note: You must have administrator access to install NI Vision Acquisition Software.
NI-IMAQ and NI-IMAQdx integrate with NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), the NI 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.
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.
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.
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.
Beginning with Vision Acquisition Software 19.0, NI-IMAQ Real-Time is not included for installation. However, you can still interact with remote real-time targets that have been set up using previous versions of NI-IMAQ and are running currently supported versions of LabVIEW Real-Time.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
NI-IMAQdx will work with any standard gigabit Ethernet NIC. To use NI-IMAQdx with a standard gigabit Ethernet NIC, complete the following steps.
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.
Complete the following steps to configure NI-IMAQdx for Windows.
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.
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.
Tip: Press <F5> to refresh the configuration tree whenever you connect a new device to an RT target.
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:
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 NI Product Manuals Library at ni.com/manuals for the most recent versions of product documentation.
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.
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.
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:
For advanced camera configuration or renaming support, use NI MAX.
LabVIEW NXG is installed using NI Package Manager. Complete the following steps to install NI-IMAQdx for LabVIEW NXG.
NI Vision Acquisition Software will drop support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and all 32-bit Windows operating systems starting in 2021. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
Product | Info Code |
---|---|
LabVIEW | lifecycle |
LabWindows/CVI | cvi_lifecycle |
Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
TestStand | tslcp |
DIAdem | ddlcp |
SignalExpress | selcp |
VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
Copyright
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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:
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 NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
Patents
For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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