InstrumentStudio 2021 Readme

April 2021


This file contains important information about InstrumentStudio 2021, including supported hardware and operating systems, a partial list of bugs fixed, and known issues.



Overview

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Application Software Support

Product Security and Critical Updates

New Features

Supported Hardware

Known Issues

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Legal Information


Overview

InstrumentStudio allows you to generate and acquire measurements from multiple devices within a single application. You can also use InstrumentStudio to monitor and control devices being used in external applications, capture data files, export device configuration to other applications, and more.


System Requirements

InstrumentStudio 2021 has the following requirements:


  • Pentium 4 G1 equivalent or later (Intel i5 equivalent or higher recommended)
  • 4 GB RAM
  • 10 GB disk space
  • 1024 x 768 screen resolution (1366 x 768 or higher recommended)

Supported Operating Systems

InstrumentStudio 2021 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10 64-bit
  • Windows Server 2016 64-bit


Application Software Support

InstrumentStudio 2021 supports the creation of soft front panels with the following device drivers:


Device Driver Minimum Version Supported by InstrumentStudio 2021
NI-SCOPE 20.7
NI-FGEN 19.1
NI-DMM 18.1
NI-DCPOWER 20.6
NI-RFSG 20.7

Installing Instructions

Download the Instrument Studio 2020 installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.


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.


New Features

InstrumentStudio 2021

  • Added new RFSG Signal Generator panel supporting interactive use and debugging using PXIe-5820, PXIe-5830, PXIe-5831, PXIe-5832, PXIe-5840, and PXIe-5841.
  • Added support for the PXIe-4135(35W) and PXIe-4137(35W) source measure unit, newly supported in NI-DCPOWER 20.7.

InstrumentStudio 2020

  • Added support for the PXIe-4139(40W) source measure unit, newly supported in NI-DCPower 20.5.
  • Added support for multichannel session in the SMU/Power Supply panel, newly supported in NI-DCPower 20.6. Initializing an NI-DCPower session with independent channels allows you to use multiple instruments in the same session. With independent channels, you can configure multiple channels of the same instrument, or of multiple instruments independent of one another within the same session.
  • Added support for monitoring merged channels in debug mode on the PXIe-4147. Merged channels are newly supported in NI-DCPower 20.6. Merging channels of an NI SMU allows you to use multiple channels in unison to increase the current you can source beyond the normal maximum for a single SMU channel.

InstrumentStudio 2019 SP1

  • Added support for the PXIe-4147 source measure unit, newly supported in NI-DCPower 20.0.

InstrumentStudio 2019

  • Added power spectral density measurements to oscilloscope FFT channels.
  • Multiple NI-SCOPE devices of the same model can now be synchronized in the same oscilloscope panel.
  • Added support for selecting trigger sources and events from other NI devices in your system.
  • Added waveform graphing, pulse current, pulse voltage, voltage sequence, and current sequence modes to SMU panels, including automatic hardware synchronization across multiple devices.
  • Added asymmetric limits and software-protected ranges to SMU/Power Supply panels.
  • Added NI-DCPower SourceAdapt configuration to SMU panels, useful for transient measurements.
  • Added channel views to hide idle channels, show power calculations, and condense channel views to the SMU/Power Supply panels.
  • Added inductance and capacitance measurements along with open and short cable compensation to digital multimeter (DMM) panels.
  • Added the ability to generate waveforms from binary files to the waveform generator panel.
  • Added debugging and monitoring support to the waveform generator panel.
  • Added exporting configuration files from the waveform generator panel for use with the NI-FGEN driver.
  • Added capability to export device configurations to TestStand for use in test step configuration.
  • Added ability to use pin maps created in Digital Pattern Editor to group devices and channels by site and use pin names for channel aliases.

InstrumentStudio 2018 SP2

  • Added support for the PXIe-5163 oscilloscope, newly supported in NI-SCOPE 18.7.
  • Added CSV file format for data capture.
  • Added support for exporting instrument events to PXI chassis trigger lines.
  • Added support for arbitrary waveform generation mode to the Waveform Generator panels.
  • Added support for frequency list and sweep modes to the Waveform Generator panels.
  • Added FFT channels, frequency markers, and FFT channel measurements to the Oscilloscope panels.
  • Added additional 2-channel measurements to the Oscilloscope panels.

InstrumentStudio 2018 SP1

Added support for the PXIe-5110, PXIe-5111, and PXIe-5113 oscilloscopes, newly supported in NI-SCOPE 18.6


Supported Hardware

The following hardware models are supported in InstrumentStudio 2021:


NI-DCPOWER Devices

  • PXIe-4112
  • PXIe-4113
  • PXIe-4135
  • PXIe-4135(35W)
  • PXIe-4136
  • PXIe-4137
  • PXIe-4137(35W)
  • PXIe-4138
  • PXIe-4139
  • PXIe-4139(40W)
  • PXIe-4140
  • PXIe-4141
  • PXIe-4142
  • PXIe-4143
  • PXIe-4144
  • PXIe-4145
  • PXIe-4147
  • PXIe-4154
  • PXIe-4162
  • PXIe-4163
  • PXI-4110
  • PXI-4130
  • PXI-4132

NI-DMM Devices

  • PXIe-4080
  • PXIe-4081
  • PXIe-4082
  • PXI-4065
  • PXI-4070
  • PXI-4071
  • PXI-4072
  • PCI-4065
  • PCIe-4065
  • USB-4065
  • PCI-4070

NI-FGEN Devices

  • PXIe-5413 (1-channel)
  • PXIe-5413 (2-channel)
  • PXIe-5423 (1-channel)
  • PXIe-5423 (2-channel)
  • PXIe-5433 (1-channel)
  • PXIe-5433 (2-channel)
  • PXIe-5442
  • PXIe-5450
  • PXIe-5451
  • PXI-5402
  • PXI-5404
  • PXI-5406
  • PXI-5412
  • PXI-5421
  • PXI-5422
  • PXI-5441
  • PCI-5402
  • PCI-5406
  • PCI-5412
  • PCI-5421

NI-SCOPE Devices

  • PXIe-5105
  • PXIe-5110
  • PXIe-5111
  • PXIe-5113
  • PXIe-5114
  • PXIe-5122
  • PXIe-5160 (2-channel)
  • PXIe-5160 (4-channel)
  • PXIe-5162 (2-channel)
  • PXIe-5162 (4-channel)
  • PXIe-5163
  • PXIe-5164
  • PXIe-5170 (4-channel)
  • PXIe-5170 (8-channel)
  • PXIe-5171 (8-channel)
  • PXIe-5172 (4-channel)
  • PXIe-5172 (8-channel, 325T)
  • PXIe-5172 (8-channel, 410T)
  • PXIe-5185
  • PXIe-5185 (1MΩ)
  • PXIe-5186
  • PXIe-5186 (1MΩ)
  • PXIe-5622
  • PXIe-5622 (DD)
  • PXI-5105
  • PXI-5114
  • PXI-5122
  • PXI-5124
  • PXI-5142
  • PXI-5152
  • PXI-5153
  • PXI-5154
  • PXI-5922
  • PCI-5105
  • PCI-5114
  • PCI-5122
  • PCI-5124
  • PCI-5142
  • PCI-5152
  • PCI-5153
  • PCI-5154
  • PCI-5922
  • PCIe-5155
  • USB-5132
  • USB-5133

NI-RFSG Devices

  • PXIe-5820
  • PXIe-5830
  • PXIe-5831
  • PXIe-5832
  • PXIe-5840
  • PXIe-5841

Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to InstrumentStudio 2021 Known Issues on ni.com for an up-to-date list of known issues in InstrumentStudio.


Bug Fixes

You can access a list of issues fixed in InstrumentStudio 2021 online. Visit InstrumentStudio 2021 Bug Fixes for an up-to-date list of fixed issues. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of InstrumentStudio. If you have a Bug ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed. .

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.


If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, 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 4.0 separately before you install NI software.


For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:


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.




Legal Information

Copyright

© 2021 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.

Trademarks

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.

Members of the NI Alliance Partner Program are business entities independent from NI and have no agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship with NI.

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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