January 2023
This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for Vision Acquisition Software 2023 Q1.
You can find more release information on ni.com.
Product Security and Critical Updates
Accessing the Documentation and Examples
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 11
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Unsupported Windows Operating Systems
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 Vision Acquisition Software.
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.
Vision Acquisition Software 2023 Q1 has the following requirements:
Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW.
Vision Acquisition Software 2023 Q1 supports the following operating systems:
Note Vision Acquisition Software no longer supports any 32-bit Windows operating system. Refer to Unsupported Windows Operating Systems for more information about support for Microsoft Windows OSes.
Vision Acquisition Software 2023 Q1 supports the following application software versions, including service packs.
Note The following table lists the NI application software versions, including service packs, supported by Vision Acquisition Software. The installer specifically allows side-by-side installations of Vision Acquisition Software for each of the supported versions of LabVIEW, enabling you to use 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 Vision Acquisition Software.
| NI Application Software | Versions Supported by Vision Acquisition Software |
|---|---|
| NI LabVIEW | 2020 and later |
| NI LabVIEW Real-Time Module | 2020 and later |
| NI LabVIEW Real-Time 64-Bit Module | 2021 64-bit and later |
| NI LabVIEW FPGA Module | 2020 and later |
| NI LabVIEW FPGA 64-Bit Module | 2020 64-bit and later |
| NI LabWindows™/CVI™1 | 2019 and later |
| Vision Development Module | 7.1 and later |
| NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection | 2.5 and later |
1 NI-IMAQ I/O is not supported in NI LabWindows™/CVI™.
Development and runtime support for .NET driver features are no longer included as of Vision Acquisition Software 19.0 and later. Refer to GitHub page NI IMAQdx for .NET for more information about open-source versions of NI-IMAQdx.
The following table lists the machine vision and imaging standards supported by Vision Acquisition Software.
| Machine Vision or Imaging Standard | Version Supported by Vision Acquisition Software |
|---|---|
| Camera Link® | 2.1 |
| GenICam™ | 3.3 |
| GigE Vision® | 2.0 (Selected features) |
| USB3 Vision® | 1.0.1 |
Download the Vision Acquisition Software installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Documentation for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using Package Manager.
After installing your software, you will need to activate it. Activating your software verifies the licenses associated with your NI account, so you can start using your software. You have different options for activation, based on your software and how it was purchased. Please visit ni.com/activate for more information on activation methods.
If Windows Update is enabled, the installation process might hang if Windows Update interferes with the installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Run-Time. Visit ni.com/r/exjq43 for more information and steps to resolve this issue.
If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation method of the Suite or Bundle.
The "Vision Acquisition Software Support for LabVIEW" package supports applications using Vision Acquisition Software with LabVIEW minimum supported version or later. When installing Vision Acquisition Software, this package will be recommended if you have already installed LabVIEW minimum supported version or later and installs to the LVAddons directory.
LVAddons directory location: C:\Program Files\NI\LVAddons
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.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. For information about critical updates from NI, refer to Available Critical and Security Updates for NI Software.
Documentation and examples are installed onto your hard drive with Vision Acquisition Software. To view the documentation, select Start»National Instruments»Vision Documentation. Some application-specific documents are installed to the application help folder, as listed in the following sections.
Refer to the NI Product Documentation Center at ni.com/docs for the most recent versions of product documentation.
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 4.6.2, 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 about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager documentation.
Microsoft Windows 11 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. For more information about NI support for Windows 11, refer to NI Product Compatibility for Microsoft Windows 11.
For more information about NI support for Windows 10, refer to NI Product Compatibility for Microsoft Windows 10.
Vision Acquisition Software no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.x, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system. 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 https://www.ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
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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.
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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.