Note: Other release notes can be found here.

What's New in VIPM 2014.0.0

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New Features

• System Packages - VIPM now supports the concept of system packages. System packages are packages that can be built and installed on computers that do not have LabVIEW installed. With System packages, you are targeting the computer system instead of a specific LabVIEW version. You can select System as your target. System=OS, not any specific LabVIEW version. You are installing files into system locations.
• VI Package Build Templates -  You can now save your VI Package builder project as a template. This is helpful when you want to have a standard template containing set company formatting of categories and descriptions.
• Multiple Package Build Specs for the same source - You can now create multiple package build projects for the same source folder. Previously, VIPM created a build spec called .vipb for you and you could not move or rename it. Even though it was easy to get started, it was also very limiting. Now you can create one or more named vipb files and save them anywhere relative to the source folder.
• Edit All VI Descriptions on Build - VIPM will allow you to specify arbitrary text and useful replacement tags that will get automatically appended to existing VI descriptions.
• Add palette to class or library - This allows you to set a palette built with VIPM as the default palette for the library. For example, this allows you to have a popup palette with methods for the class when right-clicking on a class wire.
• Disable Mass Compile on Build - This new feature can be applied to the entire project or just a select number of VIs. This tells VIPM to treat the specified files in the project as non-LabVIEW files. They will simply be packaged without any treatment from VIPM. This allows you to add VIs that are broken or missing dependencies (for example). This can also be used by advanced users that have already preprocessed their source and just need VIPM's packaging capability. You should only enable this feature if you know what you're doing since VIPM will not fix the linker info on the VIs. If you don't understand what "linker-info" means then don't use this feature.
• Support for deactivation in the Third Party Licensing and Activation Toolkit. TPLAT supports deactivation. VIPM 2014 can include deactivation information as part of the dynamic binding during package build.
• Support for licensing of sub-libraries. VIPM can now license sub-libraries as part of the dynamic binding during package build. This requires the latest version of TPLAT. This feature can be enabled or disabled.
• Auto-create sub-palette icons based on folder contents. VIPM will automatically use an LVCLASS icon or an LVLIB icon, if found inside a folder, for the sub-palette icon. This is in addition to mnu files.
• During package building you can now specify a bitness requirement (32 or 64 bit) for the operating system and LabVIEW. This allows you to build packages that can be restricted to an OS or LabVIEW of a specific bitness (32 or 64 bit).
• Advanced LabVIEW control during install - Now you have more control over the state of LabVIEW during install. Three package properties have been added:
• Close LabVIEW Before Install - This informs the user that VIPM will close LabVIEW before the package install process and allows them to ignore it or proceed with closing LabVIEW. Note that if VIPM needs to perform mass compile or executes custom LabVIEW-based actions as part of the install process, then it will have to start LabVIEW again. If you enable "skip mass compile" described below, then you can avoid this.
• Restart LabVIEW After Install - This informs the user that VIPM will restart LabVIEW after the package install process and allows them to restart now or restart later.
• Skip Mass Compile After Install - If the default VIPM option to mass compile after install is enabled. This package property overrides the user default and skips the mass compile process.
• Support for Windows 8 install requirement - VIPM now supports Windows 8 as an install requirement for package building.
• Additional pre-uninstall custom action data. - Two new data fields were added to the pre-uninstall custom action VI. You now have access to: 'Files to Uninstall' and 'Folders to Uninstall'. This will give more insight to the work about to be performed during the uninstall process.
• Allow editing of build number - Previously VIPM restricted editing the package version build number through the user interface (you could always edit the build spec file directly in Pro). Now you can freely edit the build number in the UI. VIPM still auto-increments the build number to enforce proper software engineering best practices.
• Refresh source files settings without reloading the package build spec - There is a new refresh button that will rescan your source folder and update the source files tree. This will allow you to add files after the VIPB build spec file is open.
• Smoother package install process. - Now, if only a single package is selected for install or uninstall, then the package action confirmation is not displayed. This speeds up the install process with fewer requests from the user. If there are dependencies or multiple selections (ie: more than one package installed), then the confirmation step is still displayed.
• The (IDNET) Instrument Driver Network tool has been enhanced. You now have two options. To import the driver, as before, or to install. When you select install, VIPM will dynamically build a package and install it into the selected LabVIEW version. In addition to this, you can give VIPM the driver download link. With this info, VIPM will automatically download the driver, convert it to a VIPM package source, build the package, and then install it.

Compatibility Note

• Packages built with VIPM 2014 can only be installed on VIPM 2014 or newer. Package built with VIPM 2014 cannot be installed on versions of VIPM 2013 or older. Details.

Bug Fixes

• 15418: During package building, VIPM would generate an error "74 Open:Library". This was caused by FPGA bitfiles present in the source and VIPM treating them incorrectly as libraries. This has now been fixed.
• 15502: During package building VIPM would not include shared variables, requiring a workaround. This has now been fixed. Shared variables are always included without the need for workarounds.
• 15526: During IDNET import, VIPM would generate an error and not complete the import process if the driver was missing an LVPROJ file. Now the import continues even with missing LVPROJ files.
• 15570: During package building VIPM would skip and not include files with the *.lvlibp extension (packed libraries). VIPM now includes them in the package correctly.