Read Data From Specific Physical Channels of DAQ

[camdawg0512]

What I would like to do is to define the physical channels that the DAQ Read VI should pull from. Why I'm asking this is because for ease of use, I'm having the user define the inputs in MAX and then using the task in my LabView program. The thing is that this DAQ is meant to be portable and versatile so the configuration in MAX has the ability to be different every time and therefore the virtual channels will be different and send data to the incorrect readout. Now if I can pull data using physical channels (as AI0 through AI15 are always going to be K type thermocouples) I believe this will create consistency in what data goes where. Now it's just a matter of how. In the attached VI, you will find the Setup screen where the task is selected, where it will send the task to a global variable VI, which will then be accessed in the Main Screen VI. In the main screen VI you will find what I am trying to accomplish under the Start/Stop event structure. Thanks in advance for any help/

[FoxSquirrel]

Hey camdawg0512,

If I'm understanding this correctly, it seems like what you might want to do is use the DAQmx Create Virtual Channels.vi and then use an indicator for the physical channels input.  This will allow the user to select all the channels necessary for this task.

[camdawg0512]

I have thought about going that route, but this program is meant to be used by engine technicians who don't have much computer experience and although it would be relatively simple to just hit browse and click the channels they need, I want this program to be intuitive and also give the user the ability to name their channels as they wish. What I was thinking is on the Settings panel I would have a true/false array, put a daq express in the main panel that would access all the channels at once, and then use a Select Signals VI to select and deselect the correct channels. But I'm curious, will the select channels vi support 32+ channels, because when I double click on the VI there are only 8.

[FoxSquirrel]

Hey camdawg0512,

When you say "Select Signals VI," are you referring to a custom sub VI that does not ship with LabVIEW?  Because I can not locate a Select Signals VI.  Also, what you could always do is have a cluster of buttons where the user selects which channel to use.  Then have a sub VI that will select which channels to use based on this cluster.