Hiya, My application takes some time to start, so i want a small and quick launcher to kickstart things and show it's working. My current launcher uses a SystemExec that starts the other compiled file, but it's messy to get it to know when the program has started. So, i've decided to try to make a VI server approach, it should just link the other file and be an easy fix, right? Wrong. A Static VI reference works in the EXE, but then it loads the big application like a sub-vi, making as slow as before. A path -> Open VI works in labview, but if i dont add it to Dynamic files it compiles to 300k and there's only a launcher (not too strange), and if i add it i cant compile (error 1003). Adding both launcher and main to "Startup VI" works, but as in case 1 they start at the same time. path -> Open VI from a separate .exe (the main separatly compiled) doesn't work (or i cant get it to work) Any ideas? /Y

hey Y, the way we do it is to have a small main vi that calls the other vis dynamically (through vi server), which is more or less one of your suggestions. When we compile the small main vi is set as "startup" and we then include an "all vis" that contains everything else as dynamic. The main vi just has the splash screen pic on its front panel, which then loads immediately as everything else is loading in the background. as to your 1003 compile error, i think the following thread might be helpful: http://forums.ni.com/t5/FieldPoint-Family/Error-1003-when-I-build-an-exe/m-p/309971 as far as i know, using a splash-screen startup vi to dynamically load the big vis using vi server is the "normal" way to go in LV. It cetainly has worked well for me in LV 6-8