Symbolic path

[sabri.jatlaoui]

Hi everyone, I’m having some hard time using symbolic path into LabVIEW.

I’m trying to create a relative path to a documentation using the symbolic path <topVI>.

This path is as default set into the VI Search Path on the Paths page.

The path only return me a not a path value.

Did somebody already used this path and could explain it to me please.

Regards.

[GerdW]

Hi sabri,

where and how are you using this "symbolic path" in LabVIEW?

And why don't you use the CurrentVIPath or ApplicationDir file constants?

[sabri.jatlaoui]

Hi GerdW,

I'm trying to used it in the help path in the documentation property of a VI. I want to create help database linked to a project. So I need a relative path for the help file to avoid issue if i change the project location.

Regards.

[GerdW]

Hi Sabri,

ok, here I can't help. I never used the VI help to embed my own html files…

You should ask your local NI support!

[sabri.jatlaoui]

It's actualy very easy, it's just a path to a file. THe problem is the same if you're using a path with <topVI> on your diagram.

Regards.

[GerdW]

Hi Sabri,

THe problem is the same if you're using a path with <topVI> on your diagram.

In the diagram I use the AppDir path constant…

[sabri.jatlaoui]

Me too,

But for more modularity, what I need is used <TopVI> .

Regards.

[rolfk]

Symbolic paths is not an universal LabVIEW feature but limited to specific LabVIEW subsystems. I'm not sure what symbolic paths the documentation path in the LabVIEW VI properties supports, but <topvi> definitely sounds wrong. 
This assumes that it should mean the TopVI of the current VI hierarchy and when you add your VIs to a program, that would change accordingly to the top level VI of that application, which can't be right.

Generally when you install a library, you would install the library in a sub directory user.lib/{your company name}/{your library name} and the documentation into help/{your company name}/{your library name} and then you can refer to your documentation in the documentation path with <helpdir>/{your company name}/{your library name}/{help document}.html

And yes VIPM is a good tool to create a package that can be installed in this way by other users with VIPM.

[sabri.jatlaoui]

Hi rolfk,

I'm agree with you in several points. Despite, if you want to share the documentation with several developer on a project, if you want it to be evolutive, it as to be part of the projects, not of the dependencies. Moreover, you need to commit your documentation into your project repository, so it as to be in the same checkout directory than the project.

Also in the below link,

http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361M-01/lvhowto/using_symbolic_paths/

They authorize to use <topVI> and not talking about specific LabVIEW subsystem. 

I couldn't even make it work using path constant on the diagram. But it worked with <osdatadir>.

Regards.

[RavensFan]

Read your link more closely.

Specifically:

<topvi>—Refers to the directory that contains the top-level VI that LabVIEW is opening. This symbolic path is only available when setting the VI Search Path on the Paths page