Keithley KPCI-PIO24, User Manual, Page: 20 / 66

KPCI-PIO24 User’s Manual Installation 3-3
DriverLINX is essentially hardware independent, because its portable APIs work across various
operating systems. This capability eliminates unnecessary programming when changing
operating system platforms.
TestPoint
TestPoint is a fully featured, integrated application package that incorporates many commonly
used math, analysis, report generation, and graphics functions. TestPoint’s graphical drag-and-
drop interface can be used to create data acquisition applications, with minimal programming, for
IEEE-488 instruments, data acquisition boards, and RS232-485 instruments and devices.
TestPoint includes features for controlling external devices, responding to events, processing
data, creating report files, and exchanging information with other Windows programs. It provides
libraries for controlling most popular GPIB instruments. ActiveX controls plug directly into
TestPoint, allowing additional features from third party suppliers.
LabVIEW
LabVIEW is a fully featured graphical programming language used to create virtual
instrumentation. It consists of an interactive user interface, complete with knobs, slides, switches,
graphs, strip charts, and other instrument panel controls. Its data driven environment uses
function blocks that are virtually wired together and pass data to each other. The function blocks,
which are selected from palette menus, range from arithmetic functions to advanced acquisition,
control, and analysis routines. Also included are debugging tools, help windows, execution
highlighting, single stepping, probes, and breakpoints to trace and monitor the data flow
execution. LabVIEW can be used to create professional applications with minimal programming.
Check www.keithley.com for current LabVIEW drivers.
Installing DriverLINX
Refer to the manual that accompanies your DriverLINX software for installation instructions.
NOTE Always install DriverLINX before installing the LabVIEW VIs. Both
TestPoint and the LabVIEW VIs use DriverLINX to access the
board’s hardware resources.
Using TestPoint with your hardware
TestPoint’s Digital I/O object (DIO) cannot be used with the KPCI-PIO96 (KPCI-PIO24) board.
Instead, TestPoint provides a user defined object (UDO) for access to digital I/O channels on plug-
in boards supported by DriverLINX.
This UDO (DL_DIO) is installed when the TestPoint application is installed and can be found in
the Dldio.tst example program. This example program is located in the same directory as the
TestPoint application (c:\testpt).
Since this UDO makes calls into the DriverLINX driver, DriverLINX must be installed and
functional.
Once the Dldio.tst example has been opened, either use the ‘Save As’ feature to create your own
application or copy and paste the UDO from the example into your own application.