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Installation

System Requirements

Component Requirement
Operating System Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
NI-VISA Optional — 21.x or newer (for real instruments)
.NET 10 Runtime Not required — bundled in the installer and ZIP

Simulation Mode

Without NI-VISA the application starts in simulation mode. All VISA calls return a configurable default response, so you can design and test sequences on any Windows laptop without physical hardware.

The installer is the easiest way to get started. It requires no administrator rights and enables automatic updates.

  1. Go to the Releases page
  2. Download InstrumentControl-x.y.z-win-Setup.exe
  3. Run the installer — it installs to %LocalAppData%\InstrumentControl\
  4. A shortcut appears in the Start Menu under InstrumentControl

Custom Install Location

Run the installer from a Command Prompt or PowerShell to override the default folder:

InstrumentControl-x.y.z-win-Setup.exe --installDir "D:\Lab\InstrumentControl"

Automatic Updates

When installed via the Setup EXE, InstrumentControl checks GitHub Releases on every launch (before the main window opens). If a newer version is found, a dialog appears:

  • Yes — downloads only the changed files (delta update) and restarts into the new version
  • No — skips the update and opens normally

Update checks require internet access. On isolated lab networks with no GitHub connectivity the check silently times out and the app starts normally.

Option B — Portable ZIP

No installation needed — extract and run.

  1. Go to the Releases page
  2. Download InstrumentControl-x.y.z-win-x64.zip
  3. Extract to any folder (e.g. D:\Lab\InstrumentControl)
  4. Run InstrumentControl.exe

No auto-update in portable mode

The ZIP version does not auto-update. To upgrade, download and extract the new ZIP manually, then replace the old files.

NI-VISA Setup

InstrumentControl uses NI-VISA for communication with GPIB, USB-TMC, and LAN instruments. If you already have NI-MAX or another NI software suite installed, NI-VISA is most likely already present.

Check if NI-VISA is Installed

Open NI MAX (National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer) — if it lists your instruments, NI-VISA is working.

Alternatively, run InstrumentControl and check the status bar at the bottom:

  • VISA: OK — NI-VISA found and loaded
  • VISA: Simulation — NI-VISA not found; simulation mode active

Install NI-VISA

  1. Download the NI-VISA Runtime from ni.com/visa
  2. Install and reboot
  3. Restart InstrumentControl — the status bar should now show VISA: OK

Uninstalling

Installer Edition

Go to Settings → Apps → InstrumentControl and click Uninstall, or run:

& "$env:LocalAppData\InstrumentControl\Update.exe" --uninstall

Portable Edition

Delete the extracted folder. No registry entries or system files are written.