You don't mention which instrument so I would suggest going to NI's <A
href="http://www.ni.com/devzone/idnet/";>Instrument Driver Network</A>,
se if a driver exists, and then look at the application examples that
might be included at see what's there. You should be able to get at
least a starting point. It is not a requirement that an instrument
driver include a full representation of an instrument's front panel
and I hope it never will. It's not to bad for a simple instrument like
a DMM but the more complex one's require an awful lot of coding and
most users just don't require that sort of thing. You might also want
to consider designing a user interface that's easier to use than the
actual instrument's. For example, the instrument manufacturer usually
has a pretty small screen and limited options for user interaction.
You've got a big monitor with a lot of options such as pull-down menus
and tab controls. It may not look like the instrument but it would
likely be easier for the user.
