Engineer-to-Engineer NoteaEE-330

Technical notes on using Analog Devices DSPs, processors and development tools
Visit our Web resources http://www.analog.com/ee-notes and http://www.analog.com/processors ore-mail processor.support@analog.com or processor.tools.support@analog.com for technical support.

Windows Vista® Compatibility in VisualDSP++® 5.0 Development Tools
Contributed by Glen Anderson

Introduction
The VisualDSP++® 5.0 development tools
release has been tested against, and is supported
under, the following 32-bit versions of theMicrosoft® Windows Vista® operating system:
Windows Vista Business Edition

Windows Vista Enterprise Edition

Windows Vista Ultimate EditionWhile every effort has been made to maintain aconsistent user experience under all supported
Microsoft Windows versions, certain changes tothe security model in Windows Vista operating
system may impact select operations in theVisualDSP++ tools. This EE-Note describes
these changes and suggests workarounds whereapplicable.

File Virtualization and User
Account Control
With the release of the Windows Vista operating
system, Microsoft introduced a new security
feature known as User Account Control (UAC).
When enabled, UAC provides a more secure
operating environment for the user by prohibiting
the modification of critical system directoriesand files. One of these directories is the Program
Files directory into which the VisualDSP++
tools are installed when using the default setup
options.
In the normal course of use of the VisualDSP++
tools, there are a few cases in which files may becreated or modified in the installation directory:

Rev 1 – August 16, 2007

Building and running example programs

Installing a license
Logging text from the Output window to afile
Modifying processor .XML files for use withcustom hardware
When logged into an account that has UAC
enabled, all files written to the Program Files
directory will be automatically redirected by theoperating system to a special VirtualStore
directory specific to that user. By default, thisdirectory can be found at:

C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files

where <user_name> is the user name of thecurrently logged in user.
Although file virtualization is transparent to theVisualDSP++ application itself, you will need tobrowse to this virtual store directory to access thefiles directly through Windows Explorer or acommand prompt window.

Building and Running Example
Programs with UAC Enabled
VisualDSP++ code examples are located in oneof the following subdirectories:
21k\Examples



211xx\Examples



212xx\Examples



213xx\Examples

Blackfin\Examples

TS\Examples

Copyright 2007, Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Analog Devices assumes no responsibility for customer product design or the use or application ofcustomers’ products or for any infringements of patents or rights of others which may result from Analog Devices assistance. All trademarks and logos are property of
their respective holders. Information furnished by Analog Devices applications and development tools engineers is believed to be accurate and reliable, however noresponsibility is assumed by Analog Devices regarding technical accuracy and topicality of the content provided in Analog Devices Engineer-to-Engineer Notes.

aWhen UAC is enabled, any files created as aresult of building one of these examples will betransparently redirected to your VirtualStore
directory. To access these files, do one of twothings:


Manuallybrowse to the appropriate
Examples folder under your VirtualStore
directory, as listed above.
Browse to the ‘real’ directory underC:\Program Files and click on the toolbar
link titled Compatibility Files to go
directly to the corresponding VirtualStore
directory.

Installing a License with UAC
EnabledLicenses in the VisualDSP++ tools are stored ina file called license.dat, located within theSystem directory of your VisualDSP++
installation folder. When installing a new licensewith UAC enabled, changes to this file will be
redirected to your VirtualStore directory.
Because VirtualStore directories are specificto each user, this has the added side effect in that
other users on the machine will not have accessto these licenses when using the VisualDSP++
tools.
If you would like to install licenses such that they
can be used by all users of the computer, you willneed to install them using account credentials
that have administrator rights on that machine.
This can be accomplished as follows:

Figure 1. Compatibility Files link in toolbar while
viewing the directory in which the application files
would normally have been created

1. Click on the Windows Start menu andbrowse to the Manage Licenses icon for theVisualDSP++ installation for which you wish
to manage the license.
2. Right-click on this icon and select Run asadministrator from the context menu.
3. When prompted, enter the user name andpassword for an account that has
administrator rights on the machine.
Follow the normal steps for installing or
validating a new license, as described in theVisualDSP++ documentation. The license.dat
file will be created in the Program Files
directory, which can then be accessed by allusers of the computer.

Figure 2. Clicking the Compatibility Files link opens
the corresponding folder in your VirtualStore wherethe example results can be foundLIf you will be the only user ofVisualDSP++ tools on this particular
computer, no further action is required.

Windows Vista® Compatibility in VisualDSP++® 5.0 Development Tools (EE-330)

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aprocessor .XML files, located in the following
directory:
C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\VisualD
SP++ 5.0\System\ArchDef

With UAC enabled, changes to these files will bedisallowed, given that they are stored in theprotected Program Files directory.
Figure 3. Installing a license that can be used by all
machine users

Viewing the Console Window Log
File with UAC Enabled
By default, the VisualDSP++ IDDE logs all text
written to the Output window to the following
file:
C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\VisualD
SP++ 5.0\Data\VisualDSP_Log.txt

When UAC is enabled, this file can be found in
the user’s VirtualStore directory:
C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore Program Files\Analog Devices\VisualDSP++ 5.0\Data\VisualDSP_Log.txt

With the VisualDSP++ 5.0 release, a new feature
known as ‘custom board support’ allows you tooverride these values in a separate .XML filestored in the directory of your choosing.

LIt is no longer necessary, norrecommended, that you modify the.XML files installed with VisualDSP++tools.

More information on creating custom board
support files can be found in VisualDSP++ Help,which is installed with the VisualDSP++ 5.0
tools. In Help, look under the heading:Graphical Environment -> Custom Board
SupportFor More Information
Modifying Processor .XML Filesfor Use with Custom Hardware

More information on UAC and file virtualization
can be found in the Knowledge Base [4] on
Microsoft’s Web site at:

In versions of the VisualDSP++ tools prior to5.0, it was sometimes necessary to modify theregister definitions and reset values found in the

http://support.microsoft.com/

Windows Vista® Compatibility in VisualDSP++® 5.0 Development Tools (EE-330)

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aReferences[1] Windows Vista Business(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/business).
June 2007. Microsoft Corporation.
[2] Windows Vista Enterprise(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise).
June 2007. Microsoft Corporation.
[3] Windows Vista Ultimate(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/ultimate).
June 2007. Microsoft Corporation.
[4] Common file and registry virtualization issues in Windows Vista(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927387). Rev 2.5, March 15, 2007. Microsoft Corporation.
[5] VisualDSP++ 5.0 Licensing Guide. Rev 1.0, August 2007. Analog Devices, Inc.

Readings[6] The Windows Vista and Windows "Longhorn" Server Developer Story: Windows Vista Application Development
Requirements for User Account Control (UAC)(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa905330.aspx). April 2007. Microsoft Corporation.

Document History
Revision

Description

Rev 1 – August 16, 2007
by Glen Anderson

Initial Release

Windows Vista® Compatibility in VisualDSP++® 5.0 Development Tools (EE-330)

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