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We have multiple sequences in a file to perform steps that are common to particular subsystems.  It would be nice to have the ability to group sequences within TestStand.  I could envision this to look like a treeview or folder/file structure within the Sequence Pane.  Currently, we have to use a common naming convention to group the sequences together like below:

 

GPIO_Inputs_[Seq1]

GPIO_Outputs_[Seq1]

GPIO_Outputs_[Seq2]

Communications_CAN_[Seq1]

Communications_Ethernet_[Seq1]

Communications_Ethernet_[Seq2]

Communications_UART_Port0_[Seq1]

Communications_UART_Port1_[Seq1]

Communications_UART_Port1_[Seq2]

 

With grouping, it could look similar to below:

 

Communications

    CAN

        [Seq1]

    Ethernet

        [Seq1]

        [Seq2]

    UART

        Port0

            [Seq1]

        Port1

            [Seq1]

            [Seq2]

GPIO

    Inputs

        [Seq1]

    Outputs

        [Seq1]

        [Seq2]

 

In addition, there could be a toolbar menu item to switch between showing the grouping or all so you could sort to find

 

 

      I am currently working on a project using the Teststand software's seq editor. This project has many steps, with nearly 3000 steps. During my seq editing and debugging process, sometimes I need to repeatedly jump in different sections and change some parameters. Oh my God, quickly finding a step between so many steps is driving me crazy, and I feel like my life is getting dark.

      So I was thinking, why can't Teststand add a serial number display to the left of the seq edit box? This way, whether I am positioning a certain step or telling my colleagues which line needs to be changed, I simply need to obtain or convey a line number information. I believe that adding this information to an editing form is not particularly difficult.

      Why not make it better to use?

      Brothers, it's already 2023. Are you willing to continue enduring this pain?

I think it would enhance readability if, in the step settings of a label step, the label description text were no longer bold.

I cringe every time I fill one of these out or read it back to myself.

(Yes, I'm aware of the ability to mouse over the step itself and read the tooltip)

 

Maybe my use case is unusual, but I'll often write a few sentences in there to describe what a sequence or code block does.

 

Thanks,

 

Mr. Jim

 

 

Ow, my eyes:

 

BoldLabelText.png

I would like to be able to use multiline comments in Sequences. Something like step comment would be enough IMHO. See screens below.

 

As you may see on figure 2, current solution make comment difficult to understand.

 

Fig. 1. Sequence multiline comment fieldFig. 1. Sequence multiline comment field

 

Fig. 2. How multiline comment is displayed in Sequence stepFig. 2. How multiline comment is displayed in Sequence step

 

Fig. 3. Step multiline comment (shortened)Fig. 3. Step multiline comment (shortened)

 

Fig. 4. Step multiline comment (full text)Fig. 4. Step multiline comment (full text)

Forgive me for the cavalcade of suggestions this week...

 

One of my favorite options in the LabVIEW development environment is the "Find all Instances" context menu option, whereby one is able to locate all calls to the particular SubVI.

 

I have long wished that something similar were available in the TestStand Sequence Editor. I'd like to propose a "Find All Sequence Calls" context menu selection when right-clicking on a sequence in the Sequence pane. This could leverage the Find tool, but save the user from copying and pasting the name of the sequence. (And save the user from configuring the search options to narrow down the results) It'd be nice to be able to define the scope of the "find" operation to either the selected sequence or all sequences in memory, but I'd settle for a simple search of the open sequence.

 

Cheers,

 

Mr. Jim

 

FindAllSequenceCalls.png

 

 

How many times have you found yourself typing double backslashes "C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe" or even worse, going through a copied path to change every backslash to a double backslash (and inevitably missing one), just so you can pass a file or directory as a constant to a code module or another sequence?

 

string issue.png

 

I'd like to see a symbol for 'explicit string' in the TestStand expression language, much like C# does with the @ symbol.

So if we typed @"C:\windows\temp" we would actually get the string "C:\Windows\temp" instead of "C:\Windows<tab>emp".

 

To really go the extra mile on this:

  • Drag and drop could be enabled, so that any file dragged from another window into an expression box would automatically paste the filename.
  • A browse button could be added to the expression browse dialog which would bring up the usual file open dialog and insert the selected filename.
Message Edited by Josh W on 06-14-2010 12:57 PM
Message Edited by Josh W on 06-14-2010 12:58 PM

Do you ever have too many custom data types, and it looks something like this

datatype_list.png

This just really sucks when you have 100's of data types to go through.  My list is currently 150 long.  That's a lot of clicking on that little arrow at the bottom.

 

How about something like this:

 

datatype_menu.png

 

Go through and reorganize your types 

<< insert some whiz-bang graphical editor here that allows dragging/dropping of types into groups -- none of this "move up in list" "move down in list" stuff that we are doing now to move step types in/out of groups >>

 

Now when you go to insert a type, you see a tree structure and all your types are organized

datatypes_treelist.png

 

This would be so much easier to find the type I want.

It would be nice if the Step Settings for a Sequence Call step's Module tab would also list the calling sequences comments field and the parameter comments in addition to the prototype information. This would allow sequence calls to easily present information on the expected use of the sequence, along with parameter information (ranges, default options, etc) that would be useful to the developer. I've created a simple mockup of what I'd like to see here:

 

19657iFA3E1FCBE0E24E08

 

By adding these features, sequences can contain their own 'help' information which would allow the developer to configure the call without having to leave the step module dialog.

 

Thanks,

 

-Jack

This idea mostly goes along with this idea.  I use type def all the time in LabVIEW, especially with enums.  TestStand can interact with my VIs with enums, but they are handled as a number.  Furthermore, if the enum gets changed, the wrong value of the enum is often used.  I really like the idea of custom data type of an enum.  The ultimate would be if I only had to alter the enum once (in ctl file) and TestStand would automatically update its data type.  This should be the same for clusters.

Hello,

 

CSV Input Stream allow to parse CSV files to input data into a Stream Loop for instance. By default, the separator is a comma (,). I use a non english version of Excel to edit a CSV file, and every CSV format write a semi-colon as separator (;):

A;0;0;2
A;10;30000;5
A;20;15;7
B;75;42;1
B;100;12;0

 

Using an expression, I am able to dynamically (at run-time) change the property SeparatorChar:

Locals.MyInputStream.AsCsvFileInputRecordStream.SeparatorChar = ";"

 

I think it could be more convenient to have a direct access to this parameter in the configuration pane, allowing also to check the content of the file  before execution with Parse Record Prototype funtions.

 

Best regards,

The property loader step allows the source location to be defined via an expression.  However, if that expression does not evaluate to a file on disk at compile time you get an error.  This isn't always desired behavior, for instance, when used in a plugin architecture.

 

Expression.PNG

 

The current workaround is to include a dummy file which could unnecessarily complicate the software & deployments.  A dummy file also has the potential to mask errors that should be presented to the user. 

 

The only validation TestStand does of the property loader source location file is that it exists.  It doesn't do any validation on the file contents.  So is there any benefit?  TestStand properly throws an error if the expression doesn't evaluate to a valid file.

 

Alternatively, a developer could deselect the sequence analyzer rule "Property Loader source should be proper", but this would disable it for all analysis not just the ones that use expressions

Currently, when you rename a variable, you have to rename all the places where you are using the variable manually. It would be helpful to have a "smart rename" option which, after renaming the variable will update its uses.

 

smart_rename.png

When TestStand launches, it determines the active LabVIEW version and copies the TestStand API VIs into <LabVIEW>\vi.lib\AddOns if not already present. (SOURCE)

 

I suggest there should be an additional step here and TestStand should call that LabVIEW version to mass compile these VIs.


Currently, the VI version remains unchanged which means when you open a LabVIEW code module which uses these, you'll sometimes find you have a 'dirty dot' due to unsaved changes because of the recompilation. It also means that you wouldn't be able to run a sequence using the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine until you've switched to Development and converted the VIs.

This is a minor annoyance but it would be nice if TestStand could cut out the additional version conversion step.

 

I do wonder whether the transfer of the TestStand API VIs into the vi.lib could actually occur when LabVIEW is installed if a TestStand installation is detected. Perhaps this might be relevant for other addons which existing LabVIEW installations have.

Handling arrays in TestStand is pretty limiting and more often that not you have to pop into a code module to perform any sort of array handling.

The following is the default functions that can be used in expressions:

[Array
GetArrayBounds(array, lower, upper) Retrieves the upper and lower bounds of an array.
GetNumElements(array) Returns the number of elements in an array.
InsertElements(array, index, numElements) Inserts new elements into a one-dimensional array.
RemoveElements(array, index, numElements) Removes elements from a one-dimensional array.
SetArrayBounds(array, lower, upper) Changes the bounds of an array.
SetNumElements(array, numElements) Sets the number of elements in a one-dimensional array.

]

 

 

I would like to see this expanded to avoided have to resort to using code module.
The following is some suggestion:


Array Subset function
Array Max & Min
Replace Array Subset function
Search 1D Array
Sort 1D Array

 

 

regards

Ray Farmer

I would like to see the possibility to add Tools (Menu > Tools) to Toolbars. See the recording below:

tools.gif

 

As you can see from Tools section I can select only "Customize". It could be great to have the ability to use custom tools when customizing toolbars and menus.

I would like to enhance the TestStand Message Box step to add a 'Preview' button.  When selected, it would show how the currently configured message box will look when run.

 

I find that I am often switching around the text, fonts, and other aspects and would like to get that straightened out before run time.  I know you can run the step individually by selecting 'Run Selected Step' but that is tedious, plus you have to take into account preconditions and other functionality.  Normally, I have to remove the precondition (if there is one) as often the step cannot be run by itself.

 

So here is my example with the button added.  Not exactly sure what tab it would belong on.

 

 Message Box with Preview


 

Thanks,

 

Paul

 

Please support triple-clicking like in LabVIEW or Firefox...

 

A double-click selects the word at the click position (OLD behavior),

a triple-click selects the whole text (like <CTRL>+<A>, NEW behavior)

 

Thanks!

right now with TestStand Sequence Analyzer utility, it is limited to analyzing a whole sequence file at once (or as much of it as you analyze before you hit the stop button).

However, if I have a long sequence file this can take quite a while, and I don't really want to wait.

Add a feature where I can select areas to analyze and have sequence analyzer just analyze those areas (for example -- select a few (sub)sequences in my sequence file, or a few steps within a sequence).  This way I can limit the area of my analysis to where I know I made changes (or where I know my biggest problems are) and focus on those and not waste time analyzing everything else. 

Hi all,

 

At times when I am filling out an expression, I'd like to be able to refer other developers to a specific sequence or step within the file.

 

I think it'd be useful to be able to add clickable "hyperlinks" to other steps or sequences within the same file.

ExpressionCommentLink.png

Would anyone else use this if it were a feature?

 

Thanks as always,

Mr. Jim

TestStand now works incredibly well with LabVIEW Classes, but there is a slight annoyance with the fact that you cannot call a Dynamic Dispatch VI with an empty Object Reference. The implication of this is that when you want to use a .lvclass, for every class instance you have to call a VI that does nothing more than return a wrapped class constant which then populates an Object Reference. Technically this is not a problem, but it means that your Sequence becomes very quickly littered with these VI's and it would be nice if there was a way within the LabVIEW module adapter settings for a class member call if when you first call a Dynamic Dispatch VI that, as within LabVIEW you can just pass in a class constant rather than a previously populated Object Reference.

 

The Problem - All the LabVIEW calls prefixed with 'NEW' are simply returning a class constant.

 

Setup.png

 

A Potentially more integrated way of doing this

 


The Dynamic Dispatch input has the option of either passing in an Object Reference, or a class constant.

 

Adapter Settings Modified.png

 

 

All compatiable classes are listed in the value box now - either as .ctls, or alternatively as .lvclasses. This could also possibly be more akin to what happens in labVIEW when you call a Class which has available overrides that it gives you a tree view of the class hierachy to choose from.

 

Another way you could do this is to have a checkbox adjacent to the 'Class Path:' or 'Member Name:' named 'First Call' or 'New' or 'Construct' that then changes the 'Derived Class

 

Adapter Settings Modified2.png