NI TestStand Idea Exchange

Hello,

For the moment, the precondition builder editor only allow to check steps status or to create custom conditions.

It would be nice to add a way to test the current sequence Status.

To handle this, i create my own custom condition by using the runtime variables Runstate.SequenceFailed and Runstate.SequenceError.

The problem is that these variables doesn't exist at edit time.

I think that adding this feature to the precondition builder editor could simplify our work.

Thanks.

Manu.

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When putting values into an array of number local variable, there is little documentation specifying the correct way to input values in an array. The documentation needs to be improve and/or the error message that pops when evaluating your statement should be fixed to better demonstrate the problem. The current error states "Variable or property types do not match or are not compatible. This value will cause a run-time error." A getting started documentation that addresses variable syntax would also be helpful, these ideas will improve ease of use for people working in TestStand. The typical syntax when working with arrays is the use of a bracket [] and the error that appears when using a bracket for arrays is even less helpful. Attached is an image of an example of the fixed error that would demonstrate this problem more thoroughly (The red highlighted section would be a potential change to the errors).

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Imagine this as a scenario:

you write some code to work with the standard out-of-the-box process model.

Then you need to later run this code using a different process model (or changes are made to whatever process model you are using). With this new process model / changes to your existing process model you happen to have a new callback sequence, and that callback sequence happens to be named exactly the same as some other sequence in your client sequence file (that you wrote with no intention of it being a callback override).

Now, when you try to run your client sequence file, you will either get errors because the callback parameters do not match up (for this random sequence that wasn't supposed to be a callback override).

Granted this can be avoided by having good naming conventions for sequences in your client sequence file and any process model callbacks you add, but sometimes you are not in control of one or either of those.

I suggest adding a property of a sequence that flags it as "not available to be used as a callback override" -- this way you can configure all your "never intended to be a callback override" client sequence file sequences as such, and you won't end up in this trap.

Something like this:

The Additional Results Step property is a great way to add customized results to the TestStand report for a particular step without much effort required. However, there should be an equally simple way to add additional results too all of the steps in a sequence. The current options are all lacking:

Create a SequenceFilePostStep engine callback to manually append results to the result list - this feels hacky
Add additional results to each step - this is tedious
Create custom step types - this is also tedious, as a new step type would be required for each step

I think there should be an additional results option available in either the report options or in the sequence file properties window or the report options window. Configuring the results here would be identical to adding the additional result to every step in the sequence.

Potential implementation of button on report options window:

Additional results button launches a dialog:

Professional Development package should include source code control (SCC) and Requirements Gateway right out of the box.

I know that bundled SCC was a problem in the past that NI wants to avoid, but I feel that a "Professional" development system isn't very professional without it and Requirements Gateway. However, It is very difficult and painful for me to get separate funds approved for important items that really needs to be already there right out of the box.

I already use free SVN, but TestStand does not recognize it, so it is not "integrated".

Eugene

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Hi,

I suggest being able to group steps in a sequence:

Steps that are grouped should in interactive mode be forced to be handled together, e.g. "Run selected steps" would always select all the steps in the group. This way you could re-use certain steps multiple times down the sequence without allowing such steps to be executed by themselves (or the opposite, make sure certain steps were never executed without surrounding safeguards).

Today we'd usually enclose such must-work-together steps inside sub-sequences, but that solution does not safeguard against selecting a single step within that sub-sequence for execution by itself, and sometimes putting steps in a sub-sequence is non-optimal (one such case is when you have disabled tracing into subsequences, but this particular set of steps you'd like to have tracing on - I know there are ways to go about this, but these are cumbersome and non-trivial to spot when editing the sequence).

I wouldn't add any extra configuration options to a group, it should simply be a group/ungroup thing - all settings still being on a per step basis.

The use cases for a group could be expanded into making it easier to select a co-working set of steps for copying and pasting, it would be a good way to document co-working steps and so on.

Cheers,

Steen

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In every TS step we have the looping feature. I find it very elegant feature which allows us to save implementing full loops for singular steps.

I wonder if some statistical information to the looping feature can be added to the looping feature.

We could image that there is a step with the i.e. LV module which is responsible for acquiring one sample of data. Let say the sampled signal is noisy. It would be fantastic if we can use this singular step which acquire singular sample and the looping feature of the TS step to get multiple samples and to have a statistic the samples taken. The statistic could be:

--averaging

--mediana

--standard deviation

--etc...

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Right now, custom substeps (edit substep in particular) only supports one step at a time. (I can only invoke the edit substep if exactly one step is selected). However, I have a case where I have a dozen or more steps in a row that are all the same custom step type, and I want to perform the custom edit event on all of them. This means going through each one individually, which takes a while. I'd love to be able to select all of them, and then invoke the edit substep call for all of them at once. The "cheap" way to do this would be to just invoke the edit substep of the first one, and then once that is done to go to the next, and the next, and finally you are done (but this is still annoying to the user). What would be nice is to be able to pass an array of sequence context values in (one for each step that is selected), and then your edit code could manage all of the steps however it sees fit. If multiple different step types are selected, it could just default to not allowing a multi-step custom edit, but ideally if all of the steps selected shared a common edit substep entry (name and module) it would allow it.

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I think it would be a cool idea to put an extra configuration entry point in the Sequential Model (or all the shipped process models) by default. Inside of it would be a simple call to an empty callback. This way users can override the callback to get custom sequence file configuration setting.

This would be useful for storing info like: DAQmx addresses, GPIB addresses, etc... off to a file. Sorta like machine specific configuration info. That way during execution the file can be read in and used. However, if it's empty then people can use it for whatever they want.

I understand that I can go in there and edit the process model and make my own but it would be nice to just have the default already there.

You could call it Sequence File Configuration or something.

Even though we already have an About box for TestStand, it would also be nice to have one for the active TestSequence file as well. The Help menu would have a new item called "About MySequenceFile ...".

MySequenceFile About box splash screen:

The information in this screen should be loaded directly from a single FileGlobal string whenever a sequence file is made active. This can probably be done already by those that know how, but it should be already part of TestStand by default.

Eugene

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A TestStand configuration wizard

I would like to see a TestStand configuration wizard that would walk a developer through a checklist of all of the most important configuration settings and generate recommended changes.

It is best for a developer to be already familiar with Best Practices as in the following link:

Best Practices for Improving NI TestStand System Performance

http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/7559

However, it would also be nice to have assistance in recording WHY certain choices are made as shown in this image:

Eugene

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Everyone should be familiar with the Sequences pane. In it, we get fancy icons for certain callbacks, but I'd also like each sequence reveal more information about the sequence's settings, and my first thought was to use helpful overlays for the icon. If you take a peek in the Sequence Properties dialog, you'll see there's three different tickboxes there that (can) radically change how a sequence executes. Unfortunately, I don't have any awesome ideas on how these could be presented (especially all at once) - it'd be pretty tough to fit all that discernably into a 16x16 icon. Both Comments and Requirements are visualized clearly, but I would just as soon trade the Comment column for a way to display these settings.

I'd be even more thrilled if the SequenceCall step type could also find some visual way to display this information, but I guess we should probably take this a step at a time 😉

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NI TestStand Idea Exchange

Please highlight the skipped steps ...

Separate or Shared file global selection setting is not obvious

Update step fields after using an Edit Step

Add the ability to test the sequence status in the precondition builder editor ...

TestStand error messages are confusing when inputting array values.

Add to the post actions on fail a Fail execution option

Select Case End steps shall allow the Label steps to go between them.

flag to prevent sequence from being used as callback override

Accommodate C++ Class DLLs

Global Additional Results

Professional Development package should include source code control (SCC) and Requirements Gateway

Implement step grouping

Feature request: statistical information when looping the step

Batch Step into / Step Over / Step Out

edit substep supports multiple steps

Add expressions abilities to the SequenceCall STEP ...

Spare Configuration Entry Point in Default Process Model

MySequenceFile About box splash screen

A TestStand configuration wizard

Visualization of Sequence properties through the Sequence's icon