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Managing Test Limits in Test Stand

Hi,

We are new to Test Stand, and want to make sure we are setting up our sequence files and supporting files correctly.  When dealing with test limits or the expected value of measurements etc..., what is the best way to manage the expected values as opposed to hard coding them deep into sub-sequences?  We want to be able to easy adjust the expected value(s) in one location, and wonder if Test Stand has a file that would be useful for this.  Here are the initial ideas around this:

 

1. Excel File - Only concern is being able to control this file.  There can be multiple excel files floating around, so not sure if this is the right answer?

2. Text File - Same as above?

3. Actual Sequence that only contains limits

4. ?

 

Thanks

John

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TestStand provides built-in functionality for managing properties such as test limits. This can be accessed either from a dialog box or programmatically in a sequence as a special step type.

 

The properties and limits can be stored either in a file on the machine or in a database. The file approach, while simple, does have the caveats you mentioned, where file versioning would be important. This could be mitigated by storing the property file on a shared network drive.

 

Using a database for properties would likely be more adaptable to change. By storing the properties in a single location accessible by all test machines, you can easily update the values in one place and have them propagate to different testers. 


In either case, you would load the properties into the current TestStand sequence either interactively through the Import/Export Properties dialog box or with a Property Loader step at the beginning of your sequence.

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If file approach is taken you can additionally introduce a checksum method where the limit file's checksum is first cross checked and then only its loaded.This way you can overcome the issue of controlling the file.

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