Is there a way to suspend execution within LabView?

[steady]

Hi all,

My demand is to suspend the running application when I want, and resume it after that, within LabView. I heard about using TestStand maybe can do it. The tested product sometimes goes wrong during production test. At this time, I want test program to pause, and then I can diagnose the product, and after diagnosis I want program to continue. Is it doable?

My thought is, the exe application can't suspend itself. Even if it can, it can't resume because it has been suspended so that it is not aware of the user input. But maybe I can do a simple high level VI to call the test program VI, and do the "suspend" and "resume" action in the high level VI. But I don't know if there is "property/method" to support this kind of action.

Is there someone with this experience?

Thank you in advance.

[nitad54448]

hi

I am not sure I understand correctly your question : you want to pause/change another application through a labview program ? If so, I think this is possible for instance if your application has activeX enabled.... and of course if this application accept that method.

n

[F._Schubert]

This would be typically programmed as a state machine. So from the 'Test' state, you would transit to the 'Pause State' when you detect a fail. Propably you will call a transitory state to shut off some devices. From the Pause State, you can transit back to the 'Test' state.

Felix

[Dennis_Knutson]

And your message to the operator to perform the troubleshooting is a trivial way to pause by not proceeding until a button is clicked. Your approach is way too complicated.

[LiYi]

Yes! Just use the state machine structure

[steady]

State machine can't work here, because test is deeply embedded. State machine can only suspend program when execution returns to the most outward circle, supposing state machine is implemented in the most outward circle.

To use ActiveX.....it sounds doable but does anybody know more detail? I doubt if there is a way to "freeze" the execution.

[johnsold]

It sounds as though you may not be able to do what you want without rewriting your program.  As many responders have pointed out, the appropriate architecture for the kind of testing you are doing is a state machine.  And, as you pointed out, if the state machine is not designed to include a Pause mode, it may be very difficult to implement.

If your existing test program does not have the capability to pause and resume or to save its current state to a configuration file when it stops and restart from the saved configuration when it starts, then no external program or control will be able to make it do something beyond its capabilities.

Lynn