NI TestStand Idea Exchange

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I use the Stationglobals.ini to define my hardware settings on the test PC, like comport number and so on. It is running Teststand Base Deployment.

If I want to edit the settings it's only possible if I copy the stationglobals.ini to my development PC which has the full license, edits the settings, and then copies the file back to the test PC. Before I copy the file to my development PC I need to make a backup of the original file, so I don't get the settings on the development PC overwritten. Then afterwards I have to re-establish the backup.

This is a lot of copying back and forth, which is quite annoying.

Please make it possible to edit the Stationglobals.ini directly on the test PC with the Base Deployment Engine.

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The Update VI Calls tool only works on sequence files right now. I'd like it to also work on Step Types in type palettes.

Here's the situation where it would be useful for me: I'm working on a set of custom step types for a customer, which use VIs as Edit-Substeps and Post-Substeps. Some of these VIs are shared between multiple step types.

The issue that I'm having is that if a customer requests a change to one of these shared VIs (for instance, to add another input or output), then I have to go through and manually update all of the substeps in all of the referencing step types. I've already had a situation where I missed an update of an edit substep. This didn't show up in our automated testing, because it is only run at edit time, but caused an error for the customer which they didn't know how to interpret. Our testing process now has to include manual opening of every single edit substep to make sure they all still work before every release.

As part of my validation before a release to the customer, I run the Update VI Calls tool to make sure that there are no broken VIs in the sequence files I'm shipping. The Update VI calls tool already makes sure that I've updated any step modules, but it doesn't catch if I've forgotten to update a Step Type's substeps.

And yes, I know, I could write my own tool to traverse a type palette and do the updating myself, but I'd like to see this integrated into the existing tool.

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Hello,

I had recentlty to modify the public interface of one of my custom step.

The automatic type conflict detection diden't work ! I had to modify all my sequence file manually, by only launch the "reload prototype" !

(All versions of my custom step has been upgraded in order to generate a conflict !)

So, i thaught, i could use the "sequence file converter tool" to upgrade existing sequence files ...

But no !

The sequence file converter only converts the properties which cannot be modified by the final user. (The one who write sequences)

=> The NI Answer is : All properties that could be modified on a step instance, will not be upgraded by the sequence file converter.

So, neither the default action will never be upgraded, nor all properties ....

AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ! What can i do for my customer hundred of sequenceFiles ....

So, I had customized my custom step in order to lock all properties for the end user (Disable properties) ...

I thaught the Sequence file converter will detect that the step instances could not be modified ... and then it will do the right work !

Even with this lock, the sequence converter don't upgrade my existing sequences !

The NI answer to my problem is : You should do it right from the begining !

It is well known that the projects need didn't change during the software life cycle !!!!!!

So i decide to do my own sequence file converter for my application ... and it works fine ... but i think this need is general ... and could be integrated into TestStand.

I would like, in the sequenceFileConverter, to be abble to :

Select a path which contains recursively many sequences
Select a or multiple CustomSteps to upgrade
And launch an automatic "Force upgrade"

The tool could ask other options like ...

Keep properties or apply default
Updgrade action interface or not
keep existing parameters, and initialize default parameters with default values
Apply default parameters

I know very well that the behaviour of such a tool would need many parameters in order to handle all needs.

But, this could be done in many times ...

The first need is something like an automatic prototype reload, with existing parameters reusing, and default values for type mismatch, or new parameters.

Thanks for help.

Manu.

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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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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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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.

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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Hi All, My code module to be deployed uses some VI's from user.lib. When I'm trying to create the deployment, in LabVIEW options I'm excluding all files from vi.lib,user.lib and instr.lib. After creating the deployment, still my code module looks for the VI's from user.lib in SupportVIs folder which is parallel to the deployed folder. I don't know why it is still looking in SupportVIs folder instead of taking it from user.lib. Please share your thoughts about this.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

vani

For one of our test racks we have a PXI Rack that is full of Measurement HW devices from NI. Recently tow of the cards in the rack were returned to us from the calibration house with OOT (Out of Tolerance) as found readings. This put into question the product tested and shipped in the past year. Since the test fixture is used to test 14 different assemblies, I wanted to use Teststand to generate a report that told me what hardware was being utilized during the sequence of each assembly that is tested on this fixture. It appears that unless one intentionally adds certain system configuration information into the VI that can be read in as a variable in Teststand, that this process will be very tedious in looking at each vi called out by the sequence file and looking for HW callouts. It would be great to have this capability baked into the handshaking between VI's and Teststand to allow for a simple query within TestStand. c.S.

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Hi,

It would be good if the documentation tool would have option/report like described below.

After triggering this option user would received the report about every possible flow of the main sequence along with the list of the variables which drive the flow.

Value added by this feature:
1. full view about how many flows the sequence is able to be executed,
2. what variables are involved in the flow of the main sequence,
3. general overview about what and when subsequences and steps are executed,
4. where the flows is splited up and merged back.

This functionality would be great for sanity analysis and overall picture of the possible executions.

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Hi,

I'd like to propose that the FileDiff.exe in the merge mode shall have the possibility of changing the file name labels.

Right now FileDiff.exe tool in merge mode has four fixed file name labels:

1. Base

2. File 1

3. File 2

4. Merged

The names of the labels 1. & 4. are allright. But for someone who uses version controll tool names 2. and 3. could be confusing. I'm not quite sure about the is there one template of the order in these three-way-diff tools but as I use SVN I'd like to have:

1. Base

2. Mine

3. Theirs

4. Merged

Having this I'd have the same nomenclature which I have in SVN/TortoiseSVN, and it would't create a confusion.

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It would be nice to add these features to the XML Packaging Utility:

1. Allow the changing of the stylesheet. Currently the utility packs the XML with the specified stylsheet within the XML; in some cases I'd like to define a different stylesheet for distributions. This would also allow distributing reports if the specified stylesheet within the XML is not found.

2. Allow an option to have the "packed" files maintain the "Date modified" file properties. I quite often use Windows to sort a folder of reports on the date modified attribute. After packing, that info is lost.

3. Incorporate a zip file as an output

I wanted to gauge community interest in a set of step types for remotely setting up an RT Target.

1) RT Software Install

From a high level, we want to give our users the ability to specify:

RT Host
RT Target
RT Software to install

On a lower level, we have a few different ways to specify software to install. The first is to provide the user the ability to specify specific GUID's from the host or to install all available software from the host. The second is to allow the user to install all available, install selected software from a local file that maps distributions and GUID's, install a "Software Set" from a network location that matches a user-specified part number, or communicate to the RT Target and request a list of software that it can have installed.

2) RT Software Un-Install All

User specifies a Target Name (or IP), Password and whether to reboot the target after un-install

3) RT Reboot

User specifies a Target Name (or IP), Password and the target reboots

____________

We've heard interest in these or other remote automation Step Types before, so any feedback or questions would be really valuable!

Matt

TESTSTAND is capable of interfacing so many devices & instrument to a UUT.

Incase of ATE(Automatic test equipment), where lot of resources are made available to test the UUT, not all the resources or instruments will be used through out the test for a particular UNIT. Hence there should be facility to select the resources required for particular test, which will be then only initialized & used.

For example a simple power device requires only POWER SUPPLY, LOAD & DMM. Where as a data acquisition system requires POWER SUPPLY, DIO & AIO cards & so on.

Thus one should only select the resources required for test & hence no need to have init function separately for each sequence. This may sound a bit complicated but It really helps for LARGE ATEs, where optimization is KEY. Same thing can be implemented for TERMINATING resources once test is done.

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NI TestStand Idea Exchange

Make it possible to edit Stationglobals from the Teststand Base Deployment License

Provide error logging

Make Update VI Calls Tool Work on Type Palettes

Smarter Sequence file converter ...

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

Feature request: statistical information when looping the step

Save in Previous Version

Spare Configuration Entry Point in Default Process Model

A TestStand configuration wizard

TestStand Deployment Utility: Support VIs issue

HW query capability in Sequence File

Debugging the sequences. Watch window value access indicator.

New feature request: every possible flow report

FileDiffer.exe: Merge mode: ability to rename file name labels in the tool

Print functionality addition

Enhance XML Packaging Utility

Explain Error in Teststand like LabVIEW

Expand Remote Step Types to RT

Ability to SELECT / INITIALIZE test resources for UUT before performing TEST.