Learn about new features, behavior changes, and other updates in TestStand 2024 Q4.
.NET Adapter — .NET Assembly Execution Support
The .NET adapter now supports .NET 8 for .NET code module execution. You can still execute .NET Framework assemblies using .NET as long as the resources used in the .NET Framework assemblies are present in .NET 8.
- The IOConfig step type no longer works with the .NET Adapter. The device drivers are located in the .NET Framework GAC location, and .NET 8 does not support loading assemblies from the GAC.
- Creating remote objects in the TestStand .NET step using the CreateRemoteObject method is no longer supported.
- Calling into the following assemblies is no longer supported:
- GAC assemblies
- .NET assemblies with dependencies on GAC assemblies
- C++/CLI assemblies
- Consider the following when working with .NET assemblies and LabVIEW:
- .NET assemblies called by a VI are not automatically added to TestStand deployments. You must manually add these dependencies to deployments they are used in.
- NET Framework assembly dependencies called by LabVIEW during the execution of a TestStand .NET step must be placed next to these .NET Framework assemblies to prevent runtime execution errors. These dependencies can be found in the LabVIEW installation directory.
- Passing .NET objects between LabVIEW and TestStand is no longer supported.
- Sequence Editor layout files from previous TestStand versions are no longer supported.
- Consider the following when handling TestStand objects in managed code:
- Explicitly dispose of instances of classes implementing IDisposable.
- Explicitly assign null to class member variables of TestStand types, like Engine, SequenceContext, and PropertyObject, when the class is no longer in use.
- Explicitly assign null to static variables of TestStand types, like Engine, SequenceContext, and PropertyObject, before shutting the TestStand Engine down.
Support for Using Sequence Files Across Multiple Versions of TestStand
The TestStand Engine no longer updates to a new version with every new release of TestStand. This allows you to use sequence files in multiple versions of TestStand without needing to use Save As to save the file for each version of TestStand you want to use it in. Save As now only needs to be used to run sequence files in versions of TestStand with different engine versions than the version it was originally written in. The engine version of your version of TestStand can be determined by consulting the program information at .
Features from later versions of TestStand are not supported in earlier versions of TestStand, even if the versions run on the same engine version. The TestStand Analyzer can detect these support mismatches and notify the user.
Support mismatches can also occur in custom types used between versions of TestStand. Users can update their custom types according to the recommendations in Modifying Types Without Altering the Version Number to allow the TestStand Analyzer to detect and report support mismatches in custom data types.
Python Adapter — Support for Python virtual environments created using 'venv'
The TestStand Python Adapter now supports Python virtual environments created using the venv tool, in addition to virtual environments created using the earlier virtualenv tool.
LabVIEW Adapter — Source-Only VI Execution Support Through the Version-Independent Runtime Engine Support Feature
Users can use the Version Independent Runtime Engine Support feature in the LabVIEW Adapter as an option to avoid potential issues when executing source-only VIs using the LabVIEW Runtime Engine through the LabVIEW adapter. These issues can occur if the LabVIEW version the source-only VI was saved or mass-compiled in does not match the LabVIEW Runtime engine version, as VI version no longer gets updated during a save or mass-compile.
Auto Login for TestStand Default User
- A user clicks on the Login option
- The administrator account has a configured password
- Additional user accounts other than administrator are present
TestStand Sequence Editor Visual Design Updates
TestStand 2024 Q4 introduces visual changes to the TestStand Sequence Editor designed to provide better contrast in the Sequence Editor, provide relief in the menu and tool bars, and reduce the background colour of Sequence Editor panes.
New Help Delivery Experience
API and UI Control Additions and Changes
- Enumeration and Constant Values
- StepType_If
- StepType_Else
- StepType_ElseIf
- StepType_For
- StepType_ForEach
- StepType_While
- StepType_DoWhile
- StepType_Break
- StepType_Continue
- StepType_Select
- StepType_Case
- StepType_End
- StepType_StreamLoop
- StepType_SweepLoop
- StepType_Wait
- VisualStudioDTEVersion_2022
- Properties
- EngineVersionString
- ChildExecutionIds
- ParentExecutionId
- Methods
- DisplayHelpTopicEx
- GetExecution