Get error -17308 on "End" statement using remote execution in TestStand 4.0.1

[qrsmbe]

We recently upgraded TestStand 3.5 to 4.0.1.  We have a test that has sequences remotely execute on another computer.  These sequences call other sub sequences.  The test worked fine on TestStand 3.5.

Under the new version of TestStand, when one of the remote sequences is called, it is returning the following run-time error:

"Error executing 'End' step.

Expected Number, found Boolean.

Error accessing item 'Active'.

Error code -17308; Specified value does not have the expected type.

Step 'End' of sequence 'MainSequence' in 'Initialize parameter database.seq' on remote computer xxxx."

Initialize parameter database.seq is a sub sequence called by the remote sequence.

If this error is ignored, the sequence continues to execute (including remote sequences).  However, at a large number of other points throughout the test, when remote sequences are called again, similar errors occur, some times indicating errors executing 'For' steps.

I have never seen this error before, and I couldn't find any applicable information in the help or on the site.  To my knowledge, 'End' steps are not configurable to return values, and the sequence was not written to use an 'End' step in an odd way.  Does anyone know what is happening, and how to fix it?

Thanks,

Scott.

[MatLaroche]

Hi Scott,

We had an issue in 4.0.1 with our project.
We had some ForEach and when the "End" was the last step of our sequence, we were exposed to race conditions.

The work-around was to add a label at the end of the sequence so the End is not the last step.

The bug should be fix in 4.1.

Maybe you could try it out. I don't know if we had the -17308 error, but our GUI was freezing sometimes due to the race condition.

-Mathieu Laroche

[dug9000]

Are your remote machines updated to 4.0.1 as well? If so try resaving your sequence files that you execute remotely in 4.0.1 first in the sequence editor. I think that when you do remote executions TestStand does not load the type palette files therefore you might be getting an old version of the End step type in your remote execution. By opening and resaving your sequence files in the sequence editor (or probably using the updating tool to resave them will work as well) you should get the newer version of the step types.

Hope this helps,
-Doug

[qrsmbe]

Gentlemen,

     Thanks for your replies.  All of our stations had been upgraded to version 4.0.1 when the error occurred.  Doug, apparently not re-saving in the new format was the issue in my case, since when I re-saved the files as TestStand 4 versions, the error went away.  Curiously, we have been able to run all of our other test sequences without re-saving, and without seeing that error.  It only occurred with this particular sequence, with remote calls and it seems only when those remote sequences made subsequence calls themselves (we had other remote calls that ran fine).

     Mathieu, I never saw the GUI freeze here, it always came up with a -17308 error.  I didn't get to try out your method, but thanks for your help.

Thanks for the information, maybe one day I'll be able to return the favor,

Scott.

[dug9000]

Hi Scott,

Glad resaving worked. What you are seeing is consistent with the problem of the type palettes not being loaded for remote executions. The reason is that as long as you load at least one file that has the correct (newer) version of the type in a remote execution, then any files you load after that will also have the correct newer version of the type, but if in somecase you don't have a file with the newer version of the type loaded you could end up with an old version of the type that isn't compatible with the newer version of TestStand. Making sure all of your files are up to date with the version of TestStand you are using should avoid this problem with remote executions.

-Doug