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TestStand API C# creating a UI tab for your custom step
fbrier
05-03-2018 06:24 PM
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In developing a custom step in C#, the step instance will have a set of values, or properties. These are not values that are injected as parameters for the constructor of the C# object, so the parameters on the .NET Adaptor Module tab are not what we want to populate. We want a different set of properties/parameters that the step's C# method will have access to. So how do you create a new tab at the same level as the step's Properties and Module tab, and design a table of properties (name/value) that appear in that panel?
The widget for entering a value may be a different type for each property in the table, although it is known based on the step type. Please correct me if I am wrong, but it does not look like you can create your own custom Adaptor. We did see how you can create an "Edit" substep, which create a Tab with the name of the step type, but the tab only holds a button, which can then launch a dialog. Functionally similar, but not as tight and clean an integration. If there were a way of adding a custom panel within the Properties tab, at the same level as "General", "Run Options", "Looping", "Post Actions", "Switching", etc., that would be the next best option. Thank you.
05-04-2018 03:09 PM
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One of my test engineers showed me an NI step type called, "StringValue Test". It had a property, "NI_Data" that has an array of properties called "Edit Panels". These existed in the NIStepTypeControls.dll, in a class, NationalInstruments.TestStand.StepTypeControls.StringValueTestLimitsTabInfo of type String. Is it possible to create your own EditPanel and add it to your custom type?
05-04-2018 05:50 PM
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I'm pretty certain creating custom UI's for custom step types is not supported out-of-the-box functionality. After searching through our website, there have been a couple of idea exchange posts about this dating back to 2010. A couple relevant posts are linked below.
National Instruments
05-09-2018 12:30 PM
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Hi Daniel,
From the URLs, it appears a number of people have asked for this functionality for the same reason, having a dialog with a button that pulls up a panel is clunky. Plus with the functionality described in http://download.ni.com/evaluation/teststand/Creating_Custom_Step_Type_Edit_Tabs_in_the_Sequence_Edit... , it appears that the only step missing is to be able to add the new StepTypeEditPanelTabInfo class to the NI_Data/EditPanels array. Most of the other properties of a StepType are exposed. How do I programmatically add my StepTypeEditPanelTabInfo to my StepType? Thank you.
Fred
j_dodek
05-12-2018 01:22 AM
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Hi Fred,
Just do it at first excactly as it is descriped in that document. I recomon to start in next step with small application going to your needs (not more than 2 Controls!!) to figure out how this works. If you understand that stuff you will be able to create extremly effective StepTypes.
You can do it
Juergen
