How to show Step Number into TestStand GUI ?

[Gabriel_Habib]

As my test cases are getting a considerable number of steps, it is being challenging to locate the test step that failed into the .seq, I would like to know, if someone has any good solution to report the number of the step into the report as well as into the test stand seq editor GUI.

I have found this topic, related to adding the test step number into the report : 

https://forums.ni.com/t5/NI-TestStand/obtaining-step-number-in-the-report-of-teststand/m-p/761347

However, I cannot make this information get showed into the seq editor GUI.

I'm attaching here one example about expected result to easily locate the step that failed.

Into the report and into the GUI would show the same number.

Does anyone has any idea about how to solve it? Is there any easier way to locate one test step among hundreds?

[SercoSteveB]

Hi Gabriel_Habib,

There are a couple of ways that I can think of (and probably a few more) to link the step index to a test step in the Test Report one slightly more fun than the other.

#1 (probably what you want but not the fun solution)

You can configure TestStand to add additional information into the Test Report.  See below, in the properties for a step you could add the step index as an Additional Result.  NOTE:  You do not need to do this for every step individually you can select multiple steps and configure them all in the same way in one go (at least you can in the version of TestStand I am running TS2019).   In your Test Report you will get an additional line for each step that will contain the step index.

#2 (slightly more fun from a TestStand Architecture perspective)

You could add a SequenceFilePreStep Engine Callback to your sequence file, from the Edit->Sequence File Callbacks... menu of your Sequence File.  On selecting the menu option, the dialog below will be displayed.  On the dialog select SequenceFilePreStep and select Add.  The SequenceFilePreStep callback will get added to the SubSequences within your sequence file

From within your new callback you could then add a statement step that appends the step index to the step name at run-time (see below).  At run-time as you enter each step your engine callback will be called and modify the step name to append it with the step index, this modified step name will appear on the GUI in the running sequence and also in the Test Report. 

Hope this helps

Steve

[Gabriel_Habib]

Thank you for your answer, however it does not completly address the needs, in fact, it is going to be written into the log, as you said, however you cannot see it into the GUI if you are not executing it.

For the GUI it will be shown as part of the code and not the step number, when you are troubleshooting the problem, which is when the .seq is not running.

Could you please give me a guidance about how to show this step number into the .seq file when not running?

Why this, just for easier location the failed step into the .seq file.

The .seq files here started to have 100 steps, that makes me dizzy when troubleshooting the problem.

Having a easy way to locate the step would be wonderful. 

[SercoSteveB]

Unless NI have added 'show step index' as a feature in TestStand versions I do not have access too then I think you will need to modifying each of your steps names to include the index. 

Manually modifying them is out of the question as you have massive sequences, but you could use the TestStand API to automate the process.

See below, this VI will open up Sequence File12.seq and append " (<step_index>)" to every step within the Main Step Group of the MainSequence.  You could modify the VI to change the step names for all Step Groups and SubSequences.

[Gabriel_Habib]

thanks for you answer.

Does anyone know a way to ask to add a special feature into the teststand?

I think it would not be so complicated to output this step number into the GUI.

[James_Grey]

In the sequence editor, you can right click on the step list view and select Step List Configurations>>Edit Step List Configurations... which displays a dialog that lets you add columns among other things:

I don't have LabVIEW handy, but for your UI application, you should be able to select your step list controls at edit time and display the properties editing dialog box, which has a section for columns just like the dialog above. Note that for C++ in visual studio, I had to click a wrench icon in the properties grid to get the properties dialog to appear. Not sure if LabVIEW is the same.