NI TestStand Idea Exchange

TestStand File Diff and Merge Utility is not very useful for code reviews on its own.  It seems adequate for notifying the user that a sequence was added, however from the tool itself the user cannot actually review the newly added or removed sequence's contents.  Why is there no + on the item tree to go deeper.

Alternatively:

If I have to right-click a sequence and select "Go to location" then why bother with the separate tool to begin with?  Why isn't the diff utility integrated into TestStand's sequence editor itself?  Seems like a side-by-side comparison within Sequence Editor would allow a reviewer to poke and prod around all the hidden settings that are often missed using the existing utility.

TestStand File Diff and Merge Utility has the ability to produce reports in XML format with a slew of dependencies on TestStand (stylesheets, button images, etc.) making them not very portable.  Yes, I know they can be packaged with the extra utility, but that's a hassle too.  Now instead of managing a file I have to manage a folder of files.

Additionally, these reports only seem to work with Internet Explorer which I'm hearing is going away. Not sure if it's just me, but Edge's IE mode doesn't seem to work for these reports either.

Can NI do something to address this?

• Make a browser extension that works with at least chromium based browsers.
• Figure out a nice PDF format.

Ideally, I want to upload the file type into my code review platform of choice (git, perforce swarm, crucible, network folder share, etc.) and not require my reviewer to have TestStand installed on their machine.

When assigning a type to a property, the list of types is in an unordered pile. In the next release, can someone please alphabetize it?

(PS. Do not ask about the context of this image. It's not pretty. 😏 )

I think it would enhance readability if, in the step settings of a label step, the label description text were no longer bold.

I cringe every time I fill one of these out or read it back to myself.

(Yes, I'm aware of the ability to mouse over the step itself and read the tooltip)

Maybe my use case is unusual, but I'll often write a few sentences in there to describe what a sequence or code block does.

Thanks,

Mr. Jim

Ow, my eyes:

Let's say we have a parameter to a subsequence of a named type, and we want to create a so-named Local or FileGlobal with the same type.

One way to do this with our current workflow is to:

• Type the same property name in the parameter value
• Right-click the parameter
• Click on "Create Locals.whatever"
• mouse over the types menu
• Glance through most of the types, select the custom type

I'm proposing a simpler workflow for cases when you just want to duplicate or "clone" the property with the same name and type in Locals or FileGlobals:

• Right-click the empty parameter value
• Select "Create Locals.whatever" or "Create FileGlobals.whatever"

The respective menu options would appear if the so-named variable does not already exist.

The subproperty is created in the Locals or FileGlobals with the same type as the parameter.

Hi there,

When using the Find/Replace dialog in TestStand, it would be nice to have a checkbox under "Elements to Search" that allows the user to choose whether or not to include sequence file attributes in the the results. I guess I could put together a regex to accomplish what I need to, but a checkbox would be nice.

Why am I asking for this?

I'm used to quickly working my way through find results by using the CTRL+G / CTRL+Shift+G shortcuts. When I hit one of these attributes there's about a 4 second delay before the sequence file attributes dialog opens. This is super annoying in the workflow of the find results, and the vast majority of the time I'm not interested in searching the ignored Sequence Analyzer messages.

Thanks,

Mr. Jim

I would like to see the possibility to add Tools (Menu > Tools) to Toolbars. See the recording below:

As you can see from Tools section I can select only "Customize". It could be great to have the ability to use custom tools when customizing toolbars and menus.

If you are using a custom environment file for TestStand 2016 and later, it would be great if, on startup, the splash screen indicated the loaded Env file name and path.

As you can see below, in our custom TestStand RTOI we are showing the loaded environment file on the splash screen when it loaded.  The TestStand 2019 splash screen is shown for comparison.