NI TestStand Idea Exchange

I would like to request a change in the behavior of the Sequence Editor when dragging and dropping multiple subsequences into, for example, the Main Sequence as Sequence Call steps.

Currently, after dropping, the view automatically jumps to one of the dragged subsequences. A much better UX/DX would be if the view remained at the drop location instead of shifting focus to another sequence.

I would like to suggest adding a public API to the Sequence Editor in TestStand.

Recently, I watched a recording featuring members of the TestStand R&D team, where they explained that users often request various features in the Sequence Editor, even though they already have access to the TS API and TS UI Controls, which allow them to create their own custom user interfaces. Meanwhile, building a custom operating system just to play Heroes of Might and Magic is not standard practice — we buy a fully functional system and run the game on it. Similarly, when writing sequences in TestStand, we purchase a framework along with a ready-made GUI that should provide a comprehensive set of features for creating test sequences. The Sequence Editor is a paid tool, and since users pay for it, it should offer value out-of-the-box without requiring additional development of functionalities that users believe should already be standard.

For this reason, I believe that a paid GUI like the Sequence Editor should be enhanced with an API that allows programmatic control of its functionality.

Examples of functionalities that interest me:

1. Managing the Output Messages Pane

   • Programmatically clearing messages.
   • Exporting messages to a file.
   • Opening or hiding the pane.

2. Managing UI Settings

   • Programmatically loading a saved layout.
   • Dynamically controlling the layout during runtime.

3. Changing Pane Colors

   • Many users currently complain about the lack of a dark mode in TestStand. A partial dark mode can be achieved by changing the background colors of panes. Most (if not all) panes have a Color property that allows color changes, but for some reason, this doesn’t work in the Sequence Editor (I attempted to achieve this by retrieving references to panes through the Application Manager returned by Engine Internal Options, but unfortunately, without success).

These are just examples of features that would be useful to me today. However, long-time TestStand users could likely identify many more ideas for such API. A public API would open the door to much more advanced and personalized use of TestStand, while simultaneously increasing its value for a wide range of users.

It would be great to be able to generate a FileGlobal or a local variable by right clicking a detected field in a Sequence step and choosing the relevant option as shown in the image below:

That is instead of manually having to do it.