Odd LabView Floating Window Side Effect within TestStand

[DGM]

Using TestStand 3.5 and LabView 8.2.

I have a TestStand Action which calls a LabView VI. This VI calls a subVI which displays its front panel as a floating window (ie Window Appearance = Dialog, customised with Window Behaviour = Floating).

Bizarrely, when the subVI window is dismissed and the TestStand sequence concludes, the LabView "Getting Started" window is displayed on top of TestStand.

Anyone got any ideas how to stop this happening? It's most annoying!

Grossly simplified examples attached.

Dave.

[RayFarmer]

Hi,

This looks like LabVIEW 8.2 has re-introduced this problem.

Rather than have a VI open a subVI, can you not have TestStand interface directly with the subVI. (Mind you you still may get the same problem).

Regards

Ray Farmer

[Norbert_B]

Dave,

i tried to reproduce the issue you are describing with some "success". Here is what happens on my PC:
Running the sequence (i created one very similar to yours) works fine, the dialog (set to appearance dialog with one change: floating) pops up and can be closed again. After this, the LV-getting started does not pop up!
Nevertheless, there are some things i have to mention:
TS is not the active application anymore, it is LV. Minimizing TS (i used the Sequence Editor) brings the LV-getting started to front. If another VI was opened before starting the sequence-execution, the other VI pops to the front instead.
So i can quite imagine what is happening here: The VI is called correctly from the sequence and TS is waiting for the VI to finish. Since you have to focus the VI to close it, Windows passes the focus on to LV and even though TS finishes the execution, Windows still keeps the focus on LV!

There are two ways of solving this issue in my opinion:
a) Just create the "main-vi" as dialog. If there is no other dependency on pop-ups, this works fine.
b) Create a step/sequence after the VI call in your sequence which forces to change the focus of applications in Windows. You can use the Windows SDK for this.

hope this helps,
Norbert B.

[DGM]

Thanks for the response, Ray.

I can confirm that using the subVI direct doesn't show the problem, but unfortunately the subVI is a common component called from a number of top level VIs, and hence can't be directly accessed from TestStand.

Are you saying that this used to be a problem in previous LabVIEW versions?

Dave.

[RayFarmer]

Hi,

Yeah, this used to be a problem, TS2.0 and LV 6.1, sure it got sorted with TS3.0 and LV 7.0/7.1

Calling it direct maybe your only work around.

regards

Ray Farmer

[Erik_Crank]

You can set the Window Activation option on the step to re-activate TestStand when it completes. This setting is on the Run Options tab of the step settings dialog. See the attached image.

[paulmw]

I had the same problem and the teststand window activation was the solution for it.  See my old post...

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=330&message.id=9852#M9852

[TCPlomp]

Apperantly this is not a teststand issue:
my post
 
Ton