Open seq file via shortcut

[hurst]

I have a need to open a sequence file via a shortcut.

The following call performs the sequence file ope and returns a handle to the file:

oleErrChkReportErrInfo (TS_EngineGetSeqFile (sTEEngineObj, &errorInfo, seqFilePath,
TS_GetSeqFile_OperatorInterfaceFlags, &seqFileH));

At this point 'seqFilePath' contains \.

My question is:
1) How do I tell TestStand to open the file that the shortcut points to?

If 1) is not possible, then
2) How do I get the path from the shortcut file so that I can give that to TestStand to open the 'real' sequence file?

Hurst

[RayFarmer]

Hi,

If you are running from the sequence editor you can add the pathname of the the sequencefile to the seqeditor.exe command as such, seqeditor.exe c:\sequencefiles\mysequencefile.seq.

This applies equally to the CVI, VB etc operator interfaces. Not sure if it applies to the default labVIEW OI, (new style TS3.x), although labVIEW 7.X will allow for command line arguments now. There will be an example in the what's new section of the labview examples.

There is a section in the TS User Manual, Startup Options, that will provide a bit more information.

Regards
Ray Farmer

[hurst]

I have a requirement to have the sequence file appear in two or more different directory trees. Of course, one alternative is to maintain multiple copies, but this is a maintenance nightmare. The most direct solution is to keep the sequence file (and other supporting files) in one location and let all the other locations link to it. However, when I try to open a link (shortcut) the TestStand engine does just that (opens the link as if it was the sequence file) and announces a format error instead of resolving the true location like Unix, Linux does. Anybody know how to extract the target info out of the shortcut?

[AllenP]

Is there any reason that using TestStand Search Directories would not work for you?

For example, you could have the sequence file that you need to open just exist in some directory that will be found using TS Search Directories. Then you could use the API call Engine.FindFile to find the file based on its file name, and it will return the absolute path of the file.

[hurst]

The problem is that this is a very dynamic test environment where only the root of the test tree is fixed. As new product tests become available, they are placed appropriately in the test tree hierarchy (this may mean the addition of any number of sub-directories) in their own folder. When a test-operator logs into my Operatot Interface, the whole test tree is scanned for the existence of sequence files (or shortcuts to sequence files), which are then placed into a three-level selection ring. The only directory that always exists is the root of the test tree, but there are never any sequence files in this directory, only sub-directories.

So, the solution must address the dynamic environment.

[dug9000]

Here is an msdn article on how to obtain a file path from a shortcut:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;130698

-Doug