This is a solution as well as a question - firstly, I'm sure I'm not alone when it comes to being somewhat critical of the limitations of the sequence editor when it comes to the readability of larger sequences - what customisations have people come up with when it comes to improving matters ?
I've taken the simple example on the knowledgebase that demontrates how to colour the text of steps with a certain name differently, and extended it so that complete coloured banners can be created, either with or without visible black text to further enhance their value in a sequence - 12 colours are currently supported.
Here is a copy of the readme that accompanies my example sequence (TS version 2010 SP1), and contains all the information you will need:
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How to configure your TestStand install to use the colored banners:
Excerpt from NI Knowledgebase, which gives background on how/where teststand stores these settings, once you have applied them:
Problem:
I would like to deploy my step list configurations along with my TestStand deployment. Where are these configurations stored so that I can copy the file(s) over to my target machine?
Solution:
Step list configurations created in the Sequence Editor are stored in a file called layout_current.bin. Step list configurations created in a User Interface are stored in a file called UserInterface.xml. Both of these files can be found in the TestStand Local Application Data directory:
Windows 7/Vista
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\National Instruments\TestStand x.x
Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\National Instruments\TestStand x.x
Note: This folder may be hidden by default. Modify the folder options on your system to display hidden folders and directories to find the TestStand Local Application Data directory.
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In order to preserve the any other unique settings you may have setup for your sequence editor - rather than replacing the files detailed above with preconfigured items, it is better to add the expressions below:
Configured using the step > step list configurations > edit step list configurations option.
Edit the <default> settings in the above window, Fonts and Colors tab to view the Color Expression rules
that are applied by teststand to each Steps Test and Background colors. Copy/Paste the two expressions below to the locations specified
Step Text Color Expression:
Find(Step.Name,"//",0,1,0) == -1 || Find(Step.GetDescriptionEx(),"//",0,1,0) != -1?0x000000:Find(Step.Name,"00",0,1,0) >-1?0xFFCA95:Find(Step.Name,"01",0,1,0) >-1?0xFF0000:Find(Step.Name,"02",0,1,0) >-1?0xB0B0FF:Find(Step.Name,"03",0,1,0) >-1?0x0000FF:Find(Step.Name,"04",0,1,0) >-1?0xA0FFFF:Find(Step.Name,"05",0,1,0) >-1?0x00FFFF:Find(Step.Name,"06",0,1,0) >-1?0xB0FFB0:Find(Step.Name,"07",0,1,0) >-1?0x00FF00:Find(Step.Name,"08",0,1,0) >-1?0xB8B8B8:Find(Step.Name,"09",0,1,0) >-1?0x686868:Find(Step.Name,"10",0,1,0) >-1?0x98CCFF:Find(Step.Name,"11",0,1,0) >-1?0x0080FF:0x000000
Step Background Color Expression:
Find(Step.Name,"//",0,1,0) == -1 || Find(Step.GetDescriptionEx(),"//",0,1,0) != -1?0xFFFFFF:Find(Step.Name,"00",0,1,0) >-1?0xFFCA95:Find(Step.Name,"01",0,1,0) >-1?0xFF0000:Find(Step.Name,"02",0,1,0) >-1?0xB0B0FF:Find(Step.Name,"03",0,1,0) >-1?0x0000FF:Find(Step.Name,"04",0,1,0) >-1?0xA0FFFF:Find(Step.Name,"05",0,1,0) >-1?0x00FFFF:Find(Step.Name,"06",0,1,0) >-1?0xB0FFB0:Find(Step.Name,"07",0,1,0) >-1?0x00FF00:Find(Step.Name,"08",0,1,0) >-1?0xB8B8B8:Find(Step.Name,"09",0,1,0) >-1?0x686868:Find(Step.Name,"10",0,1,0) >-1?0x98CCFF:Find(Step.Name,"11",0,1,0) >-1?0x0080FF:0xFFFFFF
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Now the sequence editor is configured to use the coloured banners, any sequence you open while these settings remind can use them, according to the useage cases below.
Put simply, the editor evaluates all steps, and evaluates the expressions above - there are currently 12 colors configured for use:
00 Light Blue
01 Blue
02 Light Red
03 Red
04 Light Yellow
05 Yellow
06 Light Green
07 Green
08 Light Grey
09 Grey
10 Light Orange
11 Orange
To use them, the step type NAME property (not the DESCRIPTION property) contain the follow string combination as follows:
//<color code as per the above table>
e.g the name for a solid yellow banner step would be:
//05
If you want the step name text to remain visible, in the DESCRIPTION property, enter the following string:
//
NOTE - there is no restriction on WHERE the STEP and DESCRIPTION strings are placed, as long as they exist.
e.g.
Step.Name = my //01 comment
Step.Description = remainder of this steps // information
- would still give rise to a step with a blue background, with black visible text.
Step.Name = another comment //11
Step.Description = some more text
- would cause the step to appear as a solid Orange bar, with no text visible (unless highlighted in the sequence editor of course).
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