August 2014
This document contains information about NI TestStand 2014. Refer to the NI TestStand 2014 Release Notes for information about getting started with TestStand, such as system requirements, licensing information, and installation instructions. If you do not activate a TestStand license, TestStand operates in Evaluation Mode.
Refer to the What's New in TestStand topics for TestStand 2014 in the NI TestStand Help for detailed information about new features and other changes since TestStand 2013. Refer to the What's New in TestStand topics for previous versions of TestStand in the NI TestStand Help for information about new features, compatibility and known issues, and bug fixes for those versions.
Upgrading TestStand 2013 to TestStand 2014
Upgrading TestStand 2014 Beta to TestStand 2014
Installing TestStand 2014 Deployment Software
Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x
TestStand Drops Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 in 2016
Additional TestStand Resources
Use the following guidelines when you upgrade to TestStand 2014:
Refer to the Migrating to the Current Version of TestStand section in the NI TestStand 2014 Release Notes for more information about upgrading to TestStand 2014.
If you are upgrading from TestStand 2010 or later, you can use the TestStand Migration Utility to migrate customizations and configuration settings from the earlier version of TestStand. You can also upgrade manually. Visit ni.com and enter the Info Code tsmigrate for more information about migrating to the current version of TestStand, including information about tasks you need to perform to upgrade manually from TestStand 4.2.1 or earlier.
When you compile a C# or Microsoft Visual Basic .NET binary, such as the TestStand user interfaces, the binary is strongly bound to the TestStand API interop assemblies. Binaries compiled against TestStand 2014 Beta will not work with the final release version of TestStand 2014. You must recompile the binaries using the released TestStand API interop assemblies before you can use them with the final release version of TestStand 2014.
TestStand 2014 Beta installs C# and Microsoft Visual Basic .NET user interface executables located in the <TestStand Public>\TestStand 2014\UserInterfaces directory. TestStand 2014 Beta does not uninstall the C# and VB .NET user interface files, and the final release version of TestStand 2014 does not overwrite these files. Before you install the final release version of TestStand 2014, you must first uninstall TestStand 2014 Beta and then manually delete the <TestStand Public>\TestStand 2014\UserInterfaces directory.
Use the following Microsoft Windows operating systems and service packs with TestStand 2014:
| Operating System | Recommended Service Pack | Required Service Pack | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit) | — | — | Refer to the How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8 section of this document for more information about using TestStand on Windows 8.1. |
| Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit) | — | — | Refer to the How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8 section of this document for more information about using TestStand on Windows 8. |
| Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit) Starter, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate | Service Pack 1 | — | Refer to the TestStand and Windows 7/Vista section of the NI TestStand 2012 Release Notes for more information about using TestStand on Windows 7/Vista. |
| Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit) Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate | Service Pack 2 | Service Pack 1 | |
| Windows XP (32-bit) Professional | — | Service Pack 3 | — |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) | — | Service Pack 2 | TestStand supports only R2 editions of Windows Server. |
| Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit) | — | Service Pack 2 |
Notes:
After you install TestStand, you must use the NI Activation Wizard to activate the software or initiate the evaluation period for the software. You must have the serial number and the name of the software kit to activate TestStand. You can find both of these items on the Certificate of Ownership card included in your software kit.
Refer to the NI TestStand 2014 Release Notes for more information about licensing in TestStand. Refer to the Activating Your Software topic in the NI TestStand Help for more information about how to activate TestStand.
You can install deployments for TestStand 2013 and TestStand 2014 on the same computer. Use the TestStand Version Selector to select the active version of TestStand before you launch the deployed TestStand application. National Instruments does not support running applications that use two different versions of TestStand at the same time.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments website for an up-to-date list of known issues in TestStand 2014.
This help topic should include the following updated text:
When you migrate from 32-bit TestStand to 64-bit TestStand or when you need to simultaneously support the 32-bit architecture and the 64-bit architecture, you must consider how to set the Process Handle Location option on the Wait Options tab of the Call Executable edit tab in the TestStand Sequence Editor or on the Wait Options tab of the Configure Call Executable dialog box in a TestStand User Interface. The Process Handle Location option stores a process handle as a pointer-sized value. 32-bit TestStand expects this expression to be of type Object Reference or Number with the default representation (double). 64-bit TestStand expects this expression to be of type Object Reference.
Use the Step.ProcessHandle Call Executable step type property, which is a Number with the default (double) representation, only for backward compatibility. For new code and code that needs to be 64-bit compatible, use the Step.ProcessHandlePtr property instead. The Step.ProcessHandlePtr Call Executable step type property is an Object Reference variable that can store a pointer-sized integer regardless of the bitness of TestStand. When you pass this value into a code module, you can use the pointer/handle type for C/C++, the IntPtr type for the .NET Adapter, or use the expression functions UInt64 or Float64 to convert the value to a 64-bit number for 64-bit TestStand or to a 32-bit number for 32-bit TestStand as needed.
This help topic should include the following updated text:
Refer to the List of Bug Fixes in TestStand 2014 on the National Instruments website for a list of a subset of issues fixed in TestStand 2014. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in TestStand 2014. If you have a CAR ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed.
Refer to the NI TestStand Help for information about TestStand 2014. You can access the NI TestStand Help in the following ways:
TestStand includes a variety of example programs that you can use to help you learn key concepts or to serve as a starting point for applications you create. You can browse the examples in the following ways:
Select Help»Find Examples to launch the NI TestStand Example Programs Help from the TestStand Sequence Editor.
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher.
NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.
| Note NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher. |
For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:
| Current Application | Icon Location | Pin to Action |
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to Taskbar |
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Start screen | Right-click application and select Pin to Start |
| Windows 8.x Start screen | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen |
If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).
For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.
National Instruments TestStand will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of TestStand that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
| NI LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| NI LabWindows™/CVI™ | cvi_lifecycle |
| NI Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| NI TestStand | tslcp |
| NI DIAdem | ddlcp |
| NI SignalExpress | selcp |
| NI VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
Refer to the Technical Support page at ni.com/support and search for TestStand to access the TestStand Support website, which contains online documentation, KnowledgeBase articles, tutorials, example code, discussion forums, and other resources.
Copyright
© 2000–2014 National Instruments. All rights reserved.
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.
National Instruments respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.
End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices
You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:
U.S. Government Restricted Rights
If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 for military agencies.
IVI Foundation Copyright Notice
Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.
The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
Trademarks
Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
Patents
For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
374763A-01