TestStand includes a list of search directories module adapters use to resolve relative paths of code modules for steps and substeps in step types and to locate code modules when executing steps. TestStand also uses the search directories to resolve relative pathnames for files and directories when calling the TestStand API Engine.FindFileEx and Engine.FindPath methods.

Select Configure»Search Directories in the TestStand Sequence Editor to launch the Edit Search Directories dialog box, in which you can view and edit the default list of search paths. The list of default directories includes specific TestStand directories and Microsoft Windows system directories, and you can add custom directories to the list. Use relative paths when possible to specify file locations. The paths that appear first in the list take precedence over the paths that appear later in the list. You can exclude directories, reorder directories, search subdirectories, and specify file extension restrictions for directories.

TestStand includes the following directories by default, in order of precedence:

  • Current sequence file directory
  • Current workspace directory
  • Application directory (disabled by default)
  • <TestStand Public> directory
  • <TestStand> directory
  • <TestStand>\Bin directory
  • Initial working directory (disabled by default)
  • Windows system directory
  • Windows directory
  • PATH environment variable (disabled by default)
  • <TestStand Public>\Components directory
  • <TestStand><\Components directory

When you list a directory and a subdirectory within that directory, TestStand performs a double search. You might want to use a double search only when both directories contain a file with the same name but different content. In most cases, include only the higher level directory.

If the search directory is non-recursive, TestStand appends the relative path to the search directory path to determine if the file exists. As soon as TestStand finds the file, the search stops.

If the search directory is recursive, TestStand appends the relative path to all the subdirectories too. NI recommends using the recursive option sparingly to avoid performance issues and to reduce the risk of matching incorrect files with the same name.