You can use InstrumentStudio to host plugins written in LabVIEW or C#. These plugins run alongside the InstrumentStudio panels used to configure PXI instruments. Plugins have a runtime configuration and an edit-time configuration. When exporting a plugin configuration to TestStand and using it in a step, the runtime configuration is provided to the sequence as a variable. Both of these configurations persist when the project containing them is saved.

Support for Plugins

The following limitations apply when hosting plugins in InstrumentStudio:

  • Hosting a plugin created in C# requires Visual Studio 2019 or newer and .NET 6.0.
  • Plugins built in older versions of InstrumentStudio (before version 22Q3) are no longer compatible and must be re-built.
  • Plugins cannot be created from the File » New menu.
  • You cannot use MeasurementStudio controls when hosting plugins created in C#.
  • When hosting a plugin in InstrumentStudio, you are limited to the following interactions:
    • Saving and loading
    • Resizing the window
    • Pulling out tabs
    • Exporting the session to TestStand
    • Stopping all outputs with LabVIEW plugins