General Tab

Use the General tab to specify the following information:

• A name, description, and comment for the step type.
• The default module adapter and the default code module the step type calls.

The General tab contains the following options:

• Designate an Icon —An icon for the step type. When you enable this option, you can select from a list of icons in the <TestStand> \Components\Icons and <TestStand Public> \Components\Icons directories. TestStand displays the icon next to the step names for all steps that use the step type. When you disable this option, TestStand displays the icon of the module adapter for each step. If you can use any module adapter with the step type, it is best to disable this option.
• Default Step Name Expression —A string expression TestStand evaluates when you create a new step with the step type. TestStand uses the value of the expression as the name of the new step. If a step with the same name already exists in the sequence, TestStand appends _ n to the name to make it unique. When you want to store the name in a string resource file, you can use the ResStr expression function to retrieve the name from the file. Storing the name in a string resource file is useful when you want to display the name in different languages.
• Step Description Expression —A string expression TestStand evaluates whenever it displays the Description field for a step. TestStand uses the value of the expression as the contents of the Description field for the step. If you include the %ModuleDescription macro in a string you surround with double quotes, TestStand replaces the %ModuleDescription macro with text the module adapter provides that describes the code module the step uses.
• Designate an Adapter —A single module adapter for the step type. When you enable this option, all steps you create with the step type use the module adapter you designate, regardless of the module adapter you select in the Adapter ring control. A sequence developer can change the adapter after creating the step using the Properties tab of the Step Settings pane or in the Step Properties dialog box of a TestStand User Interface .

  You can choose from a list of all the module adapters. If the step type does not require a module adapter, select <None> from the module adapter list. When you designate a module adapter, a Default Module button is visible. Click Default Module when you want to specify the default module call for all steps you create with the step type. A sequence developer can change the module call after creating the step using the Module tab of the Step Settings pane or in the Specify Module dialog box of a user interface.

  You can prevent the sequence developer from specifying a module for a step type by enabling the Specify Module option on the Disable Properties tab. For example, a sequence developer cannot specify a module for the Statement step type because Statement steps do not call code modules.

  Note If you want a step type to specify a call to a code module and you do not want the sequence developer to change or edit the module call, National Instruments recommends that you create a Post-Step substep instead of specifying a default adapter and code module. When you create this substep you typically do not specify a default adapter and code module for the step type and you enable the Specify Module option on the Disable Properties tab.
• Preconditions —Launches the Preconditions dialog box, in which you can specify the default conditions that must be True for new steps of the step type to execute.

Click the Advanced button to launch a menu that contains the following options:

• Flags —Launches the Edit Flags dialog box, in which you can modify the property flags. Typically, you need to configure property flags only when you develop a relatively sophisticated custom step type.
• Attributes —Launches the Attributes dialog box, in which you can create and edit the default attributes for the steps you create with the step type.
• Block Structure —Launches the Block Structure dialog box, in which you can modify the block structure settings for steps you create with the step type. The Flow Control step types , such as If , Else If , and End , use these built-in properties.
• Default Additional Results —Launches the Configure Default Additional Results dialog box, in which you can configure default additional results for the step. The step type must have a default module to configure default parameter additional results.
• Preconfigured Additional Results —Launches the Configure Preconfigured Additional Results dialog box, in which you can configure the additional results hints for the step type. The additional results hints define a list of preconfigured custom additional results you can choose to log when you edit the additional results of a step in a user interface.
• Attach to this File (If you do not attach the type, TestStand saves the type with the file only if this file contains instances of the type.) —TestStand saves the type in the sequence file or type palette file regardless of whether the file contains any variables, parameters, or properties that use the type. This option applies only to the current file. When you create a new type in a file or copy an existing type from another file, TestStand automatically enables this option. When you copy a variable, parameter, or property that uses the type into another sequence file and the sequence file does not contain the type, TestStand automatically disables this option.

  Disable this option when you only want to save the type when the file that contains the type also contains a variable, parameter, or property that uses it. If you delete the variable, parameter, or property, TestStand does not delete the type. However, next time you save the file TestStand will not save the type.

• Comment —The text that appears in the Comment field for the step type in the list view. TestStand copies the comment into each step you create with the step type. You can change the comment for each step after you create the step.

See Also

Attributes dialog box

Block Structure dialog box

Configure Default Additional Results dialog box

Configure Preconfigured Additional Results dialog box

Creating Custom Step Types

Edit Flags dialog box

Flow Control Step Types

Module Tabs and Specify Module Dialog Boxes

Preconditions dialog box

Step Properties dialog box

Step Settings Pane