Password Protect Type Definitions Dialog Box
- Updated2025-07-21
- 2 minute(s) read
Password Protect Type Definitions Dialog Box
- TestStand supports password-protecting types to deter unauthorized users from editing the types in the sequence editor. However, any TestStand user can continue to programmatically edit a locked type by using the TestStand PropertyObject API. National Instruments does not recommend password-protecting types as the only way of protecting intellectual property.
- If you lock at least one type in an INI-formatted sequence file, the entire content of the sequence file becomes protected and unreadable.
After you enable password protection for the types, the types remain unlocked so you can continue to edit the types. TestStand automatically locks password-protected types when TestStand first loads the types. For example, when you restart TestStand or close and reopen all the files that reference the password-protected types, TestStand locks the types. When you restart TestStand, TestStand locks all password-protected types. You can also select one or more password-protected types, right-click, and select Lock from the context menu to explicitly lock the types. TestStand prompts for the password before you can edit a locked type.
The Password Protect Type Definitions dialog box contains the following options:
- Enable Password Protection —Enable this option to enable password protection for the types. The types must be unlocked to edit the types in the sequence editor. Unlocking types prompts you to enter the password.
- New Password —Enter the password you want the sequence editor to require to unlock the types.
- Re-enter Password —Re-enter the password for confirmation.
- Clear Password History —Clears the password history of the types. When you change the password for the selected types, TestStand adds the old password to the password history of the types. TestStand uses these stored passwords during type conflict resolution in order to avoid having to prompt the user for a password when resolving conflicts for locked types. When you resolve a type conflict or when TestStand resolves a type conflict automatically, if the type being replaced is locked and the type replacing it has the same password as the type being replaced or has the password of the type being replaced stored in its password history, TestStand does not prompt for a password. In all other cases in which type conflict resolution replaces or modifies a locked type, TestStand prompts for a password to unlock the type in order to verify that the user has permission to modify the type. If the user presses the Clear Password History button, when the user dismisses the dialog with the OK button, the dialog box clears the password history after setting the password, so if the user changes the password and clears the password history of a type at the same time, the type’s password history will be empty when the dialog box is done.