Analyzing a Sequence File or Workspace File in the TestStand Sequence Editor

Complete the following steps to use the TestStand Sequence Analyzer to analyze a sequence file or workspace file.
  1. In the TestStand Sequence Editor, click the Current Sequence Analyzer Project button on the Sequence Analyzer toolbar or select Debug»Sequence Analyzer»Current Sequence Analyzer Project to open the Current Sequence Analyzer Project window and the most recently opened analyzer project file.
    Note The first time you launch Current Sequence Analyzer Project window, the sequence editor creates a default project, named MyAnalyzerProject.tsaproj, which specifies the rules and related settings to use during the analysis. You can create, modify, and save project files to customize the set of rules, rule configuration settings, and set of files to use during analysis.
  2. On the Rules pane, enable and configure the rules you want to use to analyze the file.
    Note   The sequence analyzer enables most of the built-in rules by default. You cannot disable or delete the built-in rules in the Analysis Errors category.
  3. Open and activate the sequence file or workspace file you want to analyze. Click the Analyze <Sequence Filename> button on the Sequence Analyzer toolbar to analyze a sequence file. Right-click the workspace file and select Analyze Workspace from the context menu to analyze a workspace file.
    Note By default, the sequence analyzer enables the Analyze File Before Executing option in the Sequence Analyzer Options dialog box. In the sequence editor, click the Toggle Analyze File Before Executing button on the Sequence Analyzer toolbar or select Debug»Sequence Analyzer»Toggle Analyze File Before Executing to enable or disable this option. When you enable this option, the sequence analyzer uses the rules and settings in the current sequence analyzer project to analyze the active sequence file when you initiate an execution. Enabling this option can help you find errors early during development.
  4. The status bar at the bottom of the Analysis Results pane indicates the progress of the analysis. You can click the Stop Analysis button on the Sequence Analyzer toolbar or select Debug»Sequence Analyzer»Stop Analysis at any time during analysis. The sequence analyzer finishes analyzing the current object before stopping the analysis and shows the current list of messages on the Analysis Results pane.
  5. (Optional) When you complete an analysis, you can save an XML report file to use in an external viewer for comparison. In the sequence editor, click Generate Analysis Results on the Analysis Results pane to save the messages for the most recent analysis in an XML report file to use in an external viewer. The XML file uses the AnalyzerReportViewer.xsl style sheet, located in the <TestStand>\Components\Stylesheets\Analyzer directory. When you generate a report file, the sequence analyzer provides a snapshot of the most recent analysis, including a list of the analyzed files, a list of the rules and settings used during the analysis, and a list of all the generated messages.
    Note   Use the XML Packaging Utility to package the files necessary to view the XML report on a computer that does not have TestStand installed.
  6. Use the Show and Group By drop-down lists to control how to view the generated messages on the Analysis Results pane. Right-click each message and select an option from the Analyzer Messages tab context menu to resolve the message.
    For each active message, you can perform the following actions:
    1. Go to the location of the object in the TestStand file that caused the message and resolve the issue.
    2. Ignore the issue for subsequent analysis and remove it from the Active Messages view. Select this option only when you are certain the issue will not cause a run-time error.
    3. Mark the message as fixed and remove it from the Active Messages view.
    4. Disable or configure the corresponding rule on the Rules pane of the sequence analyzer.
    Note You can save the project file at any time when you are resolving messages.
You can repeat these steps to cycle through the analysis, report generation, and message resolution stages until you attain acceptable results.