Running Measurements or Automating Tests

Running Measurements or Automating Tests

To run measurements in the standalone version of NI VMS, refer to Running Measurements in the Standalone Version of NI VMS.

To automate tests in NI VMS in TestStand, refer to Automating Tests.

Running Measurements in the Standalone Version of NI VMS

To run the measurement you configured in the standalone version of NI VMS, complete one of the following steps:

• Click Measure Once on the Analysis tab to perform the specified measurement once.
• Click Auto Measure on the Analysis tab to perform the specified measurement each time a signal is acquired or an analysis configuration parameter is changed.

Automating Tests in TestStand

You can automate NI VMS measurements in NI TestStand by combining a series of measurements into a test sequence, running the test sequence, then reporting the results. Configure the tests to automate using the following methods:

• Launch the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel within TestStand.
• Copy and modify an existing NI VMS TestStand step.
• Use the last configuration accepted in the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel by clicking Set as previous on the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel.

To configure a test sequence in TestStand to automate your NI VMS measurements, complete the following steps:

1. Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments TestStand to launch TestStand.
2. Add an NI VMS Analyzer Setup step, located in the Insertion palette at Step Types»NI VMS»NI VMS Analyzer Setup.
3. Click Edit Analyzer in the NI VMS tab of the Step Settings pane to launch the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel.

   Note  The NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel has the same appearance and functionality as NI VMS, with the exception of additional controls on the Sequencer Tab, and additional Standard Controls related to executing and saving configurations . However, while you use NI VMS with the purpose of performing most tasks related to the measurements from configuration to running and analysis, you use the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel with the purpose of configuring and checking measurements and setting limits that you will ultimately run and analyze in TestStand.

4. Configure your NI VMS measurement using one of the following methods:

   1. To configure your NI VMS measurement using the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel, complete the NI VMS tasks, which also apply to using the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel, listed in Getting Started with NI VMS, including sections Configuring and Initializing Your Hardware through Choosing Lines to Measure.

      Notice your tasks will differ in the following ways:

      • Initializing—In most cases, you only need to initialize in the first step of the TestStand test sequence. To initialize in the first TestStand step, complete the following steps:
        1. Verify that Force Initalise on the Sequencer tab is enabled.
        2. Click Initialise on the Acquisition tab and enable Analogue and/or Digital to choose which devices are forced to initialize.

           Note  Clicking the Initialise Hardware button on the Hardware Configurator does not affect forced initialization in TestStand.

        3. In any dialog box(es) that open, click OK.
      • Acquiring—To acquire video, enable Force Acquire on the Sequencer tab.
      • Initializing and Acquiring—In order to optimize testing speeds, you can disable Force Initalise and Force Acquire on the Sequencer tab after you initialize and acquire in the first step of a TestStand test sequence. You must reacquire only if you want to load new video data into NI VMS. For more information, refer to Optimizing Speed in TestStand.
   2. To use the last accepted configuration from a previous TestStand step in the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel, click Set as previous in the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel.
5. To accept a configuration, click OK in the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel. This closes the Analyzer Setup panel and retains the configuration settings for temporary use within TestStand, overwriting the previously accepted configuration. To close the NI VMS Analyzer Setup panel without accepting the configuration, click Cancel.
6. (Optional) Double click on the NI VMS Analyzer step you just configured in the Sequence window of TestStand and rename it. For example, after you set up a color bar measurement, rename it color bar measurement so you can keep track of which steps perform which measurements. You can only perform one measurement in each step.
7. (Optional) Specify pass/fail limits for the measurement (a measurement with limits is called a test). Refer to Specifying Testing Limits in TestStand for more information.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 for every NI VMS measurement you would like to run in the test sequence. All steps are independent of each other by default. After configuring each step, you can execute the sequence in TestStand to test it.
9. Add steps to your test sequence to fit your automated test needs, including setting up any custom analysis of NI VMS measurement results. Refer to Utilities and the NI TestStand Help for information about setting up your NI VMS test sequence in TestStand.

   Tip  If you are taking several measurements using similar configurations, copy and paste a previously configured NI VMS Analyzer Step to reduce the number of configuration changes you need to make.

10. Configure a report for your test sequence. Refer to Generating NI VMS Reports in TestStand for more information. Also refer to the NI TestStand Help for more information about creating reports in TestStand. For an example of a TestStand report for NI VMS measurement results, refer to NI VMS NI TestStand Reporting Example.
11. Click Play to run the test sequence.

Related Information

Refer to Viewing Results for the next step in getting started with NI VMS.