TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1 Readme

January 2016

This file contains important information about getting started with the TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1, including system requirements, installation instructions, and licensing information. Refer to the What's New in the TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1 topic in the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help for information about new features and changes introduced since TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module. Select Help»NI TestStand Help and navigate to the Semiconductor Module book in the table of contents of the TestStand Help to launch the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help.

Getting Started

Recommended System Requirements

Installation Instructions

Licensing

Upgrading TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module to TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1

Product Security and Critical Updates

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

Automating the Installation of NI Products

How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

Legal Information

Getting Started

The TestStand Semiconductor Module adds the following features and functionality to TestStand for developing semiconductor test system software:

• Multisite pin map file, code module development APIs, and Semiconductor Multi Test step type for developing a semiconductor test program that runs on multiple test system hardware configurations with a variable number of test sites at a high parallel test efficiency.
• Support for binning devices under test (DUTs) based on test results.
• Support for exporting and importing test limits with text files.
• Data types, configurable callbacks, and dialog boxes for specifying test program settings, test lot information, and test station settings.
• Plug-in architecture for handler and prober communication using Semiconductor Module handler/prober drivers.
• Result processing plug-ins for generating report and data log file for the test lot.
• Customizable operator interface for executing test programs, enabling or disabling test sites, displaying statistics, and configuring test lot information and test station settings.

New TestStand Users

If you are a new TestStand user, NI recommends that you complete the tasks listed in the New Users section of the Guide to Documentation topic of the TestStand Help, which is located by default at <TestStand>\Doc\Help\TSHelp.chm. Select Help»TestStand Help to launch the TestStand Help.

New TestStand Semiconductor Module Users

To familiarize yourself with the TestStand Semiconductor Module, review the topics in the Getting Started book in the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help, which is located by default at <TestStand>\Doc\Help\TSSemiconductor.chm. Select Help»TestStand Help and navigate to the Semiconductor Module book in the table of contents of the TestStand Help to launch the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help. The TestStand Semiconductor Module Help also contains information about all module features and functionality.

Upgrade Users

If you are upgrading from an earlier version of the TestStand Semiconductor Module, refer to the TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1 New Features and the TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1 Compatibility and Known Issues topics in the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help for compatibility information and major feature changes. Select Help»TestStand Help and navigate to the Semiconductor Module book in the table of contents of the TestStand Help to launch the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help.

Recommended System Requirements

NI recommends the following system requirements for use with the TestStand Semiconductor Module.

Note: TestStand does not support Guest user accounts on Windows. TestStand supports Administrator and Limited accounts on Windows 7.

Installation Instructions

The TestStand Semiconductor Module installation program installs files for TestStand and LabVIEW.

Notes:

• NI recommends that you exit all programs before running the TestStand Semiconductor Module installer. Applications that run in the background, such as virus scanning utilities, might cause the installer to take longer than average to complete.
• The TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1 installation will overwrite the user configuration file <TestStand Application Data> \Cfg\NI_SemiconductorModule\OISettingsTable.cfg installed by TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module. If you have made any modifications to the file, create a backup of the file before installing to avoid losing changes.
• Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code rddrau to access the latest software drivers and updates.

Complete the following steps to install the TestStand Semiconductor Module:

1. Log on as an administrator or as a user with administrator privileges.
2. Insert the TestStand Semiconductor Module installation media and follow the instructions that appear on the screen. If no instructions appear on the screen, run the AutoRun executable, autorun.exe.

The TestStand Semiconductor Module installs the following components:

• LabVIEW 2013 SP1 Run-Time Engine
• LabVIEW 2015 Run-Time Engine

Licensing

After you install TestStand Semiconductor Module, you must use the NI Activation Wizard to activate the software or initiate the evaluation period for the software. You must have the serial number and the name of the software kit to activate TestStand Semiconductor Module. You can find both of these items on the Certificate of Ownership card included in your software kit.

Refer to the TestStand Semiconductor Module Licensing Options topic in the TestStand Semiconductor Module Help for more information about licensing in TestStand Semiconductor Module. Refer to the Activating Your Software topic in the TestStand Help for more information about how to activate TestStand Semiconductor Module. Select Help»TestStand Help to launch the TestStand Help.

Upgrading TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module to TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1

Use the following guidelines when you upgrade to TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1:

• You can install TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1 over a previous TestStand Semiconductor Module version, or install on a system without TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module 2014.
• If you installed a previous version of TestStand Semiconductor Module in a non-default directory, you can uninstall the previous version of TestStand Semiconductor Module and install TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module to that directory.

Refer to the Migrating to the Current Version of TestStand section in the TestStand 2014 SP1 Release Notes for more information about upgrading to TestStand 2014 SP1.

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.

Accessing the Help

Refer to the Semiconductor Module book in the TestStand Help, accessible from the Help menu in the TestStand Sequence Editor, for information about TestStand 2014 Semiconductor Module SP1.

Finding Examples

The TestStand Semiconductor Module includes a variety of example programs that you can use to help you learn key concepts or to serve as a starting point for applications you create. You can open an example sequence file from the subdirectories of the <TestStand Public>\Examples\NI_SemiconductorModule directory.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.

If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.

For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:

• For more information about silent installations of individual NI products, refer to KB 4CJDP38M, Automating the Installation of a Single Installer.
• For more information about silent installations of NI products in a suite, such as NI Developer Suite, refer to KB 4GGGDQH0, How Do I Automate the Installation of a Suited Installer?.
• To determine what version of NI Installers your product contains, refer to KB 4CJDR18M, How Can I Determine the Type and Version of My National Instruments Installer?.

How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher.

Using NI Launcher

NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.

Pinning Frequently Used Applications

For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:

Finding All Programs

If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).

For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.