Evaluating TestStand and having a hard time...

Question

Hi,
I created a step which calls a module (.dll). This step creates an object and stores its reference into a local variable called "ObjectRef".
Here's what i did:
 1. insert step->action: "Action"
 2. specify module
 3. filled the assembly text box
 4. selected the right class
 5. filled the .NET invocation text box 
 6. specified the Value text box to : "Locals.ObjectRef" 
Then, I created another step in order to call the method "getValue" from the object created earlier
Here's what I did:
 1. insert step->action: "Action2"
 2. specify module
 3. filled the assembly text box
 4. selected the right class
 5. filled the .NET invocation text box with  "Use existing object(ClassLibrary.cls604242_00).getValue()"
 6. Specified the Value text box : "Locals.returnValue"
At run-time, I would expect to see the value of "returnValue" in the variable panel but I don't. Moreover I'm getting a run-time error message.
Could anyone indicate me what I'm doing wrong?
As I mentionned in the subject, I'm conducting an evaluation of this product for my company.
Thanks
Mathieu BAzinet
Solved!
Go to Solution.
Attachments:
action.JPG ‏373 KB
action2.JPG ‏376 KB
errorMessage.JPG ‏346 KB

Answer 1

Yeah my first explanation wasn't very clear, sorry.  You can do the following to correct your second step:
1) Click anywhere on the text that reads "Use Existing Object(ClassLibrary.cls604242_000)" in the .NET Invocation control.  This will "select" that call and will cause the parameters grid below it to show the parameters for that call.
2) You will then see one parameter listed in the grid, with a name of "Existing Object".  In the Value column for that row, you should fill in the local variable where your object is stored (Locals.ObjectRef).
Basically, you had told the step to use an existing object reference, but you never specified what object reference to use.
Another tip is that if you have an error in one of your calls on your step, it will show the text in red in the .NET Invocation control.  So if you haven't specified a required parameter, it will show that parameter in red in the invocation control.  In this instance there was an error with the single parameter on the Use Existing Object call, and you can see in your screenshot that the parameter is displayed in red text.
Hope that helps.
-Jeff