Search Directories

In Search Directories options, there is "Current workspace directory"
I would like to add another path using "Current workspace directory" as prefix. Is there an environment variable which can be used ?

I don't think there is any way to do this, however are you aware that you can just prefix your paths with the subdirectory? For example, if your files exist in a Modules subdirectory underneath your workspace directory you can just specify the paths as follows:
Modules\Mymodule.dll
It's best not to have too many search directories, especially ones which use the "recurse subdirectories" feature because of the following:
1) it increases the chance of matching to the wrong file for files with common names.
2) it hurts performance of relative file path resolution. Mostly this is a load time issue though so generally does not effect runtime performance since this isn't often done at runtime.
I'd recommend making code modules relative to their sequence files whenever possible as this also makes it easier to move them around as long as you keep them in the same relative position to each other. However if you generally share modules between many sequence files and those sequence files are in different directories then a more centralized approach, either their own search directory or relative to the workspace might make more sense. Anyway, hope this helps,
-Doug

Similar Messages

Missing Search Directories during Post substep execution

I've run into a small difficulty in my elegant solution to the problem I posed in my "Calling IVI/Visa drivers from TestStand" question.
In brief, I have some custom step types where I've defined a Post substep, which uses the DLL Flexible Prototype Adapter to call a bit of code I wrote. The problem is, it's unable to find my DLL while executing the Post substep. The DLL is in the same directory as the sequence file, and I have the "Current sequence file directory" option enabled in Search Directories. The same DLL can be found no problem when it's called as the main module for a step.
It seems as if the current sequence file directory is not being searched when the Engine is executing substeps. I'm having som
e difficulty finding an elegant solution to this. I hate to just add another directory to the Search Directories, because those are universal, and this problem is specific to this one sequence. I hate to use a sledgehammer to kill a fly.
Am I missing something obvious? Is there a flyswatter I'm not seeing?

To McGregorMortis -
A substep is a subcomponent of a step type. Step types definitions can reside in a type palette file or any sequence file. When a sequence file uses an instance of a step type, i.e. a step, the step type definition is attached to the sequence file.
We specifically decided not to use the current sequence file search path for substeps in step types for the following reason:
A step type only loads the substep code module
once, even if more than one sequence file uses
it. So if one sequence file has the code module
for the substep in its directory and another
sequence file has another copy of the code module
that might be a little different, the second code
module would not be used.
Step types ar
e intended to be used as a major component of the TestStand engine. That is why the default TestStand step types are stored in the Components directory and the search directory feature specifies to recursively search the Components directory.
Hope this helps...
Scott Richardson (NI)
Scott Richardson
National Instruments

TestStand continuously probing its search directories for changes

TestStand will continuously probe the search directories for any changes to directories, subdirectories, and files. The sequence and LabVIEW VI's are stored on a file server. The client test station PC, running the test, loads the sequence and VI's off of the server. During the execution of the test TestStand will ask the server every couple of seconds if any folders and files within the TestStand search directory listings has changed. This constant probing of the server files is consuming much LAN bandwidth. I know this because my IT department has connected a packet sniffer to the network. We can see the PC, at TestStand's request, is continuously asking the server for folder or file changes. How can this be deactivated?

A couple more things to check:
- Do you have a process model or step type on the network drive?
- Are you unloading step modules unnecessarily (ie. Unload Option: After Step Executes)?
You could also pull the network cable out once all the modules and files have been loaded and you aren't expecting it to need any more network files. Then perhaps you would get an error message indicating what file is still being retrieved.

Best practices: search directories and project hierarchies

Hello,
I'm wondering what conventional wisdom says about structuring a TestStand project.
When I develop a LabVIEW project, this is the general structure I use:
Root folder\
My LV Project.lvproj
Main.vi
Functionality1\
Sub1a.vi
Sub1b.vi
Functionality2\
Sub2a.vi
Sub2b.vi
For my first TestStand project, I used this structure to separate my TestStand bits from my LabVIEW bits:
Root folder\
My TS Workspace.tsw
My TS Project.tpj
Main.seq
Sub1.seq
Sub2.seq
LabVIEW Backend\
My LV Project.lvproj
Test1.vi
Test2.vi
Unfortunately, every time I add an Action or Test and select my .lvproj file, TestStand tells me "The file you selected does not reside in any of the search directories."
So far, I've opted to "Use a relative path for the file you selected" every time, but this is not an optimal workflow. "Add the directory that contains the file you selected to the list of search directories" seems to be the pain-free option, but from what I understand, search directories are system-wide; I only want to add this directory to this TestStand project.
What are your thoughts? How should I manage my projects? Would these choices affect what I need to do to deploy the software on my customer's PC?
Thanks!

I recommend specifying your code module files (e.g. lvproj and vi files) relative to your sequence files. That way you can change your root folder without affecting anything and you don't have to add any search directories.
For this to work best, the files need to be in a directory underneath the sequence file in which it is specified or in the same directory as the sequence file.
If the code module is directly in the same directory as the sequence file, you will not be prompted to use the relative path, it will automatically do so. If it's not you will be prompted for a relative path, but that should be the default and you can just click the ok button. If it's above the sequence file's directory then the file browse dialog is no help for specifying relative to the sequence file because it will not do paths with "..". You can manually type paths with .. in them though.
Alternatively, using a search directory might be reasonable in your use case if most of your code modules are in the same LabVIEW Backend directory. You are correct though that there is not currently a per project or per sequence file way to specify search directories. One alternative I might recommend is that you have a single search directory (i.e. "LabVIEW Backend"), do NOT make it recursive, and add subdirectories for each of your teststand projects for which you want different code modules and specify your code modules with a more complete relative path such as: <subdir_under_searchdir>\myvi.vi
Hope this helps,
-Doug

Searching directories while showing the direcory location

Hi,
I am trying to write simple GUI that would search directories recursively
for specific file type. I do not have any problem with this implementation, but
when I try to show which directory has just been visited, I cannot figure out how it is done. I know that the Swing thread would not update any status on GUI until it is done with the task. So I tried to create a Thread that would search the directories and set a global string. I implement another Thread to check that global string and update the status line on the GUI.
I tried multiple ways like using threads, invokeLater, but non of them worked.
This should have easy implementation that I cannot figure out.
I am looking for an implementation like an installation package which shows all the files is copying.
Thanks,
Brian

Don't worry guys. I fixed my problem!
Thanks,

TestStand Upgraded but lost search directories

Hi:
I just upgraded TestStand from 3.1 to 4.2. When I tried to run a sequence file, TestStand asked me where a vi was. it's clear that its TestStand asking.
How can I port over the list of Search Directories from 3.1 to 4.2.
Thanks,
Mike
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Mike,
The TestStand search directories are stored in TestExec.ini, one of the TestStand configuration files. If you wanted to move the search directories from one version to another, you could simply open the original file and copy the Search Directories section to the destination TestExec.ini file. There are many options contained inside TestExec.ini in addition to search directories and some of those may have changed between versions, so you don't want to copy over the entire file, just the pertinent information.
The TestExec.ini file is in an ASCII text format, however if you want to copy information inside any of the other .ini files, you may want to be aware of the fact that in TestStand 4.0 and later, some of these files aren't in ASCII format by default. You can refer to this help article for more information.
John B.
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

Making Search Directories Static

How do I make sure that search directory changes done in sequence editor on Project #1 do not affect Project #2 ? I am using TS 2010.
I have both an LV operator interface and Sequence Editor installed on the machines.

Search Directories are a station thing. They are not specific to a sequence so therefore I'm not sure exactly what you want is available.
Managing Search Directories in TestStand can be a challenge. I have a couple rules and tips:
* Always as the first directory on the list I have Current sequence file directory with Subdirs checked. Then any specific code module for that sequence goes in the same folder under SubVIs or CodeModules.
* My second directory always points to a shared location where I have code modules which are shared by all sequence files.
* All non-native dependancies will be in those locations.
* Other than that all other search directories are default to what was installed with TestStand. (unless I am proving something out, then I immediately change them back)
One thing you could do is in the Sequence File Load callback place some code that will set the search directories to be what you want for that specific sequence file. Then every time you load the sequence file it would change the search directories so that they "fit" that file. The problem is that if you load both files at the same time then try to run the one that was loaded first you could run into some issues.
Hope this helps,
jigg
CTA, CLA
teststandhelp.com
~Will work for kudos and/or BBQ~

Distributing Search directories

In Teststand3.0, testexec.ini is not updated with customised settings while deploying.
I know it's possible to add the testexec.ini file in the Workspace but I have problem with the TestStand Adapter.
I want to distribute TestSTandLVGUIRTS. If I didn't add the testexec.ini in my Workspace, this adapter is recognize but I have bad search directories.
If I add the testexec.ini in my workspace, search directories are good but TestSTandLVGUIRTS is not recognize.
Please suggest a solution.

I don't think there is any way to do this, however are you aware that you can just prefix your paths with the subdirectory? For example, if your files exist in a Modules subdirectory underneath your workspace directory you can just specify the paths as follows:
Modules\Mymodule.dll
It's best not to have too many search directories, especially ones which use the "recurse subdirectories" feature because of the following:
1) it increases the chance of matching to the wrong file for files with common names.
2) it hurts performance of relative file path resolution. Mostly this is a load time issue though so generally does not effect runtime performance since this isn't often done at runtime.
I'd recommend making code modules relative to their sequence files whenever possible as this also makes it easier to move them around as long as you keep them in the same relative position to each other. However if you generally share modules between many sequence files and those sequence files are in different directories then a more centralized approach, either their own search directory or relative to the workspace might make more sense. Anyway, hope this helps,
-Doug

Search Directories source code

I am currently developing a tool that is a search directory optimizer. I was wondering where the search directories source code is located? I want to make my front panel look like the current search directory window, but then im adding the optimizer functions to the bottom. Thanks!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi alright meow,
I believe the source for this panel is part of one of the DLL calls made by Teststand directly rather than in a sequence file located in the Teststand directory. Therefore it will not be publicly available.
Justin D
Applications Engineer
National Instruments
http://www.ni.com/support/

Searching directories for specific file extensions

I wanted to try something, and that was to create a file with basic text loos it some where on the HD and make a program that would search the directories (So lets say you put in C:\bla\ ) for the file matching the extention (already set by the program) as say .doc - it would then open all of those files (while loop) and scan them recording data (which im not sure what yet) and printing specific data to a file
most of this I know how to do including nav to the directory, what i dont know how to do is make the program scan the directory for the file and open it.

Adrienk wrote:
Can you give me some examples of file listing and searching?I could, but so can google.
like links to documentation or examples of it in use?Bookmark this. [http://java.sun.com/javase/6/docs/api/]. Always have it open when you're coding or even designing with Java.
open as in open to readStill not clear. You mean you just want your program to read in the contents of the file and manipulate them? Or do you want your program to display the file? Or do you want it to be "opened" by its default app, e.g. if it's a .doc file, open that document in Word?

Searching Directories and Files in Application Server

Hi All,
I need a function module that will give me all FOLDERS, SUBFOLDERS and FILES in an application server.
So far function modules like RZL_READ_DIR_LOCAl, SUBST_GET_FILE_LIST and EPS_GET_DIRECTORY_LISTING can only work if I specify at least one folder name after the server IP.
I wanted the folder names to be searched dynamically by passing only server IP.
This is for a background program.
Please help
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Lily

Done.

TS3.0 is not deploying customised search directories

Hi,
Teststand2.0 deployment used to distribute Testexec.ini that contains serach directories. In Teststand3.0, testexec.ini is not updated with customised settings while deploying. Please suggest a solution.
Thank you
Papaiah

Hi,
You came to the wrong Forum, this is the DIAdem forum, you should try the Teststand Forum.
Otmar
Otmar D. Foehner
Business Development Manager
DIAdem and Test Data Management
National Instruments
Austin, TX - USA
"For an optimist the glass is half full, for a pessimist it's half empty, and for an engineer is twice bigger than necessary."

Automatically Replacing Absolute Paths with Paths Relative to the TestStand Search Directories

Hi,
I'm trying to replace file paths on a few projects with relative paths. I've found this http://www.ni.com/example/25087/en/ which suggests the sequence there should do it. However I get a lot of error when I try to run this sequence.
Anyone else encountered this issue. (I'm using teststand 2010)
Thanks!

Hi ds_1,
Apologies that this reply isn't massively helpful but it seems like some of the parameters are missing for certain steps in the sequence. This has likely occured due to the sequence being written in an older version of TestStand.
I would recommend posting feedback on the actual example itself requesting an updated version. The person who originally uploaded the sequence will be notified and can make the changes.
Best Regards,
Chris
National Instruments - Tech Support

How to customize search in WS 7 and for multiple virtual servers?

I'm not clear on how to customize search results pages in Sun Web Server 7. The documentation (the Adminstrator's Guide, page 215) says:
You can take a look at the default search application located at /bin/https/webapps/search as a sample application
but I'm not seeing any such thing. I did a find . -name search -type d from the server root and instance root but the only search directories I'm seeing are subdirectories within the generated directory and they look like system generated jsps that I shouldn't touch (So I didn't :-)
So one question is, where is the default app? A second question is, how do we set up different branding for different virtual servers?
We're currently using WS 6.1 and it has a field in the GUI for the directory containing the web app to use for search. That seems to have disappeared in WS 7.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Dave

I don't use the search engine, so I'm afriad I don't have direct experience here.
What I'd probably do is modify the app so that it looks at the Host data to determine which directory it should point to for graphics, formatting, etc. You could also use the obj.conf with variables to pull graphics from directories appropriately branded. Something like:
1) Create "additional doc directory" for images
2) Find the entry in the obj.conf that points to the new directory
3) Modify the path to something like /path/to/$host/images
4) Make sure you create directories like:
/path/to/foobar.com/images/
/path/to/www.foobar.com/images/
/path/to/baz.com/images/
/path/to/www.baz.com/images/

MDC error message - 'incorrect search policy'

Having re-installed Mountain Lion on my MDC and Clients and NOT deleted any Xsan Sys Prefs and KeyChain passwords, finally managed to get all my clients Authorized OK.
Then attached my Retina Display MBP through a Thunderbolt to FC convertor box (Promise SanLink) to the FC switch ... the RetDisp MDC mounts the SAN Vol just fine and can read and write to it OK (terrific being able to attached 28TB of fast FC storage to my MBP!) ... however, on the MacMini MDC now get an error message for the RetDisp MBP saying 'incorrect search policy' for the laptop.
Blaidd Drwg has already supplied in the previous thread a link to a useful Apple KB article which I'll share here:
"Incorrect search policy": http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3888
I am using XSAN to manage accounts and log-ins and not Open Directory ... will see if this fixes the problem.
Neil

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3888
This KB fixed the problem .... you have to change the search directories on the client not on the MDC ... then it's fixed straight away on the MDC.
Being able to have my RetDisp MBP laptop access the FC XSAN volume is sweet! .. running Resolve 9 on it and grading 5k EPIC files is pretty amazing .. Thunderbolt to HD SDI BMD box and into a calibrated reference monitor to give accurate colors plus Tbolt RedRocket card in Sonnet enclosure .. unreal.
Nesxt step .. adding a Win 7 PC through StorNext FX2 ... should be fun :-)
Neil

Search Directories

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for