Monitoring or Debugging Measurements

You can use InstrumentStudio to interactively debug a measurement step while it runs in an automated TestStand sequence. Measurement Plug-In also provides copy and paste buttons so that you can copy parameter values between different instances of the same measurement. Note that only the calling application may control a running measurement.

Debugging Tips

  • You can use breakpoints with measurement steps in TestStand to debug your sequence as you would with other step types.
  • Opening the measurement in InstrumentStudio allows you to run the measurement interactively, or to run the measurement from TestStand and monitor the measurement UI behavior in InstrumentStudio.
  • Starting your measurement service from a development environment temporarily displaces any statically registered measurement service with the same service class. When you stop the service, the statically registered instance is restored upon being called. This behavior is useful for rapid debugging. Ensure a unique service class for each measurement service to avoid unexpected behavior.
  • While a measurement service runs, there are multiple ways to execute the associated measurement logic. The measurement UI toolbar indicates where active measurement data originates.
Note To ensure monitoring is enabled, open your sequence in TestStand. In the Variables pane, set FileGlobals » Measurement Plug-In » EnableMonitoring to True. You must enable monitoring to ensure InstrumentStudio can monitor a measurement running in TestStand. Enabling monitoring may impact measurement performance.

Debugging Tools

Use the buttons next to the Measurement list to reload values, to open the measurement in InstrumentStudio, or to copy and paste parameter values between InstrumentStudio and TestStand and between measurements within the same application.

Table 8. Measurement Plug-In monitor and debugging toolbar buttons
Control Description


In TestStand, reloads the measurement parameter values and updates the measurement UI. This button also refreshes the measurements list to display added or removed measurements.


In TestStand, opens the measurement UI in InstrumentStudio. Note the following behaviors:
  • If the measurement is running in TestStand, InstrumentStudio opens the measurement with existing parameter values and pin map associations.
  • In other scenarios, including when the measurement sequence is open but not running in TestStand, you may be required to do the following before InstrumentStudio exhibits expected behavior:
    • Enable monitoring by editing the Measurement Plug-In FileGlobals variables in TestStand.
    • Manually associate a pin map with the measurement in InstrumentStudio.
    • Copy and paste values from TestStand using the associated toolbar buttons.


Copy measurement parameter values.


Paste measurement parameter values.

Displacing Statically Registered Measurement Services

You can temporarily displace a statically registered measurement service. This behavior is useful for rapidly debugging measurement logic.

When you statically registered your measurement plug-in, the Measurement Plug-In discovery service starts and stops your measurement service as needed. If you start your measurement service from a development environment using the same service class as the statically registered measurement service, the Measurement Plug-In discovery service detects the new instance of the service and stops the statically registered instance. When the development instance of the service stops, the Measurement Plug-In discovery service restarts the statically registered instance as needed.

In an application environment, be sure to specify unique service classes to avoid unexpected behavior.