LabVIEW Module Tab

Download PDF

Updated2025-04-09
11 minute(s) read

LabVIEW Module Tab

Insert a step configured to use the LabVIEW Adapter and select Specify Module or Step Settings from the context menu to display the LabVIEW Module tab in the TestStand Sequence Editor .

You can use the LabVIEW Module tab to complete the following tasks:

Specify whether the step calls a member VI from a LabVIEW class or calls a VI that is a not a member of a LabVIEW class
Select the LabVIEW project that refers to the VI (optional)
Select the VI the step executes
Create and edit a VI or an optional LabVIEW project in LabVIEW
Select an Express VI and convert an Express VI to a standard VI
Specify whether LabVIEW shows the front panel of the VI when TestStand calls the VI

The LabVIEW Module tab contains the following options:

Call Type —The type of call the step uses. Select one of the following options. The option you select affects the other options available on the tab.
- VI Call —TestStand calls the VI without LabVIEW dynamic dispatching.
- Class Member Call —Select a member VI from a LabVIEW class. LabVIEW activates dynamic dispatching when required. When you select Class Member Call, you cannot execute the member call remotely.
  Note You must have LabVIEW 2012 or later to use LabVIEW dynamic dispatching when calling LabVIEW classes in TestStand.
- Property Node Call —Configures a Property Node call for a LabVIEW I/O reference or a LabVIEW class.
  Note You must have LabVIEW 2013 or later to run a Property Node call. You must use the LabVIEW 2013 Development Environment to configure the Property Node call.
Project Path —The path of the LabVIEW project the step uses. The control contains a most recently used (MRU) list of the last five selected LabVIEW projects. Specifying a LabVIEW project is optional.
Browse for LabVIEW Project —Launches the Select the Step's LabVIEW Project File dialog box, in which you can browse for the LabVIEW project ( .lvproj ) file to open.
Create LabVIEW Project —Creates an empty LabVIEW project. If the LabVIEW project you specify does not already exist, the LabVIEW Adapter creates it. If the file already exists, the LabVIEW Adapter prompts you to overwrite the existing file.
Edit LabVIEW Project —Edits an existing LabVIEW project.
Edit LabVIEW Class —Edits an existing LabVIEW class.
Note The Edit LabVIEW Class option is available only when you select Property Node Call as the Call Type.
Select Express VI —Use the LabVIEW browse button to select the Express VI you want to call. The LabVIEW browse button displays a pop-up menu that lists all the Express VIs found in the currently selected LabVIEW functions palette view. To select an Express VI not found in the menu, select the Browse menu item. Once you select an Express VI, you can configure the VI call.
Note Calls to Express VIs are embedded within the sequence file, not stored on disk.
Convert Express VI to Standard VI —Converts an Express VI to a standard VI by detaching the Express VI from the module, creating a standard VI on disk that calls the Express VI, and reconfiguring the module to call the new VI. You must distribute this wrapper VI with the sequence file.
Convert Property Node to Standard VI —Converts a Property Node to a standard VI by detaching the embedded Property Node from the module, creating a standard VI which contains the Property Node, changing the call type of the step to VI Call , and then reconfiguring the step to call the new VI. You must distribute this wrapper VI with the sequence file.
Show VI Front Panel —When you enable this option, the front panel of the VI opens when the LabVIEW Adapter calls the VI.
Create VI —Creates a code shell for the VI. If the VI file you specify does not already exist, the LabVIEW Adapter creates it. If the file already exists, the LabVIEW Adapter prompts you to overwrite the existing file. If a VI code template file exists for the step type you are using for the step, the LabVIEW Adapter uses the template to create the new VI.
Edit VI —Edits an existing VI. If the step uses a LabVIEW project, the VI opens in the LabVIEW project.
Note This button uses the label Open VI when you have specified a VI in a LabVIEW packed project library. If the step uses an Express VI, the button uses the label Configure VI and configures the Express VI the wrapper VI calls.
Reload VI Prototype —Allows the user to refresh the parameter information of the VI.
Advanced Settings —Launches the LabVIEW Advanced Settings dialog , in which you can configure a LabVIEW step to execute a VI on a remote system or with a LabVIEW Run-Time Engine.
Override Module Settings —Launches the Override Module Settings window, in which you can configure a LabVIEW step to run the VI in a packed project library.
Show VI Help —Displays the help associated with the VI.
Undock/Dock LabVIEW VI Help —Attaches or detaches the VI Help panel from the Module tab.

VI Parameter Table —Contains information about each control or indicator wired to the connector pane of the VI. These are the parameters of the VI.

Parameter Name —Caption text or label text, if no caption exists, of the control or indicator.
Note Parameters with attributes include an Edit Attributes button in the Name column of the VI Parameter Table. You can edit attributes for fields of containers and elements of arrays. TestStand associates parameter attributes with the module parameter, which TestStand stores with the step configuration information, not with the parameter value that TestStand passes to the module. Right-click an item in the VI Parameter Table to access the VI Parameter Table context menu, from which you can launch the Attributes dialog box.

Type —TestStand equivalent data type for the control or indicator. For one-dimensional arrays, you can specify an expression value for the entire array, or you can specify values for each element of the array. Use the plus ( + ) buttons to insert a new element in the array, and the minus ( - ) buttons to remove specific elements from the array. When you select Binary String in the Type column of the VI Parameter Table on the LabVIEW Module tab to store a LabVIEW string that contains binary data in a TestStand property, TestStand handles the string data in different ways depending on the version of LabVIEW you are using, as the following table describes.


LabVIEW Version	TestStand Behavior
LabVIEW 2012 or later Development System on a non-multibyte operating system LabVIEW 2009 SP1 or later Development System on a multibyte operating system LabVIEW 2009 SP1 or later RTE on any operating system	TestStand compresses the binary data, encodes the compressed data, and stores the compressed data using only printable ASCII characters. To pass a compressed string to a VI, select Binary String in the Type column. TestStand unencodes and decompresses the binary data the string stores before passing it to the VI.
LabVIEW 2011 SP1 or earlier Development System on a non-multibyte operating system LabVIEW 2009 or earlier Development System on a multibyte system LabVIEW 2009 or earlier RTE on any operating system	TestStand escapes the string before storing it and substitutes hexadecimal codes for the unprintable characters, such as the NUL character, in the string. To pass an escaped string to a VI, select Binary String in the Type column. TestStand unescapes the string before passing it to the VI and substitutes the correct character values for the hexadecimal values in the escaped string.

Note To retrieve the raw binary data stored in a string variable in TestStand, call the PropertyObject.GetValBinary method of the TestStand API. See the Retrieving Binary String Values from Reports and Databases topic for more information about retrieving binary data from string values.

Create/Update Custom Data Type —Launches the Create/Update Custom Data Type from Cluster dialog box, in which you can configure a new custom data type or update an existing custom data type.
Apply Cluster Passing Changes —Updates a VI parameter that contains a subproperty that no longer maps to the correct cluster element. You can use this button to update the parameter and automatically map the subproperty to the correct cluster element. This button might also appear when TestStand cannot automatically map a subproperty to the correct element and the Value column of the VI Parameter Table contains a '??? <Unknown Value>' error for the subproperty.

In/Out —Specifies whether the parameter is an input (control on the VI front panel wired to the connector pane) or an output (indicator on the VI front panel wired to the connector pane).
Log —When you enable this option, the step logs the parameter as an additional result. Enabling this option is equivalent to using the checkbox next to the additional result name on the Additional Results panel of the Properties tab of the Step Settings pane .
Default —When you enable this option, TestStand uses the default value of the control for the parameter, cluster element, or array element. This option is not available when the terminal of the VI is marked as Required.
Value —A TestStand expression. For input parameters, TestStand passes the value of this expression to the VI unless you place a checkmark in the option in the Default column. For output parameters, TestStand stores the data the VI outputs in the location this expression specifies. To help you enter an expression in the Value column, click the Expression Browse button to launch the Expression Browser dialog box. For enumerated types, a combo box displays all valid values for the type. You can also use an expression with an enumerated type.
Note For Express VIs, specify a valid value for each control on the connector pane to prevent an error when you configure or run the VI.

Note The VI Parameter Table displays parameters according to the order in the VI context help image.

VI Context Help Image and Description —Displays the context help image of the VI as shown in the LabVIEW Context Help dialog and displays the description of the VI from the Documentation tab of the LabVIEW VI Properties dialog box. When you click a label or terminal of the VI icon, TestStand highlights the parameter in the VI Parameter Table.

Specifying a VI

The LabVIEW Module tab contains the following options when you select VI Call from the Call Type ring control.

VI Path —The path of the VI the step calls. The path specifies a different location, depending on if the VI is an Express VI or whether the VI is contained in a LabVIEW project, as the following table describes.


VI Type	Behavior
Express VI	The path specifies the name of the Express VI.
A VI that is not contained in a LabVIEW project	The path is the path to the VI on disk, within a LLB, or within a packed project library.
A VI that is contained in a LabVIEW project	The path is the URL of the VI within the project instead of an absolute or relative path.

The VI Path ring control contains the following options, in which you can specify if the VI is a standard VI or a wrapper for an Express VI. The control contains an MRU list of the last five selected VIs. If a workspace is opened, the MRU list also contains all of the VIs in the workspace for which TestStand can calculate an absolute path. A line divides the most recently selected VIs and the VIs found in the workspace.

Browse for VI —Launches an Open File dialog box, in which you can browse for an independent VI, a LabVIEW library ( .llb ), or LabVIEW packed project library ( .lvlibp ) file to open. The LabVIEW Module tab provides different options for specifying a VI in a LabVIEW library or packed project library, as the following table describes.


File Type You Select	Behavior
LabVIEW library ( .llb )	Browses into the library and launches the Select a VI dialog box, in which you can select a VI the library contains.
LabVIEW packed project library ( .lvlibp )	Displays the content of the packed project library file and launches the Select a VI from a LabVIEW Packed Project Library dialog box, in which you can select a VI the packed project library exports to open.

Browse for VI in LabVIEW Project —Launches the Select VI From LabVIEW Project dialog box, in which you can select a VI from the LabVIEW project the step uses. The control returns the URL within the LabVIEW project rather than an absolute or relative pathname for the file. This option is available only when you specify a LabVIEW project file in the Project Path control.
Add or Remove VIs from LabVIEW Project —Launches the Add or Remove Items from LabVIEW Project dialog box, in which you can add, create, or remove VIs from the LabVIEW project the step uses. This option is available only when you specify a LabVIEW project file in the Project Path control.

Specifying a Class Member

The LabVIEW Module tab contains the following options when you select Class Member Call from the Call Type ring control.

Class Path —The path of the LabVIEW class the step uses. The Class Path control contains a list of the five most recently selected LabVIEW classes. Click the Browse for LabVIEW Member button, located to the right of the Member Name control, to launch the Select a Class Member from LabVIEW Class dialog box, in which you can select a LabVIEW class member VI to call from the specified LabVIEW class.

Browse for LabVIEW Class —Launches the Select the Step's LabVIEW Class File dialog box, in which you browse for a LabVIEW class ( .lvclass ) file or a LabVIEW library ( .llb ) or LabVIEW packed project library ( .lvlibp ) file that contains a LabVIEW class file. The LabVIEW Module tab provides different options for specifying a class in a LabVIEW library or packed project library, as the following table describes.


File Type You Select	Behavior
LabVIEW library ( .llb )	Launches the Select a Class from LabVIEW LLB dialog box, in which you can review the files the LLB file contains and select a LabVIEW class file to open.
LabVIEW packed project library ( .lvlibp )	Launches the Select a Class from LabVIEW Packed Project Library dialog box, in which you can review the content of the packed project library file and select a LabVIEW class file from the packed project library to open.

Browse for LabVIEW Class in LabVIEW Project —Launches the Select a Class from LabVIEW Project dialog box, in which you can select a LabVIEW class to call from the LabVIEW project you specify. This option is available only when you specify a LabVIEW project file in the Project Path control.
Member Name —The name of the public member from the LabVIEW class the step uses.
Browse for LabVIEW Member —Launches the Select a Class Member from LabVIEW Class dialog box, in which you can select a LabVIEW class member VI to call from the specified LabVIEW class.
Browse for LabVIEW Class Member in LabVIEW Project —Launches the Select a Class Member from LabVIEW Project dialog box, in which you can select a LabVIEW class member VI to call from the specified LabVIEW project. This option is available only when you specify a LabVIEW project file in the Project Path control.

Specifying a Property Node

The LabVIEW Module tab contains the following options when you select Property Node Call from the Call Type ring control.

Configure Settings for Property Node —Launches the Configure Property Node dialog box, in which you can specify the I/O Reference type or the LabVIEW class and select properties for the Property Node call.
Regenerate Property Node —Rebuilds the Property Node call using the current step settings.

TestStand API Reference

Filters

Content Type

Programming Language

Table of Contents

LabVIEW Module Tab

LabVIEW Module Tab

Specifying a VI

Specifying a Class Member

Specifying a Property Node

See Also

In This Section

Additional Comments

Download PDF