Installing TestStand

Consider the following conditions when installing TestStand on your system:
  • The default TestStand installation location is <Program Files>\National Instruments\TestStand <Version Year>.
  • You can install TestStand on a computer which has a previous TestStand version installed, but you cannot install TestStand over a previous version and cannot install TestStand in the default installation directory for a previous version. If you installed a previous version of TestStand in a non-default directory, you can uninstall the previous version of TestStand and install the new version of TestStand to that directory.
  • You cannot install TestStand to a network path or a mapped network path. You must install TestStand on a local computer.
  • If you uninstall one bitness of a TestStand version, NI recommends that you use the TestStand Version Selector to reactivate the remaining bitness of that version and launch TestStand to properly register its components. For example, if you uninstall TestStand 2023 Q4 64-bit, use the TestStand Version Selector to set TestStand 2023 Q4 32-bit to active and launch TestStand to properly register your remaining version of TestStand 2023 Q4.
  1. Download the TestStand installer.
    Note If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchase to install this product.
  2. Run the TestStand installer and follow instructions to select your desired software components and install them. Consider the following information for unique installation configurations:
    • To install only TestStand Runtime on a machine, deselect all optional products by clicking Deselect All on the Select tab. You cannot automate the installation of TestStand Runtime in NI Package Manager using the command line. To automate the installation of TestStand Runtime, you must create a custom installer using NI Package Builder.
    • The TestStand GraphControl and IVIStepTypes packages are available in the TestStand offline installer for manual or automatic installation using NI Package Manager. These packages can be included in custom installers built using NI Package Builder.
    • TestStand can use newer versions of the LabVIEW Runtime Engine (RTE) when you install LabVIEW on a development system. You can include newer versions of the LabVIEW RTE in deployments using the Drivers and Components dialog box of the TestStand Deployment Utility.
    Note NI Package Manager is required to install TestStand. The installer will install NI Package Manager first if it is not present on your machine.
  3. Reboot your system once the installation is complete.
Activate TestStand using one of the following activation methods:
  • Log in to your NI user account to check for associated licenses
  • Enter the serial number on the Certificate of Ownership included with your TestStand software kit
  • Enter an activation code
  • Connect to a volume license server