January 2021
This file contains important information about the NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module™ (TSM), including system requirements and installation instructions. Refer to the What's New in the NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module topic in the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help for information about new features and changes introduced since NI TestStand 2019 Semiconductor Module. Select Help»TestStand Help and navigate to the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module book in the table of contents of the TestStand Help to launch the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help. Refer to the TestStand Version 2020 Release Notes and the TestStand 2020 Readme for additional information about TestStand.
Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
TSM adds the following features and functionality to TestStand for developing semiconductor test system software:
If you are a new TestStand user, NI recommends that you complete the tasks listed in the New Users section of the Guide to Documentation topic of the TestStand Help, which is located by default at <TestStand>\Doc\Help\TSHelp.chm. Select Help»TestStand Help to launch the TestStand Help.
To familiarize yourself with TSM, review the topics in the Getting Started book in the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help, which is located by default at <TestStand>\Doc\Help\TSSemiconductor.chm. Select Help»TestStand Help and navigate to the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module book in the table of contents of the TestStand Help to launch the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help. The NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help also contains information about all module features and functionality.
If you are upgrading from an earlier version of TSM, refer to the NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module New Features and the NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module Compatibility and Known Issues topics in the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help for compatibility information and major feature changes. Select Help»TestStand Help and navigate to the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module book in the table of contents of the TestStand Help to launch the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Help.
| Note If you are upgrading from an earlier version of TSM and use a custom operator interface based on the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module 2013 or earlier operator interface source code, you must re-implement the custom operator interface to use the latest TSM operator interface source code, which includes improvements for performance, customization, and maintenance. |
TSM has the following requirements:
TSM 2020 supports the following operating systems:
1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.
2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 and KB3125574 for more information about how to install these updates. Refer to the Migrating to TestStand 2012 and Windows 7/Vista section of the NI TestStand Version 2012 Release Notes for more information about using TestStand on Windows 7.
Note Refer to NI TestStand Semiconductor Module Drops Support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and All 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems in 2021 for information about future OS support.
Note TestStand does not support Guest user accounts on Windows. TestStand supports Administrator and Limited accounts on Windows 7.
Note In 2016 TSM dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. TSM 2020 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use TSM 2020 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing TSM 2020, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.
For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2020, refer to KB 79UC78LS, NI Installer Fails on Windows XP/Vista and Windows Server 2003.
Note Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/r/PAESupport.
TSM 2020 supports the following application software versions, including service packs. If you are using Microsoft Visual Studio, refer to Microsoft Visual Studio Support.
| Requirement | Recommended | Minimum | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| TestStand (32- or 64-bit) | 2020 | 2020 | Refer to the Recommended System Requirements section of the TestStand Version 2020 Release Notes for information about the recommended system requirements for TestStand. |
| LabVIEW (32- or 64-bit) | 2020 | 2017 | TSM APIs are compiled for the LabVIEW 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 Run-Time Engines. The LabVIEW operator interface, Lot and Station Settings dialog boxes, and simulated handler are compiled for the LabVIEW 2019 Run-Time Engine. |
| (Optional) NI-DAQmx 16.1.0f2 or later .NET API | — | — | The TSM NI-DAQmx .NET Code Module API requires the NI-DAQmx 16.1.0f2 or later .NET API. |
If you are using the TSM .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. The TSM .NET Class Library can be used with Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET in any Visual Studio version that can target .NET Framework 4.0 or .NET Framework 4.5.
To use the .NET API, you must install the .NET class libraries or the .NET wrapper in addition to the NI device driver. For information about versions of the .NET Framework and the drivers each supports, as well as the download location of the installer files, refer to NI .NET Support.
The TSM installation program installs files for TestStand and LabVIEW, including the LabVIEW 2020 Run-Time Engine.
Notes:
NI installs TSM using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, TSM installs NI Package Manager to handle the installation of your NI software. Visit ni.com/r/NIPMDownload to download NI Package Manager. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.
Notes
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Visit Known Issues in NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module for an up-to-date list of known issues.
Refer to the List of Bug Fixes in NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module on the NI website for a list of a subset of issues fixed in NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module. If you have a Bug ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed.
Refer to the NI TestStand Semiconductor Module book in the TestStand Help, accessible from the Help menu in the TestStand Sequence Editor, for information about NI TestStand 2020 Semiconductor Module.
TSM includes a variety of example programs that you can use to help you learn key concepts or to serve as a starting point for applications you create. You can open an example sequence file from the subdirectories of the <TestStand Public>\Examples\NI_SemiconductorModule directory.
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.6.2, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager manual.
Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.
When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.
NI TestStand Semiconductor Module will drop support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and all 32-bit Windows operating systems starting in 2021. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
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