truncated filename when deploying

[SteveFeeser]

I am using TestStand 4.2.1.  I am working on my second test sequence and am seeing something that I did not see on the previous test I did.  

I get all the folders organized the way I want in the View Destination screen then Build it.  After it completes and I deploy the test to a production system the install has many missing folders, and has truncated folder and file names.  It appears that all names loose a certain number of characters off the front end of their name.  The folders with short names are just missing, folder with longer names only have the last couple characters.

Before the above happened I had a couple builds that placed the folder / file structure in a different way than I wanted (but all file and folder names were correct).  I built a couple times to correct the folder structure, then I started getting the truncated names.

Thanks for the help,

Steve

[Kelsey_Weaver@NI]

Hi Steve,

This seems odd. Did you get any errors or warnings during the build process? Have you noticed that there is a particular number of characters that get cut off from the folder names? Is there anything particularly different about this test sequence from the one that you did previously?

Thanks.

[Kelsey_Weaver@NI]

A couple other questions for you - 

Can you send us a screenshot of the Distributed Files tab from the Deployment Utility?

Also, what operating system are you developing on and what operating system are you deploying to?

Did you move the location of the .TSD file? (this is the file you save with your deployment settings)

Thanks

[SteveFeeser]

I just opened the tsd file.  I went to the Distributed Files Tab / View Destination and did not Analyze the files yet.  Then I Analyzed the Source Files and the View Destination shows some changes.  I have attached a file with screen shots of the View Destination screen before and after.

This time the folder "ATE-LV" is lost, a few names have been truncated:

Elapsed Timer looks to be shortened to Timer

Utilities shortened to s

I do not know where C came from

Usage_Log shortened to g

I am using Windows 7 Professional SP1.  I did not move the file location.  I only opened it, did not build, only ran the Analyze Source Files.

I have been working on both projects at the same time.  I am not sure I may have had the issue with the other one too.  I have tried starting with a brand new tsd file and sometimes that will work fine and sometimes I get the truncating.

Thanks,

Steve

[Daniel-E]

Hey Steve,

This issue is most likely occurring as a result of the same issue captured in CAR 152924 on the TestStand 4.2 Known Issues list here. This issue states that if the .tsd file has been moved since it was originally saved, truncated filenames can occur. The end result looks very similar to your screenshots.

As a test point, you could try opening the Deployment Utility, and without loading a .tsd file, specify your workspace directory on the System Source tab and analyze the files. Although the installation directories and other settings will not be present since you are not loading them from a .tsd, you can look at the View Destination screen and see whether the filenames are truncated or not. This will narrow down whether the issue is with the .tsd file or not.

The best way to resolve this issue would be to recreate the .tsd file. I am unsure of how much configuration you have done in the .tsd file in terms of moving the locations of files and configuring settings related to those files; is recreating the .tsd file a realistic option for your project? 

[SteveFeeser]

I started with a new file for the tsd.  I did not even save or name the new file.

I was able to Analyze the files and all was fine.  Then I unchecked the folder named Shared (these files are deployed in a seperate deployment from the test).  Then when I Analyzed the files several of the files/folders came up truncated (see attached screen shot - note file name at top of screen).  

The problem seems to be directly related to unchecking the Shared folder.  I do need some work around for this situation.  As stated above the files in the Shared folder are deployed seperately (they are already on the system I want to deploy to).  

Thanks,

Steve

[Daniel-E]

Hey Steve,

Our internal report for this issue does mention that deselecting the top-level folder can cause this issue, but we typically have seen this issue occur when both conditions are met, i.e. the TSD file is moved and the top-level folder is deselected. I will investigate that aspect of the issue more thoroughly and will update the wording in the Known Issues List if we discover that the latter condition is sufficient to cause the problem in a wider range of testing.

As a workaround, could you include a dummy text file in your Shared folder, and select only that file under the Shared directory in your TestStand deployment? This way, the Shared folder would be selected, but only a single empty text file would be included in the deployment. I believe this would prevent your deployment from growing in size while still preventing the filenames from becoming truncated. Does this seem like a solution that would work for your system? 

[SteveFeeser]

I included a dummy text file and the folder and filenames look fine, all folders are where I want them.  That workaround works.

Thank you,

Steve Feeser

[GarryG]

I ran into the same issue.  I was able to get around this by removing all unnecessary top level folders (so I didn't need to remove them from the destination locations after analyzing).  My issue was occurring whenever the Workspace was analyzed more than once.  It had nothing to do with moving files.