# Specifying Prior Status

To specify prior status used to restrict the set of tests that are run, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Quick Set Mode button on the Test Manager tool bar or choose Configure > Edit Quick Set > Prior Status in the menu bar.

> The Configuration Editor opens in Quick Set Mode and displays the Prior Status tab.

> In Question Mode, use the Status question to specify prior status used to restrict the set of tests that are run.

2. Check the Select tests that match option.

> The Configuration Editor enables the prior status check boxes.

3. Check the one or more of the prior status conditions.

> See Prior Status Selections for detailed descriptions of the available choices and how the harness uses them to filter the tests that are run.

4. Click the Done button to save the configuration change.

## Prior Status Filter Selections

By choosing Select tests that match, you can run tests with restrictions based on their result from a prior test run. The following table describes the available Prior Status filter selections.

Prior Status Filter | Action
--- | ---
Passed | Selects tests with passing results the last time the test was executed.
Failed | Selects tests with failed results the last time the test was executed.
Error | Selects tests that the harness could not execute the last time it was included in a test run.
Not Run | Selects tests without results in the current work directory.

Prior status is evaluated on a test-by-test basis using information stored in the result files (`.jtr`) that are written in the work directory. Unless overridden by a test suite, a result file is written in the work directory for every test that is executed. When you change work directories between test runs, the result files in the previous work directory are no longer used and, if the new work directory is empty, the harness behaves as though each test in the test suite was not run.

You can also use the Prior Status setting in combination with the Current Configuration view filter to display only those test and folder status icons that match the specified prior status. The test tree displays all other tests and folders as gray, filtered out folder and test icons. During a test run, when a test result no longer matches the prior status filter, the test tree changes the test and folder icons to gray, filtered out folder and test icons.

For example, if you only want to monitor tests in a test suite that had failed results you would set the Prior Status filter to Any Of Failed and repeat the test run. As tests pass, the test tree changes their icons from failed to filtered out, indicating that they no longer match the Prior Status filter Any Of Failed.

It is often useful to choose all of the status values except Passed for the first few test runs, then refine the filtering to reduce the number of tests in subsequent runs.

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