If software is configurable, it often means that the software relies on dynamic content – dynamic content is typically based on dynamic identifiers (IDs). Using dynamic IDs often leads to problems in test automation because they are newly generated each and every time an element is displayed. This blog post will illustrate how easy it is with Ranorex to overcome this frequent problem in test automation in an automated way.

• What is the Problem?
• Identify Dynamic Content
• Add a Weight Rule
• Add a Condition to the Weight Rule
• Conclusion

What is the Problem

Ranorex decides which attribute will be used for object identification based on predefined attribute weights (or “RanoreXPath weights”). Usually the ID of an object will be the best and most stable attribute for identifying and object and therefore has the highest weight. But when facing dynamic IDs, the ID cannot be used to identify an element anymore because it changes each time the element is reloaded/displayed. That means that you manually have to change how the objects are identified in your repository (which might be previously created by the recorder). This blog post will illustrate how you can add so called “weight rules” (RanoreXPath weight rules) allowing you to continue using the recorder and no longer changing your repository manually afterwards.

Identify Dynamic Content

First of all we have to identify in general whether we do have a dynamic ID problem or not. Let’s have a look at yahoo.com which is based on YUI (Yahoo User Interface library), a free open source JavaScript and CSS library. This library uses dynamic IDs by default. To analyze the occurrence of dynamic contents you can use Ranorex Spy from the start menu. Use the “Track” button to analyze an element of the web page.

When you take a closer look at the attribute “Id” of the just tracked element, you will see that it contains dynamic content (yui_3_8_1_1_13679224741219_543).

That leads on the one hand to a poor readability, and on the other hand destroys the testability of the page as the element cannot be identified by its ID anymore after reloading.

To illustrate this behavior, add the analyzed element to the repository (using the context menu), reload the website and add the element again. You will see that the same element will occur twice in your repository having different RanoreXPaths based on different IDs. Highlighting the first (red) repository element will not work as an element with the given ID is not available anymore. Also, the second (blue) element will only work until you reload the page again and a new ID is generated.

So this way we identified that we do have a dynamic ID problem. (For the sake of completeness: In most of the cases the attribute “Id” leads to dynamic content issues, but of course there can be other attributes creating identification problems as well.)

Add a Weight Rule

What we know now is that we will run into a problem when choosing the attribute “Id” to identify elements. Now we have to identify where our dynamic ID belongs to and create a rule on the base of that. As we can see in the “Overview” tab of Ranorex Spy, it belongs to the capability “WebElement”:

Write down the capability and the belonging attribute.

After identifying the correct capability and its attribute, we add a path weight rule to “filter out” the dynamic content and use another property for object identification. To do so, make sure that all other Ranorex instances (Studio, Recorder, Spy, etc.) are closed and only the currently using Spy instance is open. Then open “RanoreXPath Weight Rules” editor from settings dialog and add a new weight rule by pressing the “+” button:

Choose an appropriate rule name, select the previously identified capability as well as the attribute, and set the weight to 0:

Have a look at the attribute overview (“Show Attribute Overview…”) to get a feeling for the existing attribute weights. In order to navigate to a specific capability, simply press the initial letter of the capability’s name on your keyboard.

As you can see in this dialog, the weight of the attribute “Id” is set to a value of 200. When lowering this weight to “0″ the attribute “InnerText” will be used to identify the element as it’s the next higher value of 140. If no other attribute is available (because the weight is set to zero or it has no value) the index of the element will be taken to identify it (e.g. [1]).

(For the sake of completeness: In addition to lowering the weight of attributes you don’t want to use, you can also raise an attribute’s weight to favor the use of this specific attribute for object identification.)

Add a Condition to the Weight Rule

By lowering the weight of the attribute “Id” for the capability “WebElement”, the attribute “Id” will no longer be used for object identification in general. This rule will not only filter out dynamic IDs on yahoo.com but also all other IDs for all other web pages which might not be what you want to achieve.

To overcome this behavior, you can add a condition by pressing the “Add Condition” button. This defines which IDs should be filtered and which shouldn’t.

You might have found out already that dynamically generated YUI IDs always have the prefix “yui” followed by “_” and a number for x times. This can simply be represented by the regular expression

yui(_[0-9]+)+

The matching expression must start with the string “yui” followed by “_” and a number for one or more times. The whole “_” and number stuff must occur one or more times. For further details about regular expression have a look at the regular expressions wiki page or the chapter RanoreXPath in our user guide. Select the attribute you want to match against the regular expression from the dropdown, and then enter the regular expression.

Check whether the newly created rule in the left sided list is enabled, and save your changes by pressing the “OK” button.

You can check whether the newly added RanoreXPath weight rule works or not by tracking the element again on the website. You will see that the attribute “Id” is no longer used to identify the element, but by the “InnerText” attribute now.

You can best see the difference by adding the element to the repository again (green).

Conclusion

Using the RanoreXPath Weight Rules can assist you in automatically creating a robust repository which is the fundament of a robust test automation framework.

Also, it gives you the great advantage to continue using the recorder, and no longer being forced to change all your dynamic UI-elements in the repository manually. Just re-record and you will be fine.

Since you created a global “path weight rule” for your object identification, the rule will also be applied if you create a repository manually (as described in the blog post “Did you know… that you can manually generate a recording?“).

Ranorex successfully held two test automation workshops in Tampa on 6/7 and 9/10 May 2013. 

We enjoyed having this valuable opportunity to provide a comprehensive presentation covering the theoretical side of software testing as well as presenting approaches to practical implementation using Ranorex Studio.  

To all those who took part, we hope that everything you learned will be helpful in meeting the challenges you face.

The next chance to attend a Ranorex “Test Automation in Theory and Practice” workshop will be on the 9th and 10th and on the 12th and 13th of September 2013 in Ismaning, Germany.

Ranorex is back from a highly successful STAREAST 2013. 

At the conference we had the chance to meet personally with some current and future customers. We hope we were helpful in answering all of your questions about our product and its test automation capabilities. 

Ranorex at Test Automation Day 2013 (June 20, 2013 - Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Test Automation Day is a top-level Conference with the latest insights, proven practices and trends regarding Test Automation & Tooling.


Learn more about automated testing with Ranorex and see how to analyze applications and make an automated testing more effective. Get in direct contact with the Ranorex professionals and discuss your test automation.

Make sure to not miss the discourse of our local partner SQS, entitled "Cross Browser Test Automation – Accept the Challenge!".

Get in touch with Ranorex professionals and learn how to best make use of Ranorex.


Ranorex simplifies the creation of automated UI tests in many ways, but how can the Ranorex Tools assist you in achieving a successful project outcome? When and how do you use the Ranorex Recorder? Which possibilities result from using the Ranorex Repository for reducing maintenance effort?

Learn about how to work with Ranorex Studio and use the Ranorex tools at this two day workshop.

Next to the practical aspect, there will also be a focus on test automation fundamentals, helping you to decide whether test automation makes sense in specific situations and how Ranorex can assist you in saving money. For further details please have a look at our workshop info sheet (PDF - German). Dates for the 2-day workshops: September 9th and 10th, 2013        Ismaning near Munich (Germany)
September 12th and 13th, 2013      Ismaning near Munich (Germany)

Please contact us at workshop ranorex.com if you are interested in attending the workshop.
Thank you! 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

This blog post will discuss the possibilities to share your automatically generated Ranorex Reports over your local network or via email. There is no need to have Ranorex installed on the machine you will open the shared report. This is possible because the Ranorex Report format is based on XSL, XML and HTML.

Performing the following very simple adaptions, you will be able to open the report file using any common browser.

• Share via Mail
• Share Over Local Network
• Conclusion

Share via Mail

To share a Ranorex Report you can manually compress all files necessary for reporting and attach the corresponding package to your mail. Or you can simply activate the creation of a zipped report file and attach the generated zipped report file (*.rxzlog) to your mail. These two mentioned methods require that the Ranorex Report Viewer is installed on the machine receiving the shared Report.

To overcome this requirement simply change the extension form “*.rxlog” to “*.html” in the Test Suites properties pane.

After that, you will be able to open the generated report file using any common browser as well as compress all files necessary for reporting and attach them to an email.

Share Over Local Network

Next to sharing your Ranorex Reports via mail, you can also share them over your company network. You can for example use the Microsoft Internet Information Service (IIS) for doing so.

In Ranorex Studio right-click on the project you want to share the report of and choose “Open Folder in Explorer”. Right-click the “bin” folder and open the “Properties” dialog. Switch to the “Security” tab and click on “Edit” button.

Click on Add, enter “Authenticated Users” in the “Names” edit field and confirm the added permissions by pressing the “OK” button in all opened dialogs.

Define a folder in your Test Suite settings, where the report files should be stored at and change the report file extension from “*.rxlog” to “*.html”.

After doing so, add a website linking to the defined Content Directory in Internet Information Service Manager.

To correctly display your report data you have to add the extension “.data” to the list of “MIME-Types”. To do so, open the “MIME Types” settings dialog. Add a MIME Type for the file name extension “.data” with the type “application/xml”.

Enable “Directory Browsing” for displaying all generated report files on your website.

Now you are able to view your report file over the network using all common browsers.

Conclusion

By performing these easy to follow steps you will be able to share your Ranorex Reports to any machine regardless of a Ranorex installation or even the operating system by opening them using any common browser. You can even share Ranorex Reports to mobile devices.

Ranorex 4.0.3 is now available and includes the following release notes: General changes/Features

• Added support for Firefox 20
• Added object recognition support for the Android action bar
• Ranorex Report is now displayed correctly in all supported browsers
• When Ranorex Studio needs to be restarted as admin, it now reopens the previously edited solution

Bugs

• Fixed keyboard recording and abort key functionality when working remotely using VNC
• Fixed the separator recorder action to capture focus when trying to navigate over it with the keyboard
• Fixed inconsistency in formatting of values in RanoreXPaths for some attribute types (e.g. fonts)
• Fixed editing of concatenated attribute values in the advanced RanoreXPath editor
• Fixed Java tab panel visibility if selected index is not set correctly
• The "Visible" attribute is now correctly "false" for web elements with style "visibility: hidden" in all browsers
• Fixed object recognition for Chrome 27 and newer
• Fixed cause for "pointer being freed was not allocated" error occurring in some instrumented iOS apps
• Fixed an issue when instrumenting Android apps with complex activities
• Fixed a geometry issue for Android elements when switching between landscape and portrait mode
• Fixed communication exceptions showing up as Debug report messages caused by multiple started BitBridge processes
• Fixed report message being logged by the PopupWatcher.WatchAndClick method referencing the wrong repository item
• Fixed the initialization of the legacy 2.X report if Report.Setup is not called explicitly
• Fixed the legacy 2.X report not logging screenshots or snapshots any more
• Fixed Studio regarding all files with ".data" or no extension as reports and opening them if changed
• Fixed possible unhandled exception in the test suite editor when data sources are reloaded
• Fixed automatic update of namespaces in user code files on folder renaming
• Fixed some cases where the properties pad was not correctly updated when switching between views in Ranorex Studio
• Fixed rare exception being thrown by the debugger on breaking or stopping debugging
• Fixed debugger sometimes not reacting to "Step Over" and "Step Into" actions any more
• Fixed exception being thrown by the debugger if a source code file cannot be found
• Fixed Ranorex Studio hanging when showing the desktop (Win+D shortcut) and the internal Spy is currently in "Edit" mode
• Fixed problems in Ranorex Studio when adding items to project folders created in Visual Studio 2012
• Fixed possible exceptions when opening and working with a recording not belonging to a project in Studio
• Fixed an issue that Studio deleted code files of an external repository when linking it to a project
• Fixed long initial delay when opening the context menu in the "Projects" pad for a TFS source controlled solution
• Fixed possible exceptions in the SVN history view in Studio
• Improved performance of code generation in Ranorex Studio
• The new line characters \u2029 and \u2085 are now correctly escaped in generated code
• Fixed namespace sometimes not being updated correctly when moving a recording to a folder
• Fixed code generation for class files created in folders ending with a dot and numbers (e.g. "Folder.123")
• Fixed a few cases where the test suite is not marked dirty after changes (module removed, variable renamed)
• Fixed variable bindings being deleted if a module variable is deleted and added again
• A warning is now shown if running a module group with unbound module variables
• Fixed replacing of report name placeholders for the test suite run configuration when running a test suite from the command line
• Improved installation time for Ranorex setup (NGen task is now done asynchronously after the setup finishes)
• Fixed the Ranorex License Server service sometimes not installing on machines not connected to the Internet

Download Ranorex version here.
(You can find a direct download link for the latest Ranorex version on the Ranorex Studio start page.)

Ranorex at STAREAST 2013 (April 28 - May 3, 2013 - Orlando, FL, USA)
The premier software testing conference that brings you the most up-to-date information, tools, and technologies available in the industry today.

Learn more about automated testing with Ranorex and see how to analyze applications and make an automated testing more effective. Ask questions and get answers directly from a Ranorex Professionals.

Ranorex returned from a highly successful "Best Practices Day" in Zurich.

During the one day event Ranorex and some selected customers have given great presentations offering insights into real life test automation solutions. Further this event allowed Ranorex to speak with many testers to exchange experiences and needs in software test automation.



Next to the "Best Practices Day", Ranorex successfully conducted a test automation workshop on 7th and 8th of March 2013.

We enjoyed getting this valuable opportunity to provide a comprehensive presentation covering the theoretical side of software testing as well as the practical implementation of the approaches presented using Ranorex Studio. We hope that this was time well spent and the information covered is helpful to everyone who took part.

We look forward to seeing you again in the near future. The next chance to attend a Ranorex “Test Automation in Theory and Practice” workshop will be from the 6th to the 7th and from the 9th to the 10th of May 2013 in Tampa, FL (USA). There are still a few places available.

Get in touch with Ranorex professionals and learn how to best make use of Ranorex.


Ranorex simplifies the creation of automated UI tests in many ways, but how can the Ranorex Tools assist you in achieving a successful project outcome? When and how do you use the Ranorex Recorder? Which possibilities result from using the Ranorex Repository for reducing maintenance effort?

Learn about how to work with Ranorex Studio and use the Ranorex tools at this two day workshop.

Next to the practical aspect, there will also be a focus on test automation fundamentals, helping you to decide whether test automation makes sense in specific situations and how Ranorex can assist you in saving money. For further details please have a look at our workshop info sheet (PDF). Dates for the 2-day workshops: May 6 and 7, 2013        Tampa, FL (USA) FULLY BOOKED
May 9 and 10, 2013      Tampa, FL (USA) FULLY BOOKED

Please contact us at workshop ranorex.com if you are interested in attending the workshop.
Thank you! 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Our brand new screencast will introduce the Ranorex Code Module to you an your team and point out its main benefits and use cases.

You'll find out

• how to create Code Modules and how to assign them to Test Cases, 
• how to perform automated actions on UI Elements (with and without repository), 
• how to use the Info-Object (to safely check the existence of UI Elements)
• and how to create variables and do data-binding.

If you want to learn more about using Ranorex, please check out our other screencasts:

• Quick Start with Ranorex Test Automation
• Separate Modules - Test Automation Actions
• Data-Driven Test Automation with Ranorex
• How to build up and maintain a Repository in Ranorex
• RanoreXPath Part One
• RanoreXPath Part Two
• How and When to Use the Imaging Capabilities

Would you like to know how to get the best out of Ranorex? Then don’t miss this opportunity and register for both German language events, "Best Practices in Test Automation" and the "Ranorex Test Automation Workshop", taking place in Zurich in March 2013.

Best Practices in Test Automation, March 6th, Technopark Zurich (Switzerland)
In corporation with our local partner Greenliff, we are proud to announce this event which will include great presentations and offer insights into real life test automation solutions.



For more information about all the presentations, please have a look at our "Best Practice in Test Automation" info sheet (PDF - German).

Ranorex Test Automation Workshop, March 7th and 8th, Technopark Zurich (Switzerland) Talk with the Ranorex team and other Ranorex users and learn the best ways to use Ranorex.



You'll find out all about how to work with Ranorex Studio and how to use the other Ranorex tools at this two day workshop. 

In addition to the practical aspect, there will also be a focus on test automation fundamentals, helping you to decide whether test automation makes sense in specific situations as well as learn how Ranorex can help you to save money.

For all the details, please have a look at the workshop info sheet (PDF - German).

If you are interested in taking part in one or both events, simply contact us at info ranorex.com.

We look forward to seeing you at our March workshop!

Ranorex supports this year German Testing Night taking place on February, 28th in Munich.
Register for highly attractive presentations in the field of mobile testing. 



Get in contact with sales ranorex.com if you’re interested in receiving one of the limited discount codes.

This blog post illustrates how to automate testing of cross-platform apps implemented with MonoTouch for iOS and Mono for Android with Ranorex.

• Infrastructure
• Make Your “MonoTouch” (iOS) App Testable with Ranorex
• Make Your “Mono for Android” App Testable with Ranorex
• Conclusion

 

Infrastructure

MonoTouch and Mono for Android, both developed by Xamarin, are commercial implementations of Mono – a cross-platform implementation of C# – for iPhone and Android-based smartphones.

Using these two implementations it’s easy to reuse most of your existing code when porting from Android to iOS or vice versa. Next to that it’s possible to import existing .NET libraries and to use them in your Android/iOS apps.

Ranorex supports test automation for both, Mono Touch and Mono for Android. Simply follow the steps below to make your cross-platform app testable.

 

Make Your MonoTouch (iOS) App Testable with Ranorex

To instrument your MonoTouch app you simply have to add the Ranorex automation library for iOS  to your MonoTouch project as native library.

 

Make Your Mono for Android App Testable with Ranorex

To instrument your Mono for Android app simply follow the step by step instructions below.

• Add the Ranorex automation library for Android (<RanorexInstallDir>\bin\RxEnv\Android\Ranorex.jar) to your Mono for Android project.
  
  
  
• Open the properties of the added file and set the build action to “AndroidJavaLibrary”.
  
  
• Download the file RanorexAndroidMonoInstrumentation.cs and add it to your project (the same way as described in the first step).
• Add the following lines of code to each activity in your project:

  public override bool DispatchKeyEvent (KeyEvent e)
  {
    Ranorex.RanorexAndroidMonoInstrumentation.dispatchKeyEvent(e);
    return base.DispatchKeyEvent (e);
  }
  
  protected override void OnResume ()
  {
    base.OnResume ();
    Ranorex.RanorexAndroidMonoInstrumentation.onResume(this);
  }
  
  protected override void OnPause ()
  {
    base.OnPause ();
    Ranorex.RanorexAndroidMonoInstrumentation.onPause(this);
  }

• Open the properties of your project and add a new “Android Manifest” in the “Mono for Android Application” area.
  
• Add “(RxInstrumented$4.x.x)” to the version name (whereas 4.x.x is the Ranorex version you are using) and activate the check boxes “INJECT_EVENTS” and “INTERNET” in the “Required permission” area.
  

 

Conclusion

Following these simple step by step instructions will make your MonoTouch and Mono for Android apps accessible for Ranorex and nothing should be standing between you and your robust cross-platform test automation.

To get started with mobile test automation, have a look at the chapters “Android Testing” and “iOS Testing” in our user guide.

The main goal of this short survey is to gather some detailed information about how you use Ranorex and find out your opinion of the software – in order to make the Ranorex tools even better.

Please take this opportunity to let us know how you use Ranorex in your test projects by participating in this Ranorex Test Automation Survey.

You can rest assured that the information submitted will be kept confidential.

The survey should only take about 3 minutes to complete – and your participation may save you time in the future when working with Ranorex!

Our brand new screencast will help you and your team to get started with building and maintaining Ranorex Repositories.

The screencast is divided into five chapters which introduce the Ranorex Repository, explain the main benefits and show several ways of building a repository.

Additionally the screencast covers useful information about reducing maintenance effort and working with multiple repositories.





If you want to learn more about using Ranorex, please check out our other screencasts:

• Quick Start with Ranorex Test Automation
• Separate Modules - Test Automation Actions
• Data-Driven Test Automation with Ranorex
• How to build up and maintain a Repository in Ranorex
• RanoreXPath Part One
• RanoreXPath Part Two
• How and When to Use the Imaging Capabilities

Ranorex 4.0.2 is now available and includes the following release notes: General changes/Features

• Added support for Firefox 19
• Made it easier to create a custom report template from the test suite properties dialog
• Added methods to the TestReport class which allow you to define TearDown and Setup regions
• Debug command line arguments (from project settings) are now used when running the test suite or specific test cases from the test suite editor
• "View Code" is now available for all actions in a recording, not just for user code actions
• The "Play" button for user code modules now allows to select the report level (just like in recordings)
• The Host.ActivateWindowsApp method now allows to pass arguments to the app

Bugs

• Fixed a potential problem with the first keyboard action in an automation process not being replayed correctly
• Fixed element filtering not showing any elements in Spy for WPF applications and Windows apps
• Fixed possible stage scaling geometry issues in Flash applications
• Moved DataConnectorConfig class to Ranorex.Core.dll to facilitate custom data connector implementation
• Fixed importing the GDI capture settings from the settings dialog
• Fixed progress bar not being initialized correctly and continuing to run when the debugger is paused
• Reduced memory consumption when loading a lot of images from a repository or using the Ranorex.Imaging methods
• Fixed the screenshot of an element not showing up in the validation dialog on Windows 8
• Recordings now show an error message again on building if an associated repository item cannot be found
• Fixed assembly references in Ranorex recording files to be saved with a relative path if possible
• Fixed potential exception thrown when opening the "Variables" dialog in a recording after deleting a repository item
• Fixed Ctrl+A shortcut selecting the whole image in the image validation dialog
• App folders are no longer allowed to be moved into rooted folders even if they have empty RanoreXPaths
• Fixed "Optimize Folder Path" on top-level rooted folders in the repository
• Repository object creation after drag-and-drop from Spy now creates a parent app folder even if the path of parent/ancestor was changed
• Fixed possible connection problems with devices if their settings were edited using the "Edit device" dialog
• Fixed a problem where the data binding to a data source gets lost when deleting another data source
• Fixed a use case where a relatively specified data source file was not correctly resolved
• Fixed data source dialog still saving changes to a simple data source if cancelling the dialog
• Fixed possible exception thrown in Studio when a data source file fails to load
• Fixed exception when running a test case from the test suite editor when no project is open
• Fixed the effective report level for a parent test case after a child test case with a different report level is executed
• Fixed Ranorex Studio not copying DLLs from referenced module libraries to the output directory
• Fixed the undo state falsely being cleared in a user code file when compiling
• The project browser is now correctly refreshed when including a recording into the project
• Fixed potential exception being thrown when trying to start the Instrumentation Wizard from Ranorex Studio
• Fixed problems with renaming and (un)checkout of files in TFS source controlled Ranorex projects
• 'Check out' is no longer displayed on version controlled items in Ranorex Studio if the item is already checked out
• Fixed handling of SVN source controlled projects not residing under the solution directory
• Fixed code completion in Studio not showing extension methods that overload an existing method
• Fixed recording user code files to be re-initialized on rebuild if the file contains too many braces
• The associated code files are no longer opened when renaming a recording in Studio
• Code generation by dragging a repository item into a code file now also works for repositories residing in a referenced project
• Repositories associated with a recording are no longer opened on a rebuild
• Fixed the debugger not showing all characters when watching variable values
• Fixed the debugger watch pad not allowing to change a watched variable name
• Fixed unhandled exception thrown when trying to create a new project in a folder that does not allow to add files
• The "Report Template Folder" test suite setting now allows relative paths
• Fixed copying of compressed report files (*.rxzlog) to the report files directory
• The report no longer appends the "rxlog" extension to the report file name if another extension is used
• Fixed Ranorex 2.X style reports not being opened automatically after automation has finished
• Placeholders in the report file name are now correctly replaced
• Fixed server log not containing "Release" messages if the license server is stopped while licenses are leased

Download Ranorex version here.
(You can find a direct download link for the latest Ranorex version on the Ranorex Studio start page.)