About the Variables Editor

In the Variables editor, you view and manage project and scenario variables. You use the variables to correlate data between requests and responses, and to parameterize form fields and queries in requests. Below is a sample image of the Variables editor:

Click the image to enlarge it.

Opening the Editor

To open the Variables editor:

Double-click the Variables item in Project Explorer (by default, this panel is on the left of the LoadComplete window).

–or –

Right-click the Variables item in the Project Explorer and select Edit from the context menu.

Variables

The variables in the editor are organized into a tree-like structure by their scope:

Project variables - Variables that are available for all scenarios in your project. You create these variables in the editor.
<Scenario_Name> - Variables that are available only in certain scenarios of your project. They are added to the list automatically when you specify them in the response editor or when LoadComplete creates them when correlating dynamic parameters. These variables are grouped by responses in which they are defined.

The child items of each variable show the requests that use the variable.

For each variable, the editor shows the following data:

Column

Description

Name

The variable name. LoadComplete uses it to refer to the variable in requests. This name is visible in all project dialogs and panels.

Note:

If you have a scenario variable and a project variable with the same name, the Select Variable dialog will show only one of them. During the traffic simulation, the scenario variable will override the project variable.

Source

Specifies the variable source. It can be –

Project - for variables defined in the Variables editor.
User - for scenario variables defined by a user manually.
<Correlation_Rule_Name> - The correlation rule according to which LoadComplete defined a variable when correlating dynamic parameters. You can view a list of correlation rules specified for LoadComplete in the Tools > Options > Recording > Data Correlation dialog.

Type

For project variables, specifies the variable type:

List - A variable that holds a list of values and returns a specific value from that list.
Database - A variable that is linked to a database field and that returns a specific value from that field.
Excel workbook - A variable that is linked to an Excel spreadsheet and that returns values from a specific column.
CSV file - A variable that is linked to a CSV file and that returns values from a specific field in that file.
File - A variable that is linked to a file and that returns the contents of that file.
Incremental - A variable with initial value that increments its value at certain periods.
Random - A variable that returns a random number or date within the specified range.
Constant - A variable whose value does not change.
Current date - A variable that returns the current date and time in a specific format.

Not applicable for scenario variables.

Value

For Constant variables, this column displays the constant value.

For List variables - a comma-separated list of values.

For other variable types - a brief description of the variable’s configuration.

Not applicable for scenario variables.

Access type

For list, CSV, Excel and database variables, specifies the order in which LoadComplete will access variable values during the test run.

Not applicable for scenario variables.

Filtering Variables

Use the following toolbar commands to show or hide certain types of variables:

Command	Description
	Shows or hides user-defined project and scenario variables.
	Shows or hides scenario variables created by the Correlate Request and Response Parameters wizard.
	Shows or hides unused variables (that is, the variables that are not used in any request).
	Show or hides variables that are used in requests.

To find the needed variable in the editor faster, you can type its name in the Quick Search box. The editor will filter out the variable list according to the text you are typing:

Quick search in the Variables editor in LoadComplete

To remove the filter, click in the Quick Search text box or simply clear the text box.

More Information on the Editor and Variables

For more information on …	See these topics …
Creating, modifying and removing project variables in the editor	Variables Editor - Common Tasks
Creating scenario variables while extracting data from responses	Creating, Modifying and Deleting Variables
Extracting data from server responses and passing it to subsequent requests	About Data Selectors
Parameterizing requests	About Parameterizing Requests
Using variables in load tests	About Variables
Common load testing tasks	Load Testing With LoadComplete
Customizing the editors and panels layout	Customizing LoadComplete

About Variables Editor

About the Variables Editor

Opening the Editor

Variables

Filtering Variables

More Information on the Editor and Variables

See Also