About Running Tests via Remote Desktop

You can use the Remote Desktop if you need, for example, to:

• Observe the tested application’s behavior on remote computers.

• Run tests on remote computers.

• Run tests on computers that are locked due to security purposes (see Running Tests on Locked Computers).

• View and analyze results on test runs on one or several remote computers, and save them to a local computer.

• And so on.

1. Make sure that a remote computer where you will run tests has TestComplete (or TestExecute) installed.

2. If needed, lock the remote computer where TestComplete (TestExecute) is installed.

3. From your local computer, log on to the TestComplete (TestExecute) workstation via Remote Desktop.

4. On the remote computer, start running tests with TestComplete (TestExecute).

TestComplete (TestExecute) will run tests on the remote computer the same way as if they were running on your local computer.

Important Notes

• To prevent the computer from locking automatically during the test run, do the following:

  • Disable the screen saver.

  • Disable power saving options that may turn off the computer or its display, such as Put the computer to sleep.

  • Disable the Windows logon screen.

• If you need to disconnect from the Remote Desktop session, you can retarget the session to the remote computer’s console before starting your tests. For detailed information, see Disconnecting From Remote Desktop While Running Automated Tests.

• If you need to minimize the Remote Desktop window, you need to change the Registry settings on your local machine. See Running Tests in Minimized Remote Desktop Windows.

• If you need to resize the Remote Desktop window, you can do this by setting certain values for the connection properties. For more information on how to do this, see Smart Resizing of Remote Desktop Windows.

• When running tests on a remote computer that participates in distributed testing, TestComplete creates a Remote Desktop session and automatically sets the master computer's screen resolution on the remote computer. This is done to avoid possible problems with test running.

• You open several user sessions to the same server computer. The number of TestComplete instances that can work concurrently in sessions depends on your license.

  • If you have a Node-Locked license, then only one TestComplete instance can run on the server computer at a time. That is, you can use TestComplete in one user session only.

  • If you have a Floating User license, then the number of TestComplete instances that can run concurrently is determined by the license key. That is, the number of user sessions, in which you can use TestComplete, cannot exceed the limit set by the license.

  Note:

  If you want to use TestComplete in several user sessions connected to the same server, we recommend that you install and use a TestComplete Floating User license for the desired number of instances on the server. Alternatively, to run tests in user sessions, you can install and use TestExecute.