Editing Task Properties

Applies to TestComplete 15.0, last modified on November 17, 2021

To modify the properties of a network suite task, use the Tasks editor. The columns of the Tasks editor display the values of the following task properties:

Property (Column) Description
Active Specifies whether the task will be run when the job, to which it belongs, runs. By clearing the check box, you can exclude the task from the test.
Name The name that is used to refer to the task in tests.
Host The name of the remote host where the task will be run. This is the name that is defined for the host in the Name column of the Hosts editor. You can enter the host name manually, or click the ellipsis button and select the desired host from the subsequent dialog.
Host timeout The number of minutes to wait for the host to respond. If the host does not respond until the timeout elapses, a verification error occurs.
Project file name The name (with the path) of the TestComplete project or project suite containing the test that the task will run. The following variants are possible:
  • [File name of the current project suite] - (Default) The name of the project suite to be run on the remote computer is considered the same as the name of the current project suite. The path to the target project suite is specified by the Base path property of the selected host. That is, the full path is determined as a concatenation of the host’s Base path and the current project suite name.

    For example, if the current project on the master computer is C:\Tests\MasterProjectSuite.pjs, and the host’s Base path is set to C:\DistributedTests\, the name of the project suite to be executed on the remote host is C:\DistributedTests\MasterProjectSuite.pjs.

    Use this default value if your current project stores both master and slave tests.

    If the Base path property of the host already contains a fully qualified name (not recommended) of the project or project suite on the remote computer and the Project file name property is not specified, the default value of the property is not used and the name of the project or project suite to be executed is specified by the Base path property only.

  • Name (with the path) of the project (project suite) residing in a shared network folder - For example, \\TestServer\Tests\ProjectSuite.pjs.
  • Name (with the path) of the project (project suite) residing on the host computer - The project file path must be specified in the terms of the remote computer. For example, C:\Tests\ProjectSuite.pjs. Note that instead of entering the project (project suite) path manually, you can click the ellipsis button and browser for the desired project in the subsequent Select Remote Project dialog.

    If the Base path is set for the host where the task is run, Project file name must be specified relative to the Base path. The full path is determined as a concatenation of the host’s Base path and the task’s Project file name values. For example, suppose that the project suite’s path on the host is C:\Tests\ProjectSuite.pjs. If the host’s Base path is set to C:\Tests\, the task’s Project file name should be ProjectSuite.pjs.

Tips:

  • If several tasks are configured to run on the same host and use slave projects (project suites) located in the same folder, the project file name property of these tasks may contain partially or fully duplicated parts. To make it easier to edit and maintain these paths, you can remove the common part of the path from the tasks Project file name property and specify it in the Base path property of the host instead.

  • If you want several tasks running on different hosts to use the same slave project, copy the project (project suite) to each slave host rather than use the common shared project (project suite). It is not recommended to use the common shared project (project suite) for several hosts since the slave hosts may fail to open the shared project (project suite) simultaneously.

  • If the project (project suite) you want to run on the remote computer resides on the master computer, you can do any of the following:

    • Copy the desired project (project suite) from the master host to the remote host. For more information on this, see Copying Slave Projects to Remote Computers.

    • Share the master computer’s folder that contains the project or project suite (not recommended).

Copy remote log Specifies whether and in which cases TestComplete should copy the remote log of the task execution to the master computer. Available options in the drop-down list are:
  • [Always] - TestComplete copies the results to the master computer at the end of the task execution. Copying results increases the task execution time and uses some disk space, but you can review the results at anytime, even if the remote computer is not available. Copied results are kept on your computer until you delete them.

  • [When status is not OK] - TestComplete copies the results to the master computer only if the log on the task execution includes errors and/or warnings.

  • [Do not copy] - The task results remain on the remote computer. To view them, you must have access to the results folder. Storing results on the remote computer saves disk space on your computer, but you may not be able to view them, since the remote computer can be offline or the results folder may be inaccessible.

Action after run Specifies what TestComplete will do after it finishes executing the task on the Host computer. Available options in the drop-down list are:
  • [Nothing] - Do nothing (do not close TestComplete or TestExecute either). Use this value in combination with the Use value for the Use previous TestComplete instance option in order to reduce the workload of the remote computer. In this case, after finishing the task the TestComplete (TestExecute) instance on the remote host will not be closed and it will be used for running the next task.

  • [Close driven instance] - Close TestComplete (TestExecute) instance on the remote computer. Default value.

  • [Log off from computer] - Log off from the Host computer.

  • [Shut down computer] - Shut down the Host computer.

  • [Reboot computer] - Reboot the Host computer.

Tag Specifies an arbitrary string associated with the given task. This string can also be set from the master project before the network suite run (see Task.Tag). By calling the NetworkSuite.Tag property in a slave project, you can retrieve the value associated with the task that ran this project.
Test Specifies the execution entity that the task will run. The entity must belong to the project specified by the Project file name property. The execution entity name should include the full path to the appropriate project node.

To run the entire project, enter the project name only.

To run the entire project suite, keep the column empty.

Note: The tasks cannot run separate test items (the ones you specify in the Execution Plan editor of your project). They can only run test items as part of the project.

Below are several examples of the possible column values:

Value Description
MyProject\KeywordTests\OrdersTest The OrdersTest keyword test of the MyProject project.
MyProject\Script\Unit1\MyProc The MyProc script routine located in Unit1 of the MyProject project.
MyProject\LLCollection\LLP1 The low-level procedure named LLP1.
Project1 All test items of the project named Project1.
(no value) All test items of all projects of the specified project suite.

To select an execution entity of the remote project specified by the Project file name property, you can click the ellipsis button and choose the desired entity from the Select Remote Test dialog.

Note: If Test specifies a script routine, that routine must have no parameters.

Use previous instance Specifies whether TestComplete will close the remote TestComplete (or TestExecute) process before executing the task. Available options in the drop-down list are:
  • [Use previous TestComplete instance] - Use the running instance of the remote TestComplete (TestExecute). Use this value in combination with the Nothing value for the Action after run option in order to reduce the workload of the remote computer. In this case, after finishing the task, the TestComplete (TestExecute) instance on the remote host will not be closed and it will be used for running the next task.

  • [Show error message] - Display the error message. Default value.

  • [Restart TestComplete] - Close and restart the remote TestComplete (TestExecute) instance. Use this value to ensure that the task will not fail if previous tasks or test runs caused critical errors in the remote TestComplete (or TestExecute) instance.

Remote application Specifies what testing application, TestComplete or TestExecute, will be used on the remote workstation.

Since all tasks of a job are running simultaneously, their order is not important (see Running the Network Suite, Jobs and Tasks).

See Also

About Hosts Editor
Running the Network Suite, Jobs and Tasks
Copying Slave Projects to Remote Computers

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