Creating and Running Cross-Platform Web Tests

Before you start creating cross-platform tests:

1. Make sure that your TestComplete project is configured to use XPath expressions and CSS selectors to locate objects on web pages. This is absolutely essential for creating cross-platform tests because only then TestComplete will be able to access web elements in remote environments. See below.

2. Select the device cloud that you are going to run tests in. Currently, the CrossBrowserTesting device cloud is available.

3. Choose one of the supported web browsers in which you want to record tests. The browser you use for recording does not matter. You can choose any browser you are comfortable with. The resulting test will be compatible with multiple web browsers, including those supported by TestComplete and those that are not supported directly (for example, Safari, or mobile browsers).

4. Prepare the selected browser for test recording as described in Preparing Web Browsers.

Before you start recording, make sure that your TestComplete project is configured to locate web elements by XPath expressions and CSS selectors.

In existing projects

When creating new projects

1. Select Tools > Current Project Properties from the TestComplete main menu to open the Properties page of your project.

2. In the tree on the left, select Device Cloud > Web.

3. Set the Web cloud provider project property to CrossBrowserTesting.

4. Enter the credentials of your CrossBrowserTesting account on the Device > Web page:

   Using an existing account - See instructions

   Using an existing account - See instructionsUsing an existing account - See instructions

   1. Click Get credentials from CBT.

   2. Enter your email address and password you use to connect to CrossBrowserTesting.

   3. Click Sign In.

   Creating a free trial account - See instructions

   Creating a free trial account - See instructionsCreating a free trial account - See instructions

   1. Click Get credentials from CBT.

   2. In the resulting dialog, click Try for free.

   3. Enter your email and password you will use to connect to CrossBrowserTesting.

   4. Click Start Trial.

   CrossBrowserTesting accounts are time-limited. Also, they limit the number of concurrent test runs, the number of test minutes and the number of subaccounts. You can find information on your account on the Account Details form in TestComplete or on your account page of the CrossBrowserTesting web site.

   To learn about CrossBrowserTesting terms of use, see Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

5. Save the changes.

To create a test, you can record your user actions in a web browser or you can create a test from scratch. The easiest way to create a cross-platform web test is to record it:

1. Start recording.

2. Launch your web browser.

3. Interact with your tested application or web page as an end-user would: navigate through pages, click the links, input data into forms, and so on.

4. Stop the test recording.

TestComplete will process the performed actions and generate the test. The images below show an example of a recorded cross-platform test:

A keyword test Click the image to enlarge it.

A script test Click the image to enlarge it.

A test consists of the sequence of operations that define various interactions with objects in a web browser.

Depending on the Tools > Options > Engines > Name Mapping > Map object names automatically option, the recorded test will either use mapped web objects or it will use the FindElement method to search for tested web elements. See Addressing Objects in Cross-Platform Web Tests.

You can modify and enhance the recorded test in a number of ways to make it more flexible and efficient. For example:

• Add new operations, reorder operations and modify their parameters.

• Delete or disable unneeded operations (for example, superfluous recorded operations).

• Insert checkpoints for verifying objects and values in the tested application.

• Create data-driven tests that run multiple test iterations using different sets of data.

You can debug your test by running it on your local computer to make sure that it works as expected. To learn more about test debugging, see Debugging Tests.

A recorded cross-platform test can run on your local computer as is. However, before you can run it in remote test environments, you need to modify it:

1. Remove (or disable) all test commands that interact with local browsers. For instance, in scripts, remove or comment out all script lines that use the Browsers.Item property:

   

   Click the image to enlarge it.

   In keyword tests, remove or disable the Run Browser operation:

   

   Click the image to enlarge it.

2. Add test instructions that will connect to your platform provider and run the browser there.

   If you use a SmartBear device cloud

   If you use any other Selenium Grid provider

   If you use a SmartBear device cloud

   In a keyword test, add the Run Remote Browser operation to your test. The operation allows connecting to device clouds managed by CrossBrowserTesting.com and launching a needed mobile or desktop web browser:

   

   Click the image to enlarge it.

   In a script test, you can generate the code to run your target web browser by using the Generate run code dialog:

   1. Click on the Code Editor toolbar.

   2. In the resulting dialog, log in to the device cloud (if you have not logged in yet). If you still do not have a proper account, you can sign up for a free trial directly from the dialog.

   3. Select the web browser and the platform where you want to run the test.

   4. Copy the code that the dialog generates and insert it into the needed place in your script test.

   

   Click the image to enlarge it.

   If you use any other Selenium Grid provider

   Write script code that will connect to your Selenium Grid, access a remote environment (node), and run the browser there. To do this, use the Browsers.RemoteItem(HubUrl, Capabilities).Run method.

   Here, the HubURL parameter specifies the URL of your Selenium Grid. The Capabilities parameter is an object that describes the remote environment where you want to run the test: platform, web browser type and version. To learn which capabilities you should use, please see the documentation of your Selenium Grid provider.

3. All the test commands that follow the Browsers.RemoteItem.Run method and that work with the Browser object will run in the remote environment.

   Call your recorded test right after the code that calls the Browsers.RemoteItem.Run method. If your recorded cross-platform test is a script test, call it as you usually call any routine. If your recorded cross-platform test is a keyword test, call it by using the KeywordTests.Test_Name.Run method:

   JavaScript, JScript

   Python

   VBScript

   DelphiScript

   C++Script, C#Script

   Copy Code

   JavaScript, JScript

   function Connect()
   {
     …
     Browsers.RemoteItem(server, JSON.stringify(capabilities)).Run(url);
     KeywordTests.Test1.Run();
   
   }

   Python

   def Connect():
     …
     Browsers.RemoteItem[server, capabilities].Run(url)
     KeywordTests.Test1.Run()

   VBScript

   Sub Connect
     …
     Call Browsers.RemoteItem(server, capabilities).Run(url)
   
     KeywordTests.Test1.Run()
   End Sub

   DelphiScript

   procedure Connect();
   var capabilities, url, server;
   begin
     …
     Browsers.RemoteItem(server, capabilities).Run(url);
     KeywordTests.Test1.Run();
   end;

   C++Script, C#Script

   function Connect()
   {
     …
     Browsers["RemoteItem"](server, JSON["stringify"](capabilities))["Run"](url);
     KeywordTests["Test1"]["Run"]();
   
   }

Run the resulting code.

To run your test in several remote environments in a sequence, see Iterate Through Remote Testing Environments.