About Support for Web Components

Applies to TestComplete 15.47, last modified on January 20, 2023

The information in this topic applies to web tests that locate web objects by using internal identification properties provided by TestComplete and run in local environments.

Web Components is a collection of APIs that allows creating custom and reusable elements for web applications. Web Components include several specifications; among them are Shadow DOM, Custom Elements, HTML Templates and HTML Imports. This topic describes the support that TestComplete provides for the Web Components and how you can create tests for web applications that implement Web Components technologies.

You can find more information on Web Components at webcomponents.org/specs and developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Web_Components.

Support for Web Components

TestComplete can recognize and access custom web elements implemented with the following Web Components technologies:

Video Tutorial
 

Requirements

  • An active license for TestComplete Web module.

  • The following plugins must be enabled in File > Install Extensions:

    • Web Testing

    • Chrome Support

    • Firefox Support

    These plugins are enabled by default when you install TestComplete.

  • Your TestComplete project must be configured to support Web Components technologies. Projects created in TestComplete version 14.0 and later are configured to support them by default. If you have projects created in earlier TestComplete versions or if you have modified default properties with which TestComplete creates all new projects, configure your project manually. See Test Project Configuration.

  • Shadow DOM trees in your tested web application must be open.

For detailed information, see Support for Web Components - Requirements.

Creating and Recording Tests for Web Applications That Use Web Components

TestComplete can recognize elements residing in Shadow DOM trees and custom web elements the same way it recognizes regular web elements. You can record and play back user actions on such elements, or you can create tests manually from scratch. Usually, it is easier to record the test first and then modify and enhance the recorded test.

When you record a test, you interact with the tested web application as an end-user would: navigate through the application’s screens, fill out forms, and so on. TestComplete captures all actions you perform in the application and adds them to the test.

A test consists of a sequence of operations that define various interactions with objects in the tested application. For example, in the sample test below, you can see that item selection from a custom combo box is represented by the ClickItem operation, clicking a custom button - by the ClickButton operation, and so on.

Testing web applications that use Web Components in TestComplete: Sample keyword test recorded against a web application that uses Web Components
Sample keyword test recorded against a web application that uses Web Components

JavaScript, JScript

function Test_WebComponentsExample(exampleURL)
{
  Browsers.Item(btChrome).Navigate(exampleURL);

  var page = Aliases.browser.pageWebComponentsExample;
  var shadowRoot = page.xElement.shadowroot;

  shadowRoot.textbox1.SetText("text");
  shadowRoot.checkbox.ClickChecked(true);
  shadowRoot.listbox.ClickItem("Item2");

  page.xSelect.ClickItem("Option2");
  page.xButton.ClickButton();

}

Python

def Test_WebComponentsExample(exampleURL):
                              
  Browsers.Item[btChrome].Navigate(exampleURL)
                                 
  page = Aliases.browser.pageWebComponentsExample
  shadowRoot = page.xElement.shadowroot
                                 
  shadowRoot.textbox1.SetText("text")
  shadowRoot.checkbox.ClickChecked(True)
  shadowRoot.listbox.ClickItem("Item4")

  page.xSelect.ClickItem("Option2")
  page.xButton.ClickButton()

VBScript

Sub Test_WebComponentsExample(exampleURL)

  Browsers.Item(btChrome).Navigate(exampleURL)

  Set page = Aliases.browser.pageWebComponentsExample
  Set shadowRoot = page.xElement.shadowroot

  shadowRoot.textbox1.SetText("text")
  shadowRoot.checkbox.ClickChecked(True)
  shadowRoot.listbox.ClickItem("Item2")

  page.xSelect.ClickItem("Option2")
  page.xButton.ClickButton

End Sub

DelphiScript

procedure Test_WebComponentsExample(exampleURL);
var page, shadowRoot;
begin
  Browsers.Item(btChrome).Navigate(exampleURL);

  page := Aliases.browser.pageWebComponentsExample;
  shadowRoot := page.xElement.shadowroot;

  shadowRoot.textbox1.SetText('text');
  shadowRoot.checkbox.ClickChecked(true);
  shadowRoot.listbox.ClickItem('Item2');

  page.xSelect.ClickItem('Option2');
  page.xButton.ClickButton;

end;

C++Script, C#Script

function Test_WebComponentsExample(exampleURL)
{
  Browsers["Item"](btChrome)["Navigate"](exampleURL);

  var page = Aliases["browser"]["pageWebComponentsExample"];
  var shadowRoot = page["xElement"]["shadowroot"];

  shadowRoot["textbox1"]["SetText"]("text");
  shadowRoot["checkbox"]["ClickChecked"](true);
  shadowRoot["listbox"]["ClickItem"]("Item2");

  page["xSelect"]["ClickItem"]("Option2");
  page["xButton"]["ClickButton"]();

}

The recorded tests can be modified and enhanced in a number of ways to create more flexible and efficient tests. For example, you can:

  • 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.

Refer to the following topics to learn more about creating and enhancing tests:

Task See topic…
Creating tests using recording Recording Tests
Creating tests manually Keyword Testing and Scripting
Simulating user actions Working With Application Objects and Controls
Running tests Running Tests
Launching applications automatically at the beginning of the test run Launch Web Browsers
Creating checkpoints for verifying application behavior and state Checkpoints
Running multiple test iterations using data from an external file Data-Driven Testing

Addressing Objects in Web Applications That Use Web Components

There are several ways to refer to objects in web applications:

Using Name Mapping and Aliases

By default, when you record a test, TestComplete automatically adds recorded objects to the Name Mapping repository in your project and uses names it assigns to mapped objects (such names are called aliases) to refer them in tests. You can see mapped objects and their aliases in the Name Mapping repository:

Testing web applications that use Web Components in TestComplete: Elements of the Shadow DOM tree in the Name Mapping editor

Click the image to enlarge it.

Without Name Mapping

To work with objects not added to the Name Mapping repository, you can address them using syntax that directly includes identification properties. To learn what syntax is needed to refer to a specific object, view the object’s FullName property in the Object Browser:

Testing web applications that use Web Components in TestComplete: Addressing Shadow DOM tree elements by their full name

Click the image to enlarge it.

Tests Created in Earlier TestComplete Versions

In versions prior to version 12.70, TestComplete might recognize some custom web elements as TextNode objects (or other regular web elements). If you have tests created in those earlier versions and working with Web Components via TextNode objects, you can do one of the following:

  • (Recommended.) Configure your test projects to support Web Components properly and update your tests to work with your web application using support that TestComplete provides for Shadow DOM and Custom Elements:

    • To address custom elements, use names that TestComplete forms for them based on the name under which they are registered in your web application.

    • To map custom elements, use the CustomObjectType property that TestComplete adds to all custom elements.

    • To access shadow trees, use the ShadowRoot object.

  • Keep your tests. Make sure that the Enable support for Web Components option is disabled in your TestComplete projects. Otherwise, your tests will fail.

See Also

Support for Web Components

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