Remote Desktop is a built-in Windows feature you can use to access a Windows session running on a computer from another computer. To do this, the computer must have special server-side software installed. It can be software included in the operating system, or it can be third-party software (for example, VNC, DameWare, or NetOP).
To run automated tests via Remote Desktop, you install TestLeft on a remote computer, and then use Remote Desktop to connect to the computer and start testing.
Why Use Remote Desktop
You can use Remote Desktop if you need, for example, to:
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Run tests on remote computers and observe the tested application’s behavior on remote computers.
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Run tests on computers that are locked by security reasons.
To Run Tests on Remote Desktop
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Make sure the remote computer where you will run tests has TestLeft installed.
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If needed, lock the computer where you will run tests.
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Log in to the TestLeft workstation via Remote Desktop from your local computer.
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Start running TestLeft tests. You can run them directly on the remote computer or you can start them remotely from your local computer.
Important Notes
When running GUI tests via Remote Desktop, do not perform the following actions:
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Do not lock the computer.
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Do not disconnect from the Remote Desktop Connection session. If you need to disconnect from the session, see Disconnecting From Remote Desktop While Running Automated Tests.
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Do not minimize the Remote Desktop window. As a workaround, you can change the registry settings on your local computer. See Running Tests in Minimized Remote Desktop Windows.
This way, you will keep the operating system in GUI mode so that the test engine could interact with the GUI of the tested application.
| Note: | These restrictions do not apply to tests that do not involve interactions with GUI. |
Licensing
If your remote computer is running under a server version of the Windows operating system, you can open several user sessions on it. However, the number of TestComplete/TestExecute/TestLeft instances running concurrently depends on your license.
If you have a Node-Locked license, only one instance can run on the computer at a time. That is, you can run tests in one user session only.
If you have a Floating User license, your license key determines the number of instances that can run concurrently. The number of user sessions in which you run tests cannot exceed the limit set by the license.
If you want to run tests in several user sessions connected to the same server, we recommend that you use the TestLeft test runner as it is always installed with a Floating User license.