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Test Author Guide
This guide describes how to create test scripts and enhances them by applying different test elements such as dataset, variables, and verification points.
Tests in the UI Test perspective
When you develop web applications, Windows-based applications, or mobile applications, you can use HCL OneTest™ UI to create functional tests for these applications. You must first record the tests and then use HCL OneTest UI to run the tests before you can view the test results.
Web UI tests
You can test web applications in HCL OneTest™ UI by using the industry-standard browsers such as Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. You can record Web UI tests and then play back the tests to evaluate the test results. You can also test the web applications on dual monitors when you extend the display of your computer to a secondary monitor.
Editing Web UI tests
With the test editor, you can view and customize a Web UI test.
Providing tests with variable data (datasets)
You can produce more realistic tests by changing them to use datasets. During execution, a test that uses a dataset replaces a value in the recorded test with variable test data that is stored in the dataset. This substitution allows each virtual user to generate a different request to the server.
Dataset overview
Datasets provide tests with variable data during a run. When you record a test, you perform a sequence of steps that you expect a typical user to perform. After the recording, a test is generated that captures these interactions. When you run this test, it uses the same data that you used during recording. To vary the data in the test, you use a dataset, that contains variable data. At run time, this variable data is substituted for the data in the recorded test.

Test Author Guide
This guide describes how to create test scripts and enhances them by applying different test elements such as dataset, variables, and verification points.
- Tests in the UI Test perspective
  When you develop web applications, Windows-based applications, or mobile applications, you can use HCL OneTest™ UI to create functional tests for these applications. You must first record the tests and then use HCL OneTest UI to run the tests before you can view the test results.
  - Web UI tests
    You can test web applications in HCL OneTest™ UI by using the industry-standard browsers such as Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. You can record Web UI tests and then play back the tests to evaluate the test results. You can also test the web applications on dual monitors when you extend the display of your computer to a secondary monitor.
    - Creating Web UI tests
      See the different ways to record Web UI tests. After the recording stops, the tests are generated automatically.
    - Editing Web UI tests
      With the test editor, you can view and customize a Web UI test.
      - Inserting browser navigation actions in a Web UI test
        While editing a Web UI test, you can add or insert browser navigation actions, such as Back, Forward, Close, Maximize, Refresh, Restore, GoToUrl, and several others.
      - Verification points
        During the playback of tests, verification points verify that certain action has occurred or they verify the state of a control or an object. When you create a verification point for an action, a control, or an object in a recorded test, you capture information about the action, control, or object to build a baseline for comparison when the test is played back.
      - Assigning a test variable to an object property
        You can use the value of a UI object property and assign the value to a test variable in all the UI tests created for Android, iOS, hybrid, or native mobile applications, desktop applications, and web applications. The process of assigning a variable to an object property is called a variable assignment.
      - Adding a loop
        To run a test or part of a test repeatedly for a specified number of times or duration, add a loop to the test. You can add a loop to the Launch Application node or In Application node.
      - Adding conditional logic to tests
        You can insert the If-Else logic for a section of test to make those steps run only if a specific condition is met.
      - Splitting UI actions
        After you record a test, you can split the test actions into multiple test segments with different nodes. With the test-splitting capability, you can record a relatively long scenario with many functional steps against an application and then, in the editor, modify the target apps. Then you can generate multiple tests from a single recording that you can replay in a different order with a schedule.
      - Optimizing the playback time of a test
        When you play back a Web UI test, by default, the test collects a lot of data. This data includes screen shots, response time breakdown data, and highlighted UI controls. The size of a test depends upon the data it contains; playback time increases as the size of a test increases. To optimize the playback time, you can choose to collect only the data which you need.
      - Optimizing Web UI load testing for scalability
        Scalability denotes the number of virtual users that can be emulated on an agent machine to generate load. In a Web UI load test, each virtual user requires one instance of a web browser to be run. Because each instance of a browser consumes key computer resources such as memory, CPU and Network data, you must tune a few of the parameters to comfortably run appropriate number of browser (virtual users) on an agent machine.
      - Actions from the SmartShot View
        The SmartShot View displays the screen captures that were captured during the recording of the application under test. Use this view to display and select user interface (UI) elements and optionally add verification points to the test script.
      - Adding the drag-and-drop action in a Web UI test
        When you record a Web UI test that requires you to drag and drop an object manually onto another object, you must edit the recorded test to add the drag-and-drop action.
      - Enhancement of test script robustness
        Web UI tests in HCL OneTest™ UI might encounter issues with object recognition during playback, that can lead to test failures or errors. To address the issues and to improve test robustness, you can use various methods.
      - Substituting the URL of an application by using Datasets
        If you have the same Web UI application deployed on different servers corresponding to different phases of a project (development, production, etc.), or different versions of the application for example, you might want to execute the same Web UI test on all these servers at once. To switch from one server to another, you can edit the URL of the application and run the test on a different server. To execute tests on different environments at once, you can substitute the URL from a dataset so that you can run the same test in a loop on different servers.
      - Extension of application URL in Web UI tests
      - Overview of guided healing and self-healing
      - Validating images and user interface elements by using the image property
        When you play back the Web UI test, you can validate the images and user interface elements by the using the image property. After you define a test step to use image property, during playback, HCL OneTest™ UI locates and compares the selected image with the target objects in the web pages and finds the best matching image.
      - Defining the Image property as object identifier for Web UI tests
        Before you start recording Web UI tests, you can define the image property as the object identifier. When image property is set as the object identifier, then the objects in the web application are recognized and captured as images while recording a Web UI test.
      - Applying guided healing feature for tests identified by the image property
        When you play back Web UI tests that use the image property to match target with actual images, the tests fail if there is a mismatch. You can use the guided healing feature that provides the capability of finding the next best matching image so that the tests can pass.
      - Extending Web UI tests with custom JavaScript code
        You can perform certain tasks to extend the Web UI tests that include advanced capabilities such as adding JavaScript code to tests, renaming a JavaScript in a test script, and creating a custom Java code.
      - Providing tests with variable data (datasets)
        You can produce more realistic tests by changing them to use datasets. During execution, a test that uses a dataset replaces a value in the recorded test with variable test data that is stored in the dataset. This substitution allows each virtual user to generate a different request to the server.
        Dataset overview
        Datasets provide tests with variable data during a run. When you record a test, you perform a sequence of steps that you expect a typical user to perform. After the recording, a test is generated that captures these interactions. When you run this test, it uses the same data that you used during recording. To vary the data in the test, you use a dataset, that contains variable data. At run time, this variable data is substituted for the data in the recorded test.
        Creating a dataset associated with a test
        You can create a dataset that contains variable data for tests to use when they run. This is the preferred way to create a dataset because the dataset is automatically associated with a test. You can create anything from an empty dataset that contains one column, which you can edit later, to a fully functioning dataset.
        Creating a dataset in a workspace
        You can create datasets in a workspace containing variable data that tests use when they run. You can use this method to create a dataset if you have not yet created the test that will use it.
        Converting an existing datapool to a dataset
        Starting from 9.5 the dataset formerly known as datapool is in the CSV format. You can convert any existing datapool to a dataset.
        Creating datasets with multiple substitutions
        Earlier to 9.2, you could substitute one dataset value at a time. Starting from 9.2, after the test is generated, you can view all the dataset candidates, add multiple candidates as dataset values, substitute values, and create a new dataset out of it. You can also substitute multiple dataset candidates for an existing dataset.
        Adding Dataset Mapper
        You can include a Dataset Mapper in a compound test or a schedule to assign the dataset values to the variables that are defined in multiple tests. In previous releases, to apply the dataset values to multiple tests, you had to associate the dataset to each test. The Dataset Mapper is able to map the dataset columns with the variables.
        How dataset options affect values that a virtual user retrieves
        The Open, Access, and Wrap modes that you select for a dataset affect the values that a virtual user retrieves.
        Enabling a test to use a dataset
        Before a test can use variable data from a dataset, you must update the test to include a reference to that dataset.
        Associating a test value with a dataset column
        After you have created a dataset and have enabled your test to use the dataset, you can associate a specific value in the test with a specific dataset column.
        Viewing dataset candidates when you open a test
        Dataset candidates are displayed automatically when you open a test for the first time. From the dataset candidates window you can view the dataset candidates in the test, bookmark locations of interest, and add or remove dataset references.
        Editing datasets
        You can add, modify, remove, import, or export data from a dataset by using the CSV Editor. The working principle of the CSV Editor is similar to that of a spreadsheet.
        Using a digital certificate store with a dataset
        You can associate the certificates in one or more certificate stores with a dataset to use multiple digital certificates during testing.
        Navigating between a dataset and a test
        After you have created a dataset or imported a comma-separate values (CSV) file into a dataset, you can navigate between the dataset and associated tests in the test editor. You can enlarge the test and the dataset, list the datasets that a test uses, navigate from a row in a dataset to the corresponding element in the test, see the data for a page or request, and add or remove dataset references.
      - Test variables
        A test variable is a user-defined, name-value pair that stores and refers to information throughout a test and between tests.
      - Specifying error-handling behavior
        You can specify how error conditions are handled when running a test or schedule. Error conditions include verification point failures, connection failures, server timeouts, custom code alerts, and problems with data correlation.
      - Inserting a custom log message into a UI test script
        You can insert a custom log message into the test script of Web UI, Windows, or mobile tests to differentiate a set of steps related to a task in the unified report. For example, you can add custom messages to demarcate the test steps related to order generation, user creation, or report generation in an application.
  - Mobile tests
    You can test the Android or iOS mobile applications by recording and playing back mobile tests on Android devices or emulators, iOS mobile devices or simulators by using HCL OneTest™ UI.
  - Windows tests
    You can configure the Windows applications to record and play back tests on the Windows desktop applications. You can also test the Windows applications on dual monitors when you extend the display of your computer to a secondary monitor.
  - SAP tests
    When you record a test, the test creation wizard records your interactions with the SAP server, generates a test from the recording, and opens the test for editing. You can record tests from the SAP GUI. You can also record SAP batch input tests that can be used to produce a heavy load on the server while minimizing the processing requirements for virtual testers.
  - Selenium or Appium tests
    You can manage your Selenium or Appium Java™ tests from the UI Test perspective, where you can import and modify the tests, add them to compound tests, and run them. You can also create new Appium Java tests from the Perfecto perspective on Windows™ and Mac OS, add the tests to compound tests, and run them. Perfecto is not currently supported on Linux®.
  - Compound tests
    You can create compound tests to help you organize smaller tests into scenarios that can then be run end-to-end. You can combine tests from different extensions to achieve end-to-end flow.
  - Accelerated Functional Tests
    When you create Web UI, mobile, or Windows tests, you can use the Accelerated Functional Test (AFT) feature in HCL OneTest™ UI to distribute test effort during the play back of the recorded tests.
  - Keywords
    In HCL OneTest™ UI, you can record and then associate Test Workbench tests with the keywords that are created in IBM® Rational® Quality Manager. The keywords are used in manual tests in Rational Quality Manager. When you run a manual test that contains a keyword associated with a HCL OneTest Studio test, the Test Workbench test is run on the workstation where the adapter has been started.
- Tests in the Functional Test perspective
  When you develop Java, HTML, or Terminal-based applications, you can use HCL OneTest™ UI to create traditional functional tests for these applications. You must first record the tests and then use HCL OneTest UI to run the tests before you can view the test results.
- Extending the UI Test perspective with custom Java™ code
  You can use custom code to extend the default Web UI testing capabilities. You can write custom Java™ code and call the code from the test. You can also specify that results from the tests that are affected by your custom code to be included in reports.
- Extending the Functional Test perspective
  You can use custom code to extend the default functional testing capabilities. You can write custom code and call the code from the test. You can also specify that results from the tests that are affected by your custom code to be included in reports.
- Extending the functionality in the Visual Studio IDE
  These topics describe various ways that you can customize HCL OneTest™ UI or use the application programming interface (API) to extend HCL OneTest UI functionality.
- Experimental Features
  HCL OneTest™ UI contains a set of pre-releases that enable you to test various experimental features. These experimental features, while still in progress, are introduced early in the release to seek your feedback on its overall functionality and performance. You can play around with these capabilities before they are made available and supported as a general feature in an upcoming release.

Dataset overview

Datasets provide tests with variable data during a run. When you record a test, you perform a sequence of steps that you expect a typical user to perform. After the recording, a test is generated that captures these interactions. When you run this test, it uses the same data that you used during recording. To vary the data in the test, you use a dataset, that contains variable data. At run time, this variable data is substituted for the data in the recorded test.

If you need to create a dataset with many records, you can initialize the dataset by importing data from a comma-separated-value (CSV) file. Also, you can export test data from your dataset into a CSV file to enable you to maintain large volumes of test data as a spreadsheet for reuse. Earlier to 9.5, the dataset (formerly known as datapool) was in .datapool format and starting from the 9.5 release, the dataset is in the csv format.

You can copy the CSV file and paste into your project to import the data from a CSV file and create a dataset. Similarly, to export the dataset values as a CSV file, you must copy the dataset from your project and paste it into your local machine.

Note: Alternatively, you can use the Import option available in the CSV editor to import the data from a CSV file. For more information, see Editing datasets.

Perform the following steps should you plan to create a test that searches the HCL® website for three items: HCL OneTest™ Performance, HCL OneTest™ UI, and IBM® Rational® Manual Tester:

Record a test that searches for one item.
Create a dataset and associate it with the test. For more information, see Creating a dataset associated with a test.
Associate a request in the test with a column in the dataset. For more information, see Associating a test value with a dataset column.
Add a loop in the test to fetch the values from different rows of a dataset. A test without a loop fetches the value only from the first row of the dataset.