Silverlight UI Automation with Test Studio Suite–Your Questions Answered

During our most recent webinar, “Silverlight UI Automation with Test Studio,” Jim Holmes shared practical tips on ways to connect to Silverlight applications, automate custom controls, handle data visualization and more. You can watch the webinar recording here.

Below are answers to some of the questions that were asked during the webinar.

Q: Can we use Test Studio for any version of Silverlight?

A: Telerik Test Studio supports Silverlight 5 only.

Q: Will one test work in multiple versions of IE?

A: Yes! See the System Requirements documentation page for specific supported versions.

Q: What about TFS Integration?

A: Please see this great article in our documentation

Q: Is it possible to access repository via code? How do I switch to the code view?

A: You can access the element repository in code via the Pages object. Switch to code view by adding a script step.

Q: How do I check for an example that the book with given name exists in a list?

A: There are several ways to approach this. You could use a coded step and find the collections of elements, then use an assert to verify the item is in that collection. (Try adding NUnit to your project’s references and use their great CollectionAssert methods!) You could also simply do a verification on the UI that the outer element has a match where its InnerText “contains” some text from the book.

Q: Does the platform have any known incompatibility issues with custom controls?

A: Custom controls should generally work. You can help yourself by using AutomationID properties wherever it makes sense in those controls.

Q: What is the cost for the license?

A: You can find all the pricing details on the Telerik website.

Q: Does Test Studio suite require the screen be unlocked when playing back tests?

A: Generally and practically, yes. This is due to a restriction in the Windows security systems and has nothing to do with Test Studio suite. Any time you need to access desktop API commands (think of things like Real Typing, drag-and-drop or dialog boxes), the system must be unlocked. Again, this is a restriction of Windows, not Test Studio suite.

Q: Is it required to record the entire path of an element to the repository, or could wildcard/relative XPath patterns be given that could look up an object from under a particular hierarchy level?

A: No, you don’t have to use the entire path of an element/object—as a matter of fact, you shouldn’t. Full paths are very, VERY brittle. Instead, when modifying an element’s Find Logic, start from the element itself and move back up the DOM/XamlTree just far enough to find something unique, say an ID/AutomationID or the like.

Q: Is there any option to send mail to some specific email IDs as the result/execution summary?

A: Yes. This is available for test list execution. See the documentation.

Q: Is it only a record and playback tool? Can we add any code or assertions to validate the results?

A: No. One of Test Studio suite’s strengths is the ability to mix record/playback and code where you need to. You can add script steps for custom verifications, complex find logic, system configuration and so on. To see more about this, please look through articles at blogs.telerik.com, videos on tv.telerik.com, or take one of our training courses.

Q: Can Test Studio run command line or PowerShell commands?

A: Yes. You can accomplish this through coded steps.

Q: How may I data drive validation of values of a text box/combo box? In other words, how do you hook the validation values with a db/excel sheet for different runs?

A: Please see the documentation’s section on Data Driving. There’s also plenty of great examples on blogs.telerik.com and tv.telerik.com.

Q: Do you offer support for TFS bugs?

A: No, we don’t want any TFS bugs coming into Test Studio suite. If you meant pushing bug reports into TFS, then we can help you out. Get started with this documentation article.

Q: Can we take screenshots of failed tests? And, what kind of reports can we get at the end of test runs?

A: Screen shots are taken automatically and are available in the Step Failure Details screen. Please see the Test Results section of the documentation for information about post-test run data.

Q: Can you debug through the code of the Step?

A: Test Studio suite’s Visual Debugger is detailed here in the documentation. Debugging in the Visual Studio plugin works just like regular debugging in that environment.

Q: Where can we get the demo version of the tool to do a trial run on the application?

A: You can find a link to download Test Studio suite’s trial right on the product’s home page. Important Note: There are no restrictions at all on the trial, other than a 30-day time limit. It’s a full-featured trial with no limitations. Plus, you get legendary Telerik support during the entire trial.

Q: Another product we have is written in Delphi. Will Test Studio suite work with unmanaged code, or.NET languages only?

A: Test Studio suite supports any application that renders in a web browser or is pure WPF or SL out-of-browser.

Thank you all for your interest! For upcoming webinars, visit this page.

Try Test Studio suite for your Silverlight applications.