Load Testing Blog
Accessing downloaded files in real-browser testcases
Dealing with file downloads is considered by many to be problematic when developing testcases with Selenium/WebDriver. Web Performance Tester (WPT) makes this task relatively effortless when working with Chrome – when the virtual user will initiates a download (by clicking something), the file will be downloaded into a directory that exists only for the duration of that testcase. This solves one problem – running out of disk space due to files downloaded during test iterations – because when the testcase ends, the temporary folder is removed along with the downloaded files.
Some tests require validating the content of the file, so … Continue reading »
Google Chrome 38 Recording Workaround
The latest version of 38 Google Chrome changed the security rules so that the recording feature of Load Tester 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 doesn’t work right out of the box. We’re working on a fix, but in the meantime when you start recording on Chrome you’ll see this shield icon in the top right-hand corner.
Web Performance QA Tester and Load Tester 6.4 Released
Real-browser testing can increase your productivity over other testing methods. The features added in the 6.4 release will help you work even more efficiently!
Locator Suggestions
One of the more challenging aspects of working with real-browser testcases is locating the element that you need to interact with. Starting in 6.4, a suggestion button next to every locator field will provide a variety of different locators that you can try if the default locator does not work. These suggestions also help you learn how to create locators – as you will see a wide variety of locator suggestions provided.
Read more about Continue reading »
Automated Choice configuration in Web Performance Tester 6.4
When building a testcase to simulate your users, at some point, you’ll want to ask how much variation you can add to your testcase. Real users may be doing searches, but there’s a good chance that your users are using different search terms. Likewise, users may be entering records, but most likely not every record should be entered identically. Every version of Load Tester & QA Tester support the use of datasets, to make it easy to create a list of terms, which can be supplied back as a virtual user traverses their workflow. However, for drop-downs or radio buttons, … Continue reading »
Create verify steps on-the-fly during real-browser recording in 6.4 release
Verifying elements and text on the page is an important part of every testcase. Web Performance Tester makes this easy by adding verify steps directly from the browser while recording the testcase. The Verify option in the browsers pop-up menu provides a list of the most common verifications:
In addition to verifying the page title and URL, there are three categories of verifications supported:
For any element, you can verify:
text of the element
element exists
element is visible
element is clickable
For any field (text input, button, checkbox, etc) you can verify:
field value
field is (or not) selected
By selecting text on the page, you can verify … Continue reading »
Real browsers vs virtual browsers: which to choose for your testing?
Since version 6, Web Performance Tester has supported two different ways to simulate user behavior on a website for testing: real browsers and virtual browsers. These two methods take very different approaches to the problem and each has different advantages and disadvantages. Those are not always obvious at first glance, so I’d like to run through the key difference to help you decide.
But first, a brief description of the two approaches:
Real browsers – When using the real-browser approach, the test is defined in terms of the actions the that a human would take in the browser in order to complete … Continue reading »
Debug real-browser tests with breakpoints in QA Tester and Load Tester
Since the first release of real-browser support, it has been possible to pause a testcase replay using the pause button. If you need to stop in the middle of a long testcase, however, it can inconvenient to sit and wait for the important part. Web Performance Tester™ (WPT) now supports breakpoints in real-browser testcases. To set or clear a breakpoint, select the step and choose “Toggle Breakpoint(s)” from the pop-up menu. The breakpoint will be indicated with a matching pause icon on the step.
During interactive replays, the virtual user will pause when it reaches any step with a breakpoint. … Continue reading »
Easily find an element with locator suggestions
Accurately and reliably locating the right element to interact with is one of the biggest challenges with real-browser testing, both in our products (QA Tester and Load Tester) as well as when coding tests to the Selenium/WebDriver APIs. Our upcoming 6.4 release provides suggestions for a variety of locators that may be a suitable replacement for the locator that was chosen during the testcase recording. If you are accustomed to using SeleniumIDE, you find that our implementation operates provides a familiar experience.
To access these suggestions, look for the light bulb icon next to the locator edit field. To … Continue reading »
Best Practices for Recording a Testcase to Work the First Time
Sometimes, HTTP testcase don’t work immediately after being recorded. Your application may require special configuration, or your workflow may need some special data entry in order to work in a repeatable fashion. However, sometimes the problem can be compounded by easily avoidable conditions.
Recommendation 1: Close unnecessary applications while recording
During recording, Load Tester will capture HTTP and HTTPS network traffic from your workstation as you record. This allows Load Tester to observe your recorded browser window, and child windows that may be spawned from it. If you have other browser windows open, e-mail clients, etc, these can all interfere with the … Continue reading »
Web Performance Introduces QA Tester™ with 6.2 release
Ever since I began the work of adding real-browser support to Load Tester, I have been eager to apply that technology to QA and functional testing. As I learned about Selenium/WebDriver and how QA testers were using it, I saw a need for a powerful, easy-to-use tool that builds on Selenium/WebDriver. This release is our first step towards addressing that need. This premier release of QA Tester gives testers a rich UI environment to create test cases with little or no programming experience required.
Test cases can be run together to validate that a test site is functioning correctly, or they … Continue reading »