Webcorder on-line help

A recent update of webcorder has been released, which fixes a couple of bugs. In particular, the ability to record textareas has now been included

Go to the download page and re-download it.

Overview

WebCorder is our free GUI web testing tool. It is designed for end users who are doing web based software testing, as a simple tool to record and playback test scenarios. The user may also check for text or images on the screen using the check button (magnifying glass), or save screenshots (camera).

Pre-requisites

This software has only been tested on Windows XP, running IE6. However, it is believed that it should work on Windows 98 upwards, and IE4 upwards.

NOTE THAT After you download and install the software, you'll need to reboot so that the VB runtime files work. If you try to run the software without rebooting then the software will fail with an activex message.

ALSO NOTE THAT on first use, you are required to supply default folders for scripts, images and log files. The folders must already exist, so create them if need be before running the software for the first time. These folders store the scripts themselves, the screen shots taken upon request (or if the script fails), and logs of the execution.

Recording a script

The software is basically record and playback, with a few niceties. Once the software has loaded, click on record, enter the URL in the space provided,and click on "go". DONT FORGET TO RECORD THIS FIRST STEP !! Then use the site as you would normally. You will notice the recording window on the left start filling up as you navigate the site. Once you've finished recording, click on the stop button and then take "file/save" from the menu bar. That's about it really.

Checking for images / text on the page

An important part of the scripting is to check pages as they load to ensure that they contain the information expected. To do this when recording a script simply click on the magnifying glass, hover over the thing you expect to see - either an image or text - and then press the left alt key. This will make the script check for that text/image on playback. To check for multiple items, simply repeat this :- click on the magnifying glass, hover, press left alt.

Frames and Alerts

Frames, including inline frames, are excluded from the normal record/playback process. This is because under W3C rules external frames are not exposed via the object model. There is one way round this, which is to record the mouse. If you click on the checkbox, the mouse position is recorded and a click is issued at that postition on the screen during playback. You need to uncheck the box after you've finished playing with frames.

Silent Mode

Note that by default the scripts run in silent mode. This suppresses every javascript pop-up, whether a script error or an intentional alert message. You can switch silent mode on and off via the checkbox. Currently, this switching of silent mode is not recorded as a step

Manual Steps

To record a manual step, click on the hand. You'll then need to enter a brief description of the manual step to remind the user what to do on playback. When you have finished your manual step, click on the pause button to continue recording.

Forcing a screenshot

Whenever a step fails on playback, a screenshot is automatically taken. However, you can force a screenshot by click on the camera icon while recording a script. You will be prompted to give a file name, which will form part of the actual file name that the saved bitmap will have.

Editing Scripts

The idea is that scripts are not edited - the design is to make regression testing easy for user testers, not for professionl testers. That said, the scripts themselves are stored as simple CSV files. Ergo a super user could edit scripts to change values, or combine scripts to make one long script. One word iof warning, they are DOS CSV files so edit them in a text editor, not Excel.

Playback - Storage of results

The log files are named after the scripts and have a timestamp for ease of use. Any images generated will have their paths explicitly stated in the log files.

Playback of multiple scripts

You can also supply a batch file to run a number of scripts in sequence. Simply have the batch file run the executable with a parameter of the FULL path to the required script file, not just the file name.
eg if the executable is in
C:\Program Files\CSL_Webcorder
(i.e. the default) and your scripts are in folder
C:\Program Files\CSL_Webcorder\Scripts
then a batch file might look like this:

cd C:\Program Files\CSL_Webcorder
webcorder.exe C:\Program Files\CSL_Webcorder\Scripts\test1.csv
webcorder.exe C:\Program Files\CSL_Webcorder\Scripts\test2.csv
webcorder.exe C:\Program Files\CSL_Webcorder\Scripts\test3.csv

Note that the scripts will execute sequentially, not simultaneously.

© 2005 Crimson Solutions