RK QTP Classes

Functional Test Automation using QTP:

Test automation: It is the use of software to control the execution of tests, the comparison of actual outcomes to predicted outcomes, the setting up of test preconditions, and other test control and test reporting functions. Commonly, test automation involves automating a manual process already in place that uses a formalized testing process.

Automated Testing Advantages, Disadvantages and Guidelines

§   Detailed test cases, including predictable "expected results", which have been developed from Business Functional Specifications and Design documentation

§  A standalone Test Environment, including a Test Database that is restorable to a known constant, such that the test cases are able to be repeated each time there are modifications made to the application.

The following types of testing can be automated

§  Functional - testing that operations perform as expected.

§  Regression - testing that the behavior of the system has not changed.

§  Exception or Negative - forcing error conditions in the system.

§  Stress - determining the absolute capacities of the application and operational infrastructure.

§  Performance - providing assurance that the performance of the system will be adequate for both batch runs and online transactions in relation to business projections and requirements.

§  Load - determining the points at which the capacity and performance of the system become degraded to the situation that hardware or software upgrades would be required.

Benefits of Automated Testing

Reliable: Tests perform precisely the same operations each time they are run, thereby eliminating human error

Repeatable: You can test how the software reacts under repeated execution of the same operations. 
Programmable: You can program sophisticated tests that bring out hidden information from the application. 

Comprehensive: You can build a suite of tests that covers every feature in your application.

Reusable: You can reuse tests on different versions of an application, even if the user interface changes.

Better Quality Software: Because you can run more tests in less time with fewer resources

Fast: Automated Tools run tests significantly faster than human users.

Cost Reduction: As the number of resources for regression test are reduced.

Choosing the right tools for the job and targeting the right areas of the organization to deploy them can only realize these benefits. The right areas where the automation fit must be chosen.

The following areas must be automated first

1. Highly redundant tasks or scenarios 
2. Repetitive tasks that are boring or tend to cause human error 
3. Well-developed and well-understood use cases or scenarios first 
4. Relatively stable areas of the application over volatile ones must be automated.

Automated testers must follow the following guidelines to get the benefits of automation:

• Concise: As simple as possible and no simpler.

• Self-Checking: Test reports its own results; needs no human interpretation.

• Repeatable: Test can be run many times in a row without human intervention.

• Robust: Test produces same result now and forever. Tests are not affected by changes in the external environment.

• Sufficient: Tests verify all the requirements of the software being tested.

• Necessary: Everything in each test contributes to the specification of desired behavior.

• Clear: Every statement is easy to understand.

• Efficient: Tests run in a reasonable amount of time.

• Specific: Each test failure points to a specific piece of broken functionality; unit test failures provide "defect triangulation".

• Independent: Each test can be run by itself or in a suite with an arbitrary set of other tests in any order.

• Maintainable: Tests should be easy to understand and modify and extend.

• Traceable: To and from the code it tests and to and from the requirements.

Disadvantages of Automation Testing

Though the automation testing has many advantages, it has its own disadvantages too. Some of the disadvantages are: 

• Proficiency is required to write the automation test scripts. 
• Debugging the test script is major issue. If any error is present in the test script, sometimes it may lead to deadly consequences. 
• Test maintenance is costly in case of playback methods. Even though a minor change occurs in the GUI, the test script has to be rerecorded or replaced by a new test script. 
• Maintenance of test data files is difficult, if the test script tests more screens. 

Some of the above disadvantages often cause damage to the benefit gained from the automated scripts. Though the automation testing has pros and corns, it is adapted widely all over the world.

http://www.slideshare.net/alikhan_nazeer80/automation-testing-benefits

Automated vs Manual testing

ADVANTAGES
Automated Testing	Manual Testing
• If you have to run a set of tests repeatedly automation is a huge gain	• If Test Cases have to be run a small number of times it's more likely to perform manual testing
• Helps performing "compatibility testing" - testing the software on different configurations	• It allows the tester to perform more ad-hoc (random testing)
• It gives you the ability to run automation scenariosto perform regressions in a shorter time	• Short term costs are reduced
• It gives you the ability to run regressions on a code that is continously changing	• The more time tester spends testing a module the grater the odds to find real user bugs
• Can be run simultaneously on different machines thus decreasing testing time
• Long term costs are reduced
DISADVANTAGES
Automated Testing	Manual Testing
• It's more expensive to automate. Initial investments are bigger than manual testing	• Manual tests can be very time consuming
• You cannot automate everything, some tests still have to be done manually	• For every release you must rerun the same set of tests which can be tiresome
OTHER FACTORS
• The performance of yout test tools
• The knowledge level of your testing team
• The continous growth of software to be tested
• Number of necessary regressions

Manual and Automation testing Challenges

Software Testing has lot of challenges both in manual as well as in automation.Generally in manual testing scenario developers through the build to test team assuming the responsible test team or tester will pick the build and will come to ask what the build is about? This is the case in organizations not following so-called ‘processes’. Tester is the middleman between developing team and the customers, handling the pressure from both the sides. And I assume most of our readers are smart enough to handle this pressure. Aren’t you?

This is not the case always. Some times testers may add complications in testing process due to their unskilled way of working.In this post I have added most of the testing challenges created due to testing staff, developing staff, testing processes and wrong management decisions.

So here we go with the top challenges:

1) Testing the complete application: 
Is it possible? I think impossible. There are millions of test combinations. It’s not possible to test each and every combination both in manual as well as in automation testing. If you try all these combinations you will never ship the product 

2) Misunderstanding of company processes:
Some times you just don’t pay proper attention what the company-defined processes are and these are for what purposes. There are some myths in testers that they should only go with company processes even these processes are not applicable for their current testing scenario. This results in incomplete and inappropriate application testing.

3) Relationship with developers:
Big challenge. Requires very skilled tester to handle this relation positively and even by completing the work in testers way. There are simply hundreds of excuses developers or testers can make when they are not agree with some points. For this tester also requiresgood communication, troubleshooting and analyzing skill.

4) Regression testing:
When project goes on expanding the regression testing work simply becomes uncontrolled. Pressure to handle the current functionality changes, previous working functionality checks and bug tracking.

5) Lack of skilled testers:
I will call this as ‘wrong management decision’ while selecting or training testers for their project task in hand. These unskilled fellows may add more chaos than simplifying the testing work. This results into incomplete, insufficient and ad-hoc testing throughout thetesting life cycle.

6) Testing always under time constraint:
Hey tester, we want to ship this product by this weekend, are you ready for completion? When this order comes from boss, tester simply focuses on task completion and not on the test coverage and quality of work. There is huge list of tasks that you need to complete within specified time. This includes writing, executing, automating and reviewing the test cases.

7) Which tests to execute first?
If you are facing the challenge stated in point no 6, then how will you take decision which test cases should be executed and with what priority? Which tests are important over others? This requires good experience to work under pressure.

8 ) Understanding the requirements:
Some times testers are responsible for communicating with customers for understanding the requirements. What if tester fails to understand the requirements? Will he be able to test the application properly? Definitely No! Testers require good listening and understanding capabilities.

9) Automation testing:
Many sub challenges – Should automate the testing work? Till what level automation should be done? Do you have sufficient and skilled resources for automation? Is time permissible for automating the test cases? Decision of automation or manual testing will need to address the pros and cons of each process.

10) Decision to stop the testing:
When to stop testing? Very difficult decision. Requires core judgment of testing processes and importance of each process. Also requires ‘on the fly’ decision ability.

11) One test team under multiple projects:
Challenging to keep track of each task. Communication challenges. Many times results in failure of one or both the projects.

12) Reuse of Test scripts:
Application development methods are changing rapidly, making it difficult to manage the test tools and test scripts. Test script migration or reuse is very essential but difficult task.

13) Testers focusing on finding easy bugs:
If organization is rewarding testers based on number of bugs (very bad approach to judge testers performance) then some testers only concentrate on finding easy bugs those don’t require deep understanding and testing. A hard or subtle bug remains unnoticed in such testing approach.

14) To cope with attrition:
Increasing salaries and benefits making many employees leave the company at very short career intervals. Managements are facing hard problems to cope with attrition rate. Challenges – New testers require project training from the beginning, complex projects are difficult to understand, delay in shipping date!

Introduction to QuickTest Pro:

Overview of quick test pro

Overview
QTP is a UI automation framework designed mainly for Windows and Web-based applications. It works by identifying the objects in the application UI or a web page and performing the desired operations on them (like mouse clicks or keyboard events); it can also be used to capture object properties like name or handler ID etc. One of the most important topics in QTP is Object Identification.QTP uses a scripting language built on top of VBScript to specify the test procedure, and to manipulate the objects and controls of the application under test.
Though QTP is usually used for “UI Based” Test Case Automation, it can easily handle “Non-UI” based Test Cases. (e.g. API (Certification testing), Database Testing, etc.)
Some of the key features of QTP are:

Plug-ins
Plug-ins are used to make recording more acceptable to a specific application, we use web plug-ins to automate test cases with respect to web applications. QTP has default plug-ins for ActiveX controls, web applications and VB objects. Plug-ins for other objects, such as Microsoft .NETobjects, are also available. Multimedia plug-ins and a plug-in for Windows Mobile are also available. In general, each QTP plug-in is available at an additional cost.
And QTP identifies the windows objects, even if we don’t select any plug-ins at the launching of the application .

License Models
Three types of licenses are available from HP:
1. Demo License : a 14-day demo license
2. Seat license : permanent seat license that is specific to the computer on which it is installed.
3. Floating (Concurrent): Floating allows a license to be shared between machines at any given point in time. (1 floating license allows QTP to be accessible from an entire lab’s worth of PCs but can only have 1 instance running at any given point in time).

Record and Playback
Initial development of automated tests with QTP is usually done by record-and-playback. A user’s actions are captured via Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM). These are recorded into Actions, a kind of subroutine, as VBScript commands. All manipulated objects that QTP recognizes are also added to the object repository. Once recorded, the scripts are editable in either Keyword View or Expert View.
After clicking on the playback button all these actions will be played back. During playback, QTP attempts to identify and perform operations on the same objects, again using COM.

Checkpoints
Checkpoints are a feature used for verifying the application under test. One can add a checkpoint to check if a particular object, text or a bitmap is present in the automation run.
In short, checkpoints are used to verify that during the course of test execution, the actual application behavior or state is consistent with the expected application behavior or state.

There are 10 types of checkpoints available in QTP:
1. Standard Checkpoint — Checks the properties of an object.
2. Table Checkpoint — A Standard Checkpoint that checks the properties of a table.
3. Image Checkpoint — A Standard Checkpoint that checks the properties of an image.
4. Bitmap Checkpoint — Compares an area of the application under test pixel-for-pixel with the screen as seen at record-time.
5. Database Checkpoint — Used to automate back-end testing.
6. Text Checkpoint — Checks that a section of text is found between two other sections of text.
7. Text Area Checkpoint
8. Page Checkpoint — Checks the properties of a web page.
9. Accessibility Checkpoint — Checks the accessibility of an application.
10. XML Checkpoint
The VBScript Reporter.ReportEvent function also produces output very similar to that of a checkpoint, allowing the creation of custom checkpoints.

Recovery
Recovery is the name for exception handling in QTP, with the goal of enabling the tests to continue to run if an unexpected failure occurs. For instance if an application crash occurs and a message dialog appears, QTP can be instructed to attempt to restart the application and continue with the rest of the test cases from there

Output Value
This feature is used to store the run-time values/data that are displayed in the application into the run-time data table, so that we can use these run-time values in the script for further use.
Say we need the value which is dynamically created or processed by application for later use, we can go for output concept. We can follow the following example to understand. If the application produces an id for the person and we need that id, that can be solved using output concept, where we store value ‘id’ of that person in the data table and we can refer to that value later.

Data Table
The data table is a table primarily used to implement data-driven testing. It is implemented as a Microsoft Excel workbook that can be accessed from within QTP. There are two types of Data Tables available in QTP: the Global data sheet and the local data sheets. The Global data sheet is a single sheet which is accessible from every Action in a test. By default, each row of this sheet specifies the values to be used in an iteration of the entire test. The data table can be managed by other third party tools such as Grid Tools Datamaker, which offers features such as Data inheritance; substitution variables and version control.
There is also one local data sheet associated with each Action. As the Global data sheet specifies iterations of an entire test, these sheets are often used to set up iterations of a single Action. The data in these sheets can only be accessed from their associated Action. While it is possible to access a different Action’s local data sheet, it cannot be done from the Object Repository or from inside a checkpoint.

Virtual Objects
Complex objects may not be recognized properly by QTP. The Virtual Object concept was implemented to enable users to add some degree of support for these objects. If an object is not recorded out-of-the-box, an experienced user may be able to define that object as a personal virtual object and build a virtual object repository. Assuming that the required information can be extracted from the object, this allows the users to successfully record and playback against that object. In practice, this is not always possible.

Transactions
This feature can be used to calculate the time required to run a particular test or particular steps in the tests. Transactions are most often used in automated software performance testing, so they are infrequently used in QTP(Quick test Professional)

Results
QTP generates the result file for the test cases at the end of test in the form of XML tree. The result file provides detail regarding PASS and FAILS counts, error messages, and potentially supporting information that allows users to determine the underlying cause of a failure.

User Interface
QuickTest provides two main views of a script: Keyword View and Expert View. They are selected from tabs at the bottom of the QuickTest Professional window.

Keyword View
Keyword View is QTP’s default test procedure interface. It displays the automation steps of a test procedure as a descriptive tree of Actions and functions. The tree contains columns listing the Action or function name, any parameters, and comments. This mode is most useful for the beginners in operating with the tool. This view allows the user to select the objects either from the application or from the Object Repository and the user can select the methods to be performed on those objects. The script is automatically generated. Users can also set check points from keyword view.

Expert View
In Expert View, QTP allows display and editing of the a test’s source code. All test actions can be edited here except for the root Global action. Expert View acts as an IDE for the test. It includes most standard IDE features, such as breakpoints. This view is most suitable for the advanced users, enabling them to customize the test, such as by writing user-defined functions.

Languages
Supports VB Script. Supports classes but not supports polymorphism and inheritance

starting quicktest:

Loading QTP Add-in When Starting From QC

You can create a Template test with the addins u need and save it to QC .And then you can associate that Template Test script with ur script,so next time QTP will load with the addins u need .

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Creating a New Template Test
You create a template test by first creating a blank test in QuickTest with the required test settings. Then, in the Test Plan module of your Quality Center project, you browse to your QuickTest test and save it as a Template Test.

Note: When you save the test in QuickTest, you should apply a descriptive name that clearly indicates its purpose. For example, if the template test is to used to associate the ActiveX and Web Add-ins with a new test, you could call it ActiveX_Web_Addins_Template.

Tip: In the Quality Center test plan tree (Test Plan module), you may want to create a special folder for your template tests. This will enable other users to quickly locate the relevant template test when they create new QuickTest tests in Quality Center.

To create a template test:

In QuickTest:

Open QuickTest with the required add-ins loaded. For more information on loading QuickTest add-ins, see Loading QuickTest Add-ins.
Define the required settings in the Test Settings dialog box (File > Settings). For more information, see Using the Test Settings Dialog Box.
If you want to include comments or steps in all tests based on this template test, add them.
Click the Save button or choose File > Save to save the test. The Save Test to Quality Center dialog box opens. Save the test to your Quality Center project using a descriptive name that clearly indicates its purpose. For more information, see Saving Tests to a Quality Center Project.
In Quality Center:

Open the project in Quality Center, click the Test Plan button on the sidebar to open the Test Plan module, and browse to the test you saved in step 4.
Right-click the test and choose Mark as Template Test. The test is converted to a template test.
Repeat steps 1 to 6 to create additional template tests, as needed.
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You can refer QTP help file for more info .

What's QuickTest Professional (QTP Window?

Before you begin creating tests, you should familiarize yourself with the main QuickTest window.
The QuickTest window contains the following key elements:
. Title bar—Displays the name of the currently open test.
. Menu bar—Displays menus of QuickTest commands.
. File toolbar—Contains buttons to assist you in managing your test.
. Testing toolbar—Contains buttons to assist you in the testing process.
. Debug toolbar—Contains buttons to assist you in debugging tests.
. Test pane—Contains the Keyword View and Expert View tabs.
. Active Screen—Provides a snapshot of your application as it appeared when you performed a certain step during the recording session.
. Data Table—Assists you in parameterizing your test.
. Debug Viewer pane—Assists you in debugging your test. The Debug Viewer pane contains the Watch Expressions, Variables, and Command tabs. (The Debug Viewer pane is not displayed when you open QuickTest for the first time. You can display the Debug Viewer by choosing View < Debug Viewer.)
. Status bar—Displays the status of the QuickTest application.

QTP Commands

QTP Commands are available in 3 ways.

1.Menu options

2.Tool Bar options

3.Short cut keys (for Some important operations only)

File menu: Through file menu user can create, save tests, open existing tests, export tests in zip format.

Command	Function
New > Test	Creates a new test.
New > Business Component	Creates a new business component.
New > Scripted Component	Creates a new scripted component.
New > Application Area	Creates a new application area.
New > Function Library	Creates a new function library.
Open > Test	Opens an existing test.
Open > Business/Scripted Component	Opens an existing business or scripted component.
Open > Application Area	Opens an existing application area.
Open > Function Library	Opens an existing function library.
Close	Closes the active function library.
Close All Function Libraries	Closes all open function libraries.
Quality Center Connection	Opens the Quality Center Connection dialog box, enabling you to connect to a Quality Centerproject.
Quality Center Version Control	Provides a sub-menu of options for managing versions of QuickTest assets in Quality Center. The sub-menu is available only when you are connected to version-control enabledQuality Center project.
Save	Saves the active document.
Save As	Opens the relevant Save dialog box so you can save the open document.
Save Test with Resources	Saves a standalone copy of the current test together with its resource files.
Save All	Saves all open documents.
Enable Editing	Makes read-only function libraries editable.
Export Test to Zip File	Creates a zip file of the active document.
Import Test from Zip File	Imports a document from a zip file.
Convert to Scripted Component	Converts a business component to a scripted component.
Print	Prints the active document.
Print Preview	Displays the Keyword View as it will look when printed and enables you to modify the page setup.
Settings	Opens the Settings dialog box, enabling you to define settings for the open document. (Not relevant for function libraries)
Process Guidance Management	Opens the Process Guidance Management dialog box, enabling you to manage the list of processes that are available in QuickTest.
Associate Library '<Function Library Name>' with '<Document Name>'	Associates the active function library with the open document. (Available only from function libraries)
Recent Files	Lists the recently viewed files.
Exit	Closes the QuickTest session.

Edit Menu: It provides editing options and renaming, deleting and splitting actions.

Command	Function
Undo	Reverses the last command or deletes the last entry you typed.
Redo	Reverses the most recent operation of the Undo command.
Cut	Removes the selection from your document.
Copy	Copies the selection from your document.
Paste	Pastes the selection to your document.
Delete	Deletes the selection from your document.
Copy Documentation to Clipboard	Copies the content of the Documentation column ofthe Keyword View, enabling you to paste it in an external application.
Action > Split Action	Separates an action into two sibling actions or into parent-child nested actions.
Action > Rename Action	Changes the name of an action.
Action > Delete Action	Enables you to remove the selected call to the action, or delete the action and its calls from the active test.
Action > Action Properties	Enables you to specify options, parameters, and associated object repositories for a stored action.
Action > Action Call Properties	Enables you to specify the number of run iterations according to the number of rows in the Data Table, and to define the values of input parameters and the storage location of output parameters.
Step Properties > Comment Properties	Opens the Comment Properties dialog box for a comment step. Available only when the selected step is a comment.
Step Properties > Object Properties	Opens the Object Properties dialog box for a selected object. Available only when the selected step contains a test object.
Step Properties > Checkpoint Properties	Opens the relevant Checkpoint Properties dialog box for a selected object. Available only when the selected step is a checkpoint step.
Step Properties > Output Value Properties	Opens the relevant Output Value Properties dialog box for a selected object. Available only when the selected step is an output value step.
Step Properties > Report Properties	Displays the Report Properties dialog box for a report step. Available only when the selected step is aReporter.ReportEvent step.
Find	Searches for a specified string.
Replace	Searches and replaces a specified string.
Go To	Moves the cursor to a particular line in the test.
Bookmarks	Creates bookmarks in your script for easy navigation.
Advanced > Comment Block	Comments out the current row, or selected rows.
Advanced > Uncomment Block	Removes the comment formatting from the current or selected rows.
Advanced > Indent	Indents the step according to the tab spacing defined in the Editor Options dialog box.
Advanced > Outdent	Outdents the step (reduces the indentation) according to the tab spacing defined in the Editor Options dialog box.
Advanced > Go to Function Definition	Navigates to the definition of the selected function.
Advanced > Complete Word	Completes the word when you type the beginning of a VBScript method or object.
Advanced > Argument Info	Displays the syntax of a method.
Advanced > Apply "With" to Script	Generates With statements for the action displayed in the Expert View, and enables IntelliSense withinWith statements.
Advanced > Remove "With" Statements	Converts any With statements in the action displayed in the Expert View to regular (single-line) VBScriptstatements.
Optional Step	Inserts an optional step (a step that is not required to successfully complete a run session).

View menu: Through this menu we can launch and close, active screen, Data Table, Debug viewer, information, missing resources etc.

Insert Menu: Through this menu user can inserting check points, out put values, synchronizing points.

In this menu step generator available, using this user can generate recordable and non-recordable scripts.

Through insert menu user can insert VB Script conditional and loop statements and transaction points (Start and End).

Through insert menu user can create new actions, call existing actions and copy existing actions.

Automation Menu:

This menu provides Record, Run options and Run setting options

Through this menu we can start normal recording, analog recording and Low level recording.

Through this menu we can stop recoding, running and also we run tests.

Command	Function
Record	Starts a recording session.
Run	Starts a run session from the beginning or from the line at which the session was paused.
Stop	Stops the recording or run session.
Run Current Action	Runs only the active action.
Run from Step	Starts a run session from the selected step.
Maintenance Run Mode	Starts a run session during which the Maintenance Run Mode wizard opens for steps that failed because an object was not found in the application(if applicable).
Update Run Mode	Starts a run session to update test object descriptions and other options (if applicable).
Analog Recording	Starts recording in Analog Recording mode.
Low Level Recording	Starts recording in Low Level Recording mode.
Record and Run Settings	Opens the Record and Run Settings dialog box, enabling you to define browser preferences for recording and running your test.
Process Guidance List	Lists the processes that are available for the current document type and for the currently loaded QuickTest add-ins, enabling you to open them.
Results	Enables you to view results for a test run session.

Resources Menu:

This menu provides object repository and recovery scenarios options.

Through this menu we can create /modify/delete objects information and we can associate repositories.

Through this menu we can create, modify and delete recovery scenarios.

Command	Function
Object Repository	Opens the Object Repository window, which displays a tree containing all objects in the current test or component.
Object Repository Manager	Opens the Object Repository Manager dialog box, enabling you to open and modify multiple shared object repositories.
Associate Repositories	Opens the Associate Repositories dialog box, enabling you to manage the object repository associations for the test.
Map Repository Parameters	Opens the Map Repository Parameters dialog box, enabling you to map repository parameters, as needed.
Recovery Scenario Manager	Opens the Recovery Scenario Manager dialog box.
Associated Function Libraries	Lists the function libraries associated with the active document, enabling you to open them.

Debug Menu:

This menu provides debug commands for step by step execution.

Through this menu we can insert/remove/break points.

Tools Menu:

This menu provides Tools settings option, view options and object identification configuration.

Through this menu we can set tool options as well as test pane view options.

In this menu object spy option available, through this we can get object’s information.(Properties and values)

In this menu Virtual object option available; through this option we can create virtual objects.

Command	Function
Options	Opens the Options dialog box, enabling you to modify global testing options.
View Options	Opens the Editor Options dialog box, enabling you to customize how tests and function libraries are displayed in the Expert View and Function Library windows.
Check Syntax	Checks the syntax of the active document.
Object Identification	Opens the Object Identification dialog box, enabling you to specify how QuickTest identifies a particular test object.
Object Spy	Opens the Object Spy dialog box, enabling you to view the native properties and operations of any object in an open application, as well as the test object hierarchy, identification properties, and operations of the test object that QuickTest uses to represent that object.
Web Event Recording Configuration	Opens the Web Event Recording Configuration dialog box, enabling you to specify a recording configuration level. (Relevant for tests only)
Data Driver	Opens the Data Driver dialog box, which displays the default Constants list for the action. (Relevant for tests only)
Change Active Screen	Replaces the previously recorded Active Screen with the selected Active Screen. (Relevant for tests only)
Virtual Objects > New Virtual Object	Opens the Virtual Object Wizard, enabling you to teach QuickTest to recognize an area of your application as a standard test object.
Virtual Objects > Virtual Object Manager	Opens the Virtual object Manager, enabling you to manage all of the virtual object collections defined on your computer.
Customize	Opens the Customize dialog box, which enables you to customize toolbars and menus, and create new menus.

Window Menu:

This menu provides QTP tool window style settings.

Help Menu:

This menu provides QTP help as well as VB Script help.

Through this menu we can contact technical support people and we can send feedback.

Through this menu we can check for updates and download or install directly.

QTP 11: Complete List of New Features

XPath and CSS based object identification

Identify objects not only using normal object identification but withXPath and CSS identifier properties. A much awaited and a killer feature

Good Looking and Enhanced Results Viewer

The new improved results viewer provides an executive summary page with summary data, pie charts and statistics for both the current and previous runs and a quick link to the previous run results.

Easy Regular Expressions

You can now create reg ex with the help of syntax hints. Regular Expression Evaluator is available to test regular expressions that you have created. Good One.

Now identify objects not only in relation to each other but in relation to neighboring objects.

With this feature, QTP 11 has moved beyond the unreliability of ordinal identifiers. Objects identified with ordinal identifiers are good only as long as they maintain their relative positions with respect to each other in the new build of application. In case if this position changes or gets interchanged, ordinal identifiers may go for a toss.
HP has now introduced Visual Relation Identifier.

A visual relation identifier is a set of definitions that enable you to identify the object in the application according its neighboring objects in the application. You can select neighboring objects that will maintain the same relative location to your object, even if the user interface design changes. You define visual relations in the Visual Relation Identifier dialog box, which is accessible from the local or shared object repository, and from the Object Properties dialog box.

Load Function Libraries at Run Time

With the help of LoadFunctionLibrary statement. You can now load a function library when a step runs instead of at the beginning of a run session.

Test Your GUI and UI-Less Application Functionality in One Test

Since QTP is integrated with Service Test, you can now test your GUI and non-GUI based apps in a single run.

Record Support

For FireFox is now available.

Much Awaited Log Tracking is available now

QTP 11 is capable of receiving Java or .NET log framework messages from your application which can then be embedded in the run results.

Embed/Run Javascript in web pages

You can use the new EmbedScript/EmbedScriptFromFile andRunScript/RunScriptFromFile functions to embed JavaScripts in all loaded browser pages. You can use these scripts to perform operations on, or retrieve data from, the browser pages in your application.

Manage Test Data

Improved test data management when integrated with Quality Center

Web 2.0 Toolkit Applications Support

QTP 11 now supports Web 2.0 Toolkit Applications out-of-the-box similar to any other add-ins.

Automatically Parameterize Steps

You can instruct QTP 11 to automatically parameterize test steps at the end of record session.

Silverlight Add-in

To test objects in Silverlight 2 and Silverlight 3 applications. [After installation, Silverlight Add-in is displayed in the Add-in Manager as a child add-in under the WPF Add-in]

Extend WPF and Silverlight Support

You can use WPF and Silverlight Add-in Extensibility SDK to develop support for testing third-party and custom WPF and Silverlight controls that are not supported out-of-the-box

working with add-ins and add-in manager

Using the Add-In Manager you can specify which add-ins to load at startup.

Procedures

Load and unload add-ins

Using the Add-In Manager you can specify which add-ins to load at startup. You can also unload certain add-ins while in session. The available add-ins and their load behavior is listed in the dialog box. Add-ins that are not loaded at startup are listed without a load behavior.

When an add-in is unloaded, its functionality is not available. However, all translator add-ins (such as DXF, DWF, and DWG) automatically load when that format is selected when doing a Save Copy As. By default, the translators are not loaded at startup.

NoteYou cannot unload or load an Autodesk Inventor Professional add-in session. Restart the application for your selection to take effect.

Consider unloading to:

·         Reduce the time it takes Autodesk Inventor or Autodesk Inventor Professional to load initially.

·         Reduce the memory footprint for the application and increase the capacity. An increased capacity enables you to work with larger assemblies. If you experience capacity issues while using Autodesk Inventor Professional, unload some of the larger add-ins (such as Tube & Pipe, Cable & Harness) if they are not used in your design. In most cases, we recommend that you do not unload Autodesk add-ins.

·         Correct problems with the application. If you experience problems with Autodesk Inventor, start to unload non-Autodesk add-ins systematically to see if unloading corrects the problems. It is possible for some non-Autodesk Inventor add-ins to be invalid for a current release, and unloading them may correct problems. Refer to the following default add-in lists to determine which add-ins to remove.

Unload and load add-ins

There are two ways to use the Add-In Manager. From within the application or from the Windows Start menu.

From within the application:

1.      Open Autodesk Inventor.

2.      On the ribbon, click Tools tabOptions panel Add-Ins.

3.      In the Add-In Manager dialog box, double-click the name in the list to switch between Loaded and Unloaded or between Startup/Loaded and Startup/Unloaded.

4.      Click OK.

From the Start menu:

1.      From the Windows Start menu, select Programs  Autodesk Autodesk Inventor[version]  Tools  Add-In Manager.

2.      In the Add-In Manager dialog box, double-click the name in the list to switch between Loaded and Unloaded or between Startup/Loaded and Startup/Unloaded.

3.      Click OK.

NoteUsing this method, always restart the application for your changes to take effect.

Default add-ins for Autodesk Inventor

The default add-ins for Autodesk Inventor are as follows:

·       BIM Exchange

·       Assembly Bonus Tools

·       Autodesk DWF Markup Manager

·       Autodesk iDrop Translator

·       AutoLimits

·       Content Center

·       Content Center Item Translator

·       Design Accelerator

·       Drag & Drop Interoperability

·       ESKD Support

·       Eco Materials Adviser

·       Frame Generator

·       iLogic

·       Inventor Studio

·       Inventor Vault

·       Translator: Alias

·       Translator: CATIA V4 Import

·       Translator: CATIA V5 Import

·       Translator: CATIA V5 Part Export

·       Translator: CATIA V5 Product Export

·       Translator: DWF

·       Translator: DWFx

·       Translator: DWG

·       Translator: DXF

·       Translator: IGES

·       Translator: JT

·       Translator: Parasolid Binary

·       Translator: Parasolid Text

·       Translator: PDF

·       Translator: Pro/ENGINEER

·       Translator: Pro/ENGINEER Granite

·       Translator: Pro/ENGINEER Neutral

·       Translator: SAT

·       Translator: SolidWorks

·       Translator: STEP

·       Translator: STL

·       Translator: UGS NX

Default add-ins for Autodesk Inventor Professional

The default add-ins for Autodesk Inventor Professional are as follows:

·       BIM Exchange

·       Assembly Bonus Tools

·       Autodesk DWF Markup Manager

·       Autodesk iDrop Translator

·       Autodesk IDF Translator

·       AutoLimits

·       Content Center

·       Content Center Item Translator

·       Design Accelerator

·       Drag & Drop Interoperability

·       ESKD Support

·       Eco Materials Adviser

·       Frame Generator

·       iLogic

·       Inventor Studio

·       Inventor Vault

·       Routed Systems: Cable & Harness

·       Routed Systems: Tube & Pipe

·       Simulation: Dynamic Simulation

·       Simulation: Stress Analysis

·       Translator: Alias

·       Translator: CATIA V4 Import

·       Translator: CATIA V5 Import

·       Translator: CATIA V5 Part Export

·       Translator: CATIA V5 Product Export

·       Translator: DWF

·       Translator: DWFx

·       Translator: DWG

·       Translator: DXF

·       Translator: IGES

·       Translator: JT

·       Translator: Parasolid Binary

·       Translator: Parasolid Text

·       Translator: PDF

·       Translator: Pro/ENGINEER

·       Translator: Pro/ENGINEER Granite

·       Translator: Pro/ENGINEER Neutral

·       Translator: SAT

·       Translator: SolidWorks

·       Translator: STEP

·       Translator: STL

·       Translator: UGS NX

References

Add-In Manager

Lists the Autodesk Inventor add-ins that are installed on the system. You can load or unload any displayed add-in.

Sort the list by name or load behavior by clicking the column header. Press CTRL + click to select multiple items on the list.

Access:

Ribbon: Tools tabOptions panelAdd-Ins  Start menu: Programs  Autodesk Autodesk Inventor [version]  Tools Add-In Manager.

Different ways of developing automation tests:

Recording Tests Using Windows Internet Explorer and Playing Back Using Mozilla Firefox

Using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Feature Pack 2, you can use Windows Internet Explorer 7 (or later versions) to record UI actions on a website or a Web-based application and then play back the tests using the Mozilla Firefox browser

·         Coded UI Tests: You can create automated tests of the user interface (UI) known as coded UI tests. These tests provide functional testing of the user interface and validation of user interface controls. Coded UI tests let you test the functionality of a user interface. They are quicker to run than manual tests. Therefore, you can run them more frequently. Using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Feature Pack 2, you can record UI actions on a website or on a Web-based application. You can create coded UI tests using Internet Explorer and then play back the tests using the Firefox browser.

For more information about coded UI tests, see Testing the User Interface with Automated UI Tests.

·         Manual Tests: You can create manual test cases to test your application. In a manual test case, you can document all the required test steps for a specific scenario and any other information that you must have to run the manual test. This might include attaching files to the manual test case. You must add your manual test cases to a test plan to be able to run them using Test Runner. By adding your manual test cases to a plan you can save the results every time that you run your test. Using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Feature Pack 2, you can create an action recording for manual test steps that are performed on a website or on a Web-based application. You can record the tests using Internet Explorer and then play back the tests using the Firefox browser.

For more information about manual tests, see Creating Manual Test Cases and Running Manual Tests Using Test Runner.

Running Coded UI Tests Remotely

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If you want to run your coded UI tests remotely for your application, you must install the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Feature Pack 2 on any computer that has a test agent or a test controller that you will use to run the tests. For more information about how to run coded UI tests, see How to: Set Up Your Test Agent to Run Tests that Interact with the Desktop and Running Automated Tests.

Building Coded UI Tests with Team Build

---

If you want to build the test project that contains your Silverlight coded UI tests as part of team build using a build agent, you must install the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Feature Pack 2 on any computer that has a build agent that is used to build the test project. For more information about how to build and run tests, see How to: Configure and Run Scheduled Tests After Building Your Application.

Multiple Mozilla Firefox Version Play Back Support

---

The user could have multiple versions of Firefox installed and multiple languages of the same version of Firefox installed. The playback lets the user choose the version and language of Firefox on which the playback is supposed to occur. While doing playback using the Microsoft Test Runner, all the Firefox versions that are installed on the machine are displayed for the user to choose from. In case of CodedUITest, the user can set the BrowserWindow.CurrentBrowser environment attribute to any of the installed versions and playback will choose the designated Firefox version for playback.

For example, if you set BrowserWindow.CurrentBrowser = “Firefox 3.5.7 (ar)” playback will use the 3.5.7 Arabic Version of Firefox. Setting the CurrentBrowser property to “Firefox” would choose the default version of Firefox installed for playback. Check the registry key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Mozilla Firefox to find the names of all the Mozilla Firefox versions installed on your machine and use these names to set the CurrentBrowser property. You can also specify the CurrentBrowser property through CodedUITestCurrentBrowser Environment variable. Coded UI tests would read this environment variable and set the CurrentBrowser property itself as a part of test initialization. This is a better way to choose a browser for playback because it wouldn’t involve changing your coded UI test. Additionally, you can manipulate the browser for playback by using this environment variable.

Standered recording:

An analog recording is one where a property or characteristic of a physical recording medium is made to vary in a manner analogous to the variations in air pressure of the original sound. Generally, the air pressure variations are first converted (by a transducer such as a microphone) into an electrical analog signal in which either the instantaneous voltage or current is directly proportional to the instantaneous air pressure (or is a function of the pressure). The variations of the electrical signal in turn are converted to variations in the recording medium by a recording machine such as a tape recorder or record cutter—the variable property of the medium is modulated by the signal. Examples of properties that are modified are the magnetization of magnetic tape or the deviation (or displacement) of the groove of a gramophone disc from a smooth, flat spiral track.

A digital recording is produced by converting the physical properties of the original sound into a sequence of numbers, which can then be stored and read back for reproduction. Normally, the sound is transduced (as by a microphone) to an analog signal in the same way as for analog recording, and then the analog signal is digitized, or converted to a digital signal, through an analog-to-digital converter and then recorded onto a digital storage medium such as a compact disc or hard disk.

Both analog and digital systems have limitations. The bandwidth of the digital system is limited, according to the Nyquist frequency, by the sample rate used. The bandwidth of an analog system is limited by the physical capabilities of the analog circuits and recording medium. The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of a digital system is limited by the bit depth of the digitization process. In an analog system, other natural analog noise sources exist, such as flicker noise and imperfections in the recording medium.

QTP Low Level Recording Tutorial

You can switch to Low Level Recording mode only while recording a test. The option is not available while editing a test.

To record in Low Level Recording mode:

1.                  If you are not already recording, click the Record button to begin a recording session.

2.                  Click the Low Level Recording button or select Automation > Low Level Recording.

The record mode changes to Low Level Recording and all of your keyboard input and mouse clicks are recorded based on mouse coordinates. When QTP runs the test, the cursor retraces the recorded clicks.

3.                  When you are finished and want to return to normal recording mode, click the Low Level Recording button or selectAutomation > Low Level Recording to turn off the option.

The following examples illustrate the difference between the same operations recorded using normal mode and Low Level Recording mode.

Suppose you type the word tutorial into a user name edit box and then press the Tab key while in normal recording mode. Your test is displayed as follows in the Keyword View and Expert View:

Descriptive Programming

Introduction to Descriptive Programming.
How to write Descriptive Programming?
When and Where to use Descriptive programming?
Some points to note with Descriptive Programming.

Introduction to Descriptive Programming:
Descriptive programming is used when we want to perform an operation on an object that is not present in the object repository. There can be various valid reason to do so. We will discuss them later in this article.

How to write Descriptive Programming? 

There are two ways in which descriptive programming can be used

1. By giving the description in form of the string arguments.
2. By creating properties collection object for the description.

1. By giving the description in form of the string arguments.

This is a more commonly used method for Descriptive Programming.
You can describe an object directly in a statement by specifying property:=value pairs describing the object instead of specifying an object’s
name. The general syntax is:

TestObject("PropertyName1:=PropertyValue1", "..." , "PropertyNameX:=PropertyValueX")

TestObject—the test object class could be WebEdit, WebRadioGroup etc….

PropertyName:=PropertyValue—the test object property and its value. Each property:=value pair should be separated by commas and quotation
marks. Note that you can enter a variable name as the property value if you want to find an object based on property values you retrieve during a run session.

Consider the HTML Code given below:

<--!input type="”textbox”" name="”txt_Name”"-->
<--!input type="”radio”" name="”txt_Name”"-->

Now to refer to the textbox the statement would be as given below

Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebEdit(“Name:=txt_Name”,”html tag:=INPUT”).set “Test”

And to refer to the radio button the statement would be as given below

Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebRadioGroup(“Name:=txt_Name”,”html tag:=INPUT”).set “Test”

If we refer to them as a web element then we will have to distinguish between the 2 using the index property

Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebElement(“Name:=txt_Name”,”html tag:=INPUT”,”Index:=0”).set “Test” ‘ Refers to the textbox
Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebElement(“Name:=txt_Name”,”html tag:=INPUT”,”Index:=1”).set “Test” ‘ Refers to the radio button

To determine which property and value pairs to use, you can use the Object Spy:
1. Go to Tools -> Object Spy.
2. Select the "Test Object Properties" radio button.
3. Spy on the desired object.
4. In the Properties list, find and write down the properties and values that can be used to identify the object.


2. By creating properties collection object for the description.

Properties collection also does the same thing as string arguments. The only difference is that it "collects" all the properties of a particular object in an instance of that object. Now that object can be referenced easily by using the instance, instead of writing "string arguments" again and again. It is my observation that people find "string arguments" [1] method much easier and intuitive to work with.

To use this method you need first to create an empty description
Dim obj_Desc ‘Not necessary to declare
Set obj_Desc = Description.Create

Now we have a blank description in “obj_Desc”. Each description has 3 properties “Name”, “Value” and “Regular Expression”.

obj_Desc(“html tag”).value= “INPUT”

When you use a property name for the first time the property is added to the collection and when you use it again the property is modified. By default each property that is defined is a regular expression. Suppose if we have the following description

obj_Desc(“html tag”).value= “INPUT”
obj_Desc(“name”).value= “txt.*”

This would mean an object with html tag as INPUT and name starting with txt. Now actually that “.*” was considered as regular expression. So, if you want the property “name” not to be recognized as a regular expression then you need to set the “regularexpression” property as FALSE

obj_Desc(“html tag”).value= “INPUT”
obj_Desc(“name”).value= “txt.*”
obj_Desc(“name”).regularexpression= “txt.*”

This is how we create a description. Now below is the way we can use it

Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebEdit(obj_Desc).set “Test”

When we say .WebEdit(obj_Desc) we define one more property for our description that was not earlier defined that is it’s a text box (because QTPs WebEdit boxes map to text boxes in a web page).

If we know that we have more than 1 element with same description on the page then we must define “index” property for the that description

Consider the HTML code given below

<--!input type="”textbox”" name="”txt_Name”"-->
<--!input type="”textbox”" name="”txt_Name”"-->

Now the html code has two objects with same description. So distinguish between these 2 objects we will use the “index” property. Here is the description for both the object

For 1st textbox:
obj_Desc(“html tag”).value= “INPUT”
obj_Desc(“name”).value= “txt_Name”
obj_Desc(“index”).value= “0”

For 2nd textbox:
obj_Desc(“html tag”).value= “INPUT”
obj_Desc(“name”).value= “txt_Name”
obj_Desc(“index”).value= “1”

Consider the HTML Code given below:

<--!input type="”textbox”" name="”txt_Name”"-->
<--!input type="”radio”" name="”txt_Name”"-->

We can use the same description for both the objects and still distinguish between both of them
obj_Desc(“html tag”).value= “INPUT”
obj_Desc(“name”).value= “txt_Name”

When I want to refer to the textbox then I will use the inside a WebEdit object and to refer to the radio button I will use the description object with the WebRadioGroup object.

Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebEdit(obj_Desc).set “Test” ‘Refers to the text box
Browser(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebRadioGroup(obj_Desc).set “Test” ‘Refers to the radio button

But if we use WebElement object for the description then we must define the “index” property because for a webelement the current description would return two objects.

Getting Child Object:

We can use description object to get all the objects on the page that matches that specific description. Suppose we have to check all the checkboxes present on a web page. So we will first create an object description for a checkboxe and then get all the checkboxes from the page

Dim obj_ChkDesc

Set obj_ChkDesc=Description.Create
obj_ChkDesc(“html tag”).value = “INPUT”
obj_ChkDesc(“type”).value = “checkbox”

Dim allCheckboxes, singleCheckBox

Set allCheckboxes = Browse(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).ChildObjects(obj_ChkDesc)

For each singleCheckBox in allCheckboxes

singleCheckBox.Set “ON”

Next

The above code will check all the check boxes present on the page. To get all the child objects we need to specify an object description.

If you wish to use string arguments [1], same thing can be accomplished by simple scripting.

Code for that would be:

i=0
Do While Browse(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebCheckBox("html tag:=INPUT",type:=checkbox, "index:="&i).Exist 

Browse(“Browser”).Page(“Page”).WebCheckBox("html tag:=INPUT",type:=checkbox, "index:="&i).Set "ON"
i=i+1

Loop
Possible Operation on Description Objects

Consider the below code for all the solutions
Dim obj_ChkDesc

Set obj_ChkDesc=Description.Create
obj_ChkDesc(“html tag”).value = “INPUT”
obj_ChkDesc(“type”).value = “checkbox”

Q: How to get the no. of description defined in a collection
A: obj_ChkDesc.Count ‘Will return 2 in our case

Q: How to remove a description from the collection
A: obj_ChkDesc.remove “html tag” ‘would delete the html tag property from the collection

Q: How do I check if property exists or not in the collection?
A: The answer is that it’s not possible. Because whenever we try to access a property which is not defined its automatically added to the collection. The only way to determine is to check its value that is use a if statement “if obj_ChkDesc(“html tag”).value = empty then”.

Q: How to browse through all the properties of a properties collection?
A: Two ways
1st:
For each desc in obj_ChkDesc
Name=desc.Name
Value=desc.Value
RE = desc.regularexpression
Next
2nd:
For i=0 to obj_ChkDesc.count - 1
Name= obj_ChkDesc(i).Name
Value= obj_ChkDesc(i).Value
RE = obj_ChkDesc(i).regularexpression
Next

Hierarchy of test description:

When using programmatic descriptions from a specific point within a test object hierarchy, you must continue to use programmatic descriptions
from that point onward within the same statement. If you specify a test object by its object repository name after other objects in the hierarchy have
been described using programmatic descriptions, QuickTest cannot identify the object.

For example, you can use Browser(Desc1).Page(Desc1).Link(desc3), since it uses programmatic descriptions throughout the entire test object hierarchy.
You can also use Browser("Index").Page(Desc1).Link(desc3), since it uses programmatic descriptions from a certain point in the description (starting
from the Page object description).

However, you cannot use Browser(Desc1).Page(Desc1).Link("Example1"), since it uses programmatic descriptions for the Browser and Page objects but
then attempts to use an object repository name for the Link test object (QuickTest tries to locate the Link object based on its name, but cannot
locate it in the repository because the parent objects were specified using programmatic descriptions).


When and Where to use Descriptive programming?

Below are some of the situations when Descriptive Programming can be considered useful:

1. One place where DP can be of significant importance is when you are creating functions in an external file. You can use these function in various actions directly , eliminating the need of adding object(s) in object repository for each action[If you are using per action object repository]

2. The objects in the application are dynamic in nature and need special handling to identify the object. The best example would be of clicking a link which changes according to the user of the application, Ex. “Logout <>”.

3. When object repository is getting huge due to the no. of objects being added. If the size of Object repository increases too much then it decreases the performance of QTP while recognizing a object. [For QTP8.2 and below Mercury recommends that OR size should not be greater than 1.5MB]

4. When you don’t want to use object repository at all. Well the first question would be why not Object repository? Consider the following scenario which would help understand why not Object repository
Scenario 1: Suppose we have a web application that has not been developed yet.Now QTP for recording the script and adding the objects to repository needs the application to be up, that would mean waiting for the application to be deployed before we can start of with making QTP scripts. But if we know the descriptions of the objects that will be created then we can still start off with the script writing for testing

Scenario 2: Suppose an application has 3 navigation buttons on each and every page. Let the buttons be “Cancel”, “Back” and “Next”. Now recording action on these buttons would add 3 objects per page in the repository. For a 10 page flow this would mean 30 objects which could have been represented just by using 3 objects. So instead of adding these 30 objects to the repository we can just write 3 descriptions for the object and use it on any page.

5. Modification to a test case is needed but the Object repository for the same is Read only or in shared mode i.e. changes may affect other scripts as well.

6. When you want to take action on similar type of object i.e. suppose we have 20 textboxes on the page and there names are in the form txt_1, txt_2, txt_3 and so on. Now adding all 20 the Object repository would not be a good programming approach.