Before you record
Before you can start recording functional test scripts,
perform the following setup and configuration tasks:
Enabling Java environments
You need to enable Java™ environments before you can use Functional
Tester to test Java applications. Functional Tester
is shipped with a JRE that is automatically enabled during your installation.
The JRE is called "Default JRE." To enable other JREs, or if you install
a new JRE, you must run the enabler again.
Enabling web browsers
To use Rational Functional Tester to
test HTML applications that run on Internet Explorer you need not
manually enable the browser. It is automatically enabled when you
begin recording a script. If you use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome,
you must enable the browser manually.
Preparing for functional testing in Google Chrome browsers
You can use IBM® Rational Functional Tester to
test HTML applications in Google Chrome browsers. To do this, you
must enable the Google Chrome browser and add the extension IBM Rational Functional Tester for
Google Chrome™ to the browser.
Configuring applications for testing
You must configure your Java, HTML, VB.NET, SAP GUI, Flex or Windows applications for functional testing
by providing the name, path, and other information that Rational Functional Tester uses
to start and run the application. You use the Application Configuration
Tool to configure applications.
Configuring Java environments for testing
You need to configure your JREs for Java testing
with Functional Tester. This provides path, run options, and other information
that Functional Tester needs to access and use your JREs. You use the Java
Environments tab of the Enable Environments dialog box to do this.
Configuring browsers for testing
You need to configure your browsers
for HTML testing with Functional Tester. This provides name, path, and other
information that Functional Tester needs to access and use your browsers.
You use the Web Browsers tab of the Enable Environments
dialog box to do this.
Browser enablement diagnostic tool
The Browser Enablement Diagnostic
Tool is used to diagnose problems you might have with enabling your
browser for HTML testing. The tool will diagnose the enablement problem
and report how to solve the problem.
Enabling the Java plug-in of a browser
The Sun Java plug-in
of your browser(s) must be enabled in order for some applets to be
tested, and for the View Results link that
launches the Verification Point Comparator from the HTML log to work
properly. If you get an error regarding the plug-in during HTML testing,
or when trying to launch the Comparator, use the following steps to
fix the problem.
Adding references to external resources
Functional test scripts or projects may refer to or use
external resources like the DLLs in .Net IDE or JAR files in Eclipse
IDE. To enable the scripts or projects to use these files, you must
add references to these files in Functional Tester.
Proxy settings for freeform DataWindow PowerBuilder controls
In Rational Functional Tester,
from version 8.2.1 onwards, new proxies are available for recording
and playback on freeform DataWindow PowerBuilder controls in functional
test scripts. By default, in a Rational Functional Tester 8.2.1
installation, scripts that you recorded using the old proxies can
be played back normally but any new scripts that you record will use
these new proxies.
Setting up the environment for testing AJAX-based web applications
You can test AJAX-based applications in two different ways;
by setting the Auto Trace option to true or by setting the Auto Trace
option to false. If you set the Auto Trace option to false, you must
use the Functional Tester APIs for AJAX in the script by manually
inserting them.
Enabling AJAX support for a pre-existing script
The HTML Document control is mapped to GuiTestObject in Rational Functional Tester versions prior to 7.0.0.2.
The GuiTestObject does not contain any AJAX-related APIs. To use the
AJAX-related APIs, the HTML Document control must be mapped to DocumentTestObject.
Enabling SAP client and server
To use Rational Functional Tester to test
SAP applications, you must enable the SAP client and SAP server.
Enabling SAP GUI for HTML applications for functional testing
Objects in SAP GUI for HTML applications contain many dynamically-changing
properties, for example .url, .href, and .id. While playing back functional
test scripts against these applications, the value of one or more
object recognition properties may change causing a high ScriptAssure
score that results in script failure. Rational Functional Tester provides
a mechanism to convert the recognition property value to a regular
expression for those values that change dynamically. Finding each
object's dynamic recognition property and converting it into a regular
expression becomes cumbersome while testing SAP GUI for HTML applications.
Enabling SAP support for pre-existing Rational Functional Tester projects
To use the SAP support for
a project that was created using the releases of Rational Functional Tester version 6, you must
add two new templates (one for script headers and one for script helper
headers) to the project. You will also need to update the build or
reference information for the project.
Enabling the GEF application
You must enable the GEF support before using Functional
Tester to test GEF objects on the application under test.
Enabling response time breakdown
You can enable response time breakdown to see how much
time is spent in each part of the application as the test runs. To
collect response time breakdown, the data collection infrastructure
must be installed and running on all computers that are used in the
distributed application under test.
Flex applications testing process
The testing process is based on the tasks that Flex developers
and testers perform. The process for automating functional tests of
Flex applications differs, depending on the way developers create
the application under test.
Importing and exporting configuration and customization files
You can configure and customize files in the configuration
and the customization directories. The configuration files contains
information such as the application that must be configured for testing.
However, the customization files contain information about the external
jar files used in your project, customization of any recognition properties,
and third-party proxy extensions. You can export these files and later
deploy them using the export and import utility. The default location
for the configuration and customization file is C:\Documents
and Settings\All Users\Application Data\IBM\RFT. For example:
If you want to use the same configuration and customization files on different computers, you can archive these files and later
deploy them using this utility.
Setting functional test preferences
You use the Preferences dialog
box to customize Functional Tester in a number of different areas,
such as settings for time options; colors for the Verification
Point Editor, the Verification Point Comparator, and the Object Map
Editor; highlight color for test objects; operating system; playback;
delays; log; playback monitor; ScriptAssure(TM); recorder; recording
monitor; and the workbench.