TestComplete 8 Sneak Peek: Easier Checkpoints

TestComplete version 8 has several improvements that allow you to perform comparisons even faster and easier.

New Check Method

TestComplete 8 allows you to perform comparison actions quickly and easily. In earlier versions, to perform verifications of different kinds, you used the Compare method. However, a syntax used to call this method depended on a type of comparing elements. For example, to compare two images you called the Regions.Compare method, while to compare tables you used the Table.Table1.Compare statement.

Now each Stores element (file, image, table and other) contains a new Check method that compares the element with other data.

The Check method is similar to the Compare method, but script code that is used to call it is less dependent on the data type. Thus, to compare two images or to verify table data, you can now call Regions.image_name.Check and Tables.table_name.Check correspondingly.

Also, the Check method has fewer parameters than the Compare method, so it is easier to use. With this new method, you will be able to compare data even faster.

The new Check methods do not replace the existing Compare methods. These methods will exist so advanced uses will be able to call them in their automated tests to perform more complex comparisons.

Changes in Keyword Test Checkpoints

The checkpoint keyword test operations now correspond to the Check method. In this connection, the checkpoint creation wizards have been unified and simplified. For example, to create file checkpoint in earlier versions, you used the Create File Checkpoint dialog, now you can use the Create File Checkpoint wizard that allows you to not only compare two files with each other, but also to update a file that is added to the Stores | Files collection. Also, since the checkpoints operations are analogues of the Check method, when creating checkpoints, you no longer need to specify unnecessary parameters, and this speeds up the checkpoint creation.

Also, in previous versions, you edited keyword test checkpoint operations using the Operation Parameters dialog, in version 8 you can do it using a special Edit Checkpoint wizard where you can change the comparison options.

Since TestComplete contains both the Check and Compare methods, the Checkpoints category of keyword test operations contains two new operations – Compare Files and Compare Regions – that correspond to the existing Files.Compare and Regions.Compare methods:

These operations can be used for comparing files and images with additional parameters, just like you did in earlier versions using the corresponding checkpoint operations.

New Checkpoint Message Type

One more improvement in checkpoints is a new checkpoint message that is posted to the test log if a comparison procedure passes. In the previous versions of TestComplete, an informative message () was posted when your checkpoint succeeded. Now a message about a successful checkpoint is displayed in the log with the icon.

If a checkpoint fails, TestComplete posts an error message () to the log.

More Comprehensive Property Checkpoint Results

The property checkpoint results that are posted to the test log now contain more details which include: the tested object name, the name of the property that was checked, the expected property value and the actual value. This additional information is displayed in the Remarks panel. It helps you better understand which property the checkpoint verifies and compares the actual and expected values visually.

Viewing the Selected Object in the Object Checkpoint Wizard

Another improvement was made to the Object Checkpoint wizard. Now, when you select the object whose data you want to verify in the Object Checkpoint wizard, the wizard displays the image of the selected object in addition to its name. This helps you better understand what object is going to be checked.

Conclusion

As you can see, the scripting methods that are used to compare data and the checkpoint creation wizards have been unified and simplified. We hope this allows you to create checkpoints even faster and easier than before. It should also help new users understand the concepts of the product a lot quicker make it easier to create tests. If you are interested in trying TestComplete 8, be sure to apply for the Beta version.