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Recording Issues

In today's Web World there are many fascinating technologies that one can embed in any Webpage. eValid prides itself on being able to record and validate interactive sessions entirely in its Test Enabled Web Browser. Technologies such as Flash and ShockWave from MacroMedia, and Syncit from Interactive Video Technologies, are directly recordable in eValid.

Because the "video environment" is not programmmed directly in the HTML, however, the interactive or passive video is like an application that was initiated from the browser but is in its own world, away from the browser's control, once the media player executes.

You'll notice this the next time you download a Flash or similiar module: the message bar at the bottom of the browser may say "Done" but the browser screen says "downloading, please wait..." Both statements are true!

The latter is possible because the actual HTML and/or script download was done as far as the browser was concerned. But the browser has made a call to some kind of media player and from that point forward the video display is in a separate executable environment over which the browser has no control. The browser's work is done; the media player's work is not!

Making Validations and Holding Focus

When the actual HTML is executed it makes some kind of call to start some kind of media player. So in the script.evs file you're recording will say: InitLink "some URL". The field after InitLink command is the URL you want to insert a read time command by selecting eValid's [Record] [Timer] [Read Timer] or the [ctrl r] shortcut. This validation tells you how long it took the page to download and for the media player to start. Now you have two options. If the video waits for the user to start it, you can do a screen rectangle validation on a "still" frame by selecting eValid's [Record] [Validate] [Save] [Screen Rectangle] or the [ctrl q] shortcut. After the latter, click on an upper lefthand then lower righthand portion of the still frame.

You can then use the [Absolute Clicks] or [Applet Clicks] options from the [Setting] [Record/Play Advanced Preferences] sub menus under the [eValid] main menu to click the start or play button. When the video finishes and or comes to a still frame for more than a second you can do another screen rectangle validation and read timer commands. The latter validates an image, so you know it's correct, forces the focus to stay in the immediate browser, so another command doesn't force it to leave "this" page till after the video is done, and gives you the video length time in milliseconds by taking the first timer reading and subtracting from the second timer reading.

You have now done the following:

1. Know how long it took the requested URL to download and start the media player.
2. Know that the correct video is there, screen rectangle validation(s).
3. Know the "running" and "downloading" time of the video.

Final Notes and Limitations

There's no way available at this time to intercede inside a video and media player once it's executed. This can cause problems with subsequent eValid commands because of the "Done" message at the bottom of the window. The browser thinks it's ready for the next command because the "InitLink" command is now complete. Because videos and applets are executables, the browser doesn't now what's happening inside the different medias.

By making a screen rectangle validation, you're forcing the eValid browser to wait (i.e. to synchronize) at that point in the validation process, before the next command is executed. Set the [Max Re-Try Time] in the [Record/Play Advanced Preferences] [Synchronizations] sub menu to manipulate the focus time by setting it high enough making sure the screen rectangle validation happens so an ERROR message does not have to be generated. The latter also forces focus to stay on the immediate page in the browser at least that number of milliseconds.

If the media player that runs the video is not embedded directly in a Webpage and pops up outside the browser, Real Player, Quicktime, Window's MediaPlayer...etc, then eValid cannot send commands to an executable application that hovers above the browser environment. The app is now in the Window's system environment and is out of control from the browser and requiring direct human contact. You could then make a recording where you the user/tester are there to interact with the application once it's in the system environment.