eValid™ -- The Web Quality Suite Browser-Based Client-Side Functional Testing and Validation Page Timing/Tuning Transaction Monitoring. WebSite Spidering & Analysis and Realistic Server Loading.

Summary
This page is an outline of "how to achieve a successful recording" by studying how the current page behaves.

• Screen Setup
  Below are some alternative screen setups that usually make it easier to manage eValid during a recording session.

  Style 1: Script Window, Dashboard, eValid Browser

  

  Style 2: Script Window, Dashboard, eValid Browser, PageMap -- Vertical Layout

  

  Style 3: Script Window, Dashboard, eValid Browser, PageMap -- Horizontal Layout

  

• Getting Support
  To get the most out of ANY support request, please include:
  • Your own description of what your test was intended to do.
  • The eValid script file you used.
  • The eValid event log of the playback of that script file.
  • The relevant screen shots (you can pause playback to save the screen) that illustrate or portray the problem.

• Basic Ideas
  Here are the basics of what's going on.
  • If every action you take that you believe eValid needs to have recorded produces something in the script file, you are probably 99.99% of the way. But remember that eValid does NOT record anything when you:
    • Scroll the window.
    • Click in a non-essential (non-sensitive) area.
    • Do something somewhere else on the screen (except in a sub-window to eValid).
    • Encounter an Application or opaque instance.
    • Interact with embedded javascripts and/or flash objects.
    • Deviate away from pure HTML content only designs.

• Advanced Ideas
  Whenever you encounter any instances of eValid NOT recording/producing script file command entries, you'll probably need to enable a combination or combinations of advanced recording modes.

  Note: You will only be able to apply available keyboard shortcut equivalents for activation of the different recording modes, if you are able to gain FOCUS inside the main eValid browser window during recording.

  • When recording outside of a "basic" scenario, eValid will require Advanced Recording Modes in order to recognize and generate equivalent alternative actions.

  • You may want to uncheck "Element MouseOvers" should you want to minimize unwanted ElementMouseOver... actions that are generated during recording and determined to be superfluous.

  • If you click somewhere that you think eValid should record, confirm that the click produces an action. If it doesn't you need to try particular combinations of eValid "Advanced Recording" modes until the proper action is generated into the script file.

• Advanced Recording Combinations
  Here is when creativity takes over -- additional kinds of "tricks" where we know from experience that at least one will work.

  1. Absolute MouseClicks Mode - F11 Toggle
     Enable this mode to see if clicking on the same object now generates a "cl*Click" script command. If so this means that within regular HTML environments the DOM objects are not straightforward accessible but require absolute mouseclicks in order for eValid to register an equivalent action. The referenced absolute coordinates are relative to the browser's client window. Depending on the webpage actions, when in Absolute MouseClicks mode you will see the following variations of script commands:
     • clLClick...
     • clRClick...
     • clLDrag...
     • clMouseOver...
     • TabKey...(Keyboard Navigation)

  2. Absolute MouseClicks and Application Mode - F11+F12 Toggle
     Enable this mode to see if clicking on the same object now generates a "xy*Click" script command. If so this means that the objects are completely opaque and require application mode references inaddition to absolute mouseclicks in order for eValid to register an equivalent action. The referenced absolute coordinates are relative to the displays x,y layouts and therefore very sensitive to positional changes. Depending on the webpage actions, when in Absolute MouseClicks mode you will see the following variations of script commands:
     • xyLClick...
     • xyRClick...
     • xyLDrag...
     • xyMouseOver...
     • TabKey...(Keyboard Navigation)
     • KeyText...(Keyboard Character Input)
     • KeySys...(Keyboard System Input)

  3. Absolute MouseClicks and OFF/ON Application Mode - F11+F12 Toggle
     Disable Application Mode whenever you require any sort of validation requests, you must toggle OFF Application Mode, otherwise prompts to create the necessary validation script commands are unavailable. Depending on the webpage actions, when Application Mode is toggled ON, you will see the following variations of script commands:
     • KeyText...
     • KeySys...
     • xyLDrag...
     • xyMouseOver...

  4. F11 + F12 toggle Mode Combinations Applied and Necessary Actions Still Not Being Recorded
     Determine whether or not you have encountered a ModalDialog* situation. If you cannot gain focus anywhere on the eValid browser nor desktop, then you have most likely generated a modal window sequence which requires the necessary response input before further activity is allowed. If so, you will now need to apply a particular sequence of modal commands to satisfy the necessary actions inside the script file. by manually edit/insert of various combinations of the following commands:
     • ModalDialogWait...
     • ModalDialogTab...
     • ModalDialogText...
     • ModalDialogEnter...
     • ModalDialogDown...
     • ModalDialogUp...
     • ModalDialogLeft...
     • ModalDialogRight...
     • ModalDialogSpace...
     • ModalDialogSuppress...

  5. Desktop Window - Ctrl + F12 Toggle
     Enable this mode to allow eValid to associate recorded clicks and activity in a child window. Again, this allows recorded actions to be from within a child window and/or any sub-windows spawn outside of the main browser, i.e. other than window id=0. Upon toggling ON, you will need to select the necessary desktop window to record actions from, as prompted by a modal "Window Selector" window.
     • ONLY those windows available for selection will be recognized.

  6. Desktop Window and ON/OFF Absolute MouseClicks - Ctrl + F12+F11 Toggle
     Whenever you have selected a desktop window where eValid begins to no longer recognize and associate any recorded clicks nor activity of the like from a child window, you must then also include enabled Absolute MouseClicks mode to allow for recorded xyLClick actions.
     • ONLY enable F11 where necessary, i.e. if keyboard traversal equivalents generate empty recorded script command results.

  7. What About Applets?
     
     • Please make sure that eValid's "Miscellaneous Recording" SETTINGs are properly checked to allow for every related action.

  8. What About Flash, ActiveX Control?
     
     • Make sure that eValid's F11 + F12 are present where necessary and that eValid's "Absolute Events" SETTINGs are properly checked to allow for every related action.

  9. Still Not Able to Record Any Keyboard Driven Actions?
     
     • Please make sure that eValid's F11 + F12 are present where ncessary and that eValid's "Miscellaneous Recording" and/or "Absolute Events" SETTINGs are properly checked to allow for every related KEY action(s).

  10. Capturing an Application Mode Type-in
      
      • If you have exhausted the above alternatives #1-#9, then perhaps the application under test requires a "TAB" to gain focus for continued eValid recording recognitions. Please try hitting the TAB prior to keyboard text field input to see whether this makes any differences.
      • Optionally, adding a ModalDialogTab script command may work.

  11. Capturing a Desktop Mode Type-in
      
      • If you have exhausted the above alternatives #1-#9, then perhaps the application under test requires an absolute mouseclick to gain focus for continued eValid recording recognitions. Please toggle on F11 and record a reference xyLClick just prior to keyboard text field input to see whether this makes any differences.
      • Optionally, adding a ModalDialogTab script command may work.

  12. Event log upon playback consistently generates an ERROR/Red Flag
      
      • If you have confirmed that all actions generated corresponding script command actions during recording, yet during playback eValid generates a constant RED FLAG/ERROR, then try "#" commenting out the script file event(s) by line#, as referenced in the log.
      • Optionally, sometimes it may be necessary to remove a "NAV" or add a "NO_NAV" to the recorded instance from the script command parameter fields, since there was no navigation wait needed for successful playback results.
      • Optionally, sometimes playback will be more reliable, especially for dynamic contents, with manual replacement of sequences with "Index Motion..." command equivalents.