The following features, changes and bug fixes are included
in theTestSmith Beta 2 release.


FEATURES: additional functionality, GUI updates, fine-tuning
  1. Tools Menu
    A Tools menu has been added to the main frame toolbar. This contains the following commands:


    Information on these items can be found in the Windows Help File, accessible from the Help menu, or by pressing the F1 key.

  2. Edit Sub-Menu
    An Edit sub-menu has been added to the Script Menu. The Edit menu contains The standard Windows Cut, Copy, Paste and Undo commands.

    The Edit items are grayed out when the script window is not active or when no script is opened.

  3. Find Menu Items
    The 'Find' and 'Find Next' items have been added to the Script Menu.

    • Find will show the 'Find' dialog box to initiate a search.
    • Find Next will find the next occurrence of the selected text.

    The Find items are grayed out when the script window is not active or when no script is opened.

  4. Recent Scripts Sub-Menu
    The 'Recent Scripts' sub-menu has been added to the Script Menu. This menu shows the last 8 scripts that were opened. Clicking on a script name will immediately open the script for editing or playback.

  5. Recent Reports Sub-Menu
    The 'Recent Reports' sub-menu has been added to the Report Menu. This menu shows the last 8 reports that were opened or generated during a playback. Clicking on a report name will immediately display the report.

  6. GUI and HTML Maps
    See TestSmith Maps for more information.

  7. Script Line Numbers in Reports
    Line numbers from the script being played are now shown in the reports. This makes it easier to identify the command in the script that caused an error.

    Note: if a sub-script is opened with the _call command, the line numbers shown will be those from the sub-script.

  8. Use of Windows Messaging
    Clicks, and other mouse actions, can be generated using the Windows messaging system, rather than using actual mouse simulation. This has the advantage of the TestSmith playback not needing to 'own' the mouse 100% of the time.

    There are some limitations to this form of playback and certain commands may need to be forced to use mouse simulation to execute successfully. Experience with both styles of playback will help to determine which method is best in a given scenario.

    This is configurable as an Advanced Option.

    The setting chosen can be overridden for any individual command by setting the wmsg parameter with the appropriate value.

  9. Addition of Pause Command
    The _pause command has been added. This command allows programatic pausing of a script.

  10. Default Object Clicking
    The wx and wy parameters can be safely left off any 'ms' command (except 'Drag' commands). When they are not specified the click will be sent to the center of the windows object. This is effective for most controls but will not be effective when the x,y coordinates are important, such as in a document window.

  11. Remember Last Position
    The last screen position and frame size of the main TestSmith window can be remembered on closure and restored on reopening.

    This is configurable as an Advanced Option.

  12. Bring to Front
    The main TestSmith window can automatically be brought to the front of other windows at the end of a playback.

    This is configurable as an Advanced Option.

  13. Advanced Options
    An additional set of (advanced) options are now available, as follows:
    VALIDATE_BITMAP_PROMPT
    VALIDATE_TEXT_PROMPT
    RECORDING_CANCELLED_MSG
    MAX_BITMAP
    HTML_DELAY
    BRING_TO_FRONT
    MOUSE_MESSAGES
    PARALLEL_DELAY
    REMEMBER_FRAME_POSITION
    These options can be configured in the testsmith.settings file, which can be opened in a text editor, and reloaded at any time. Some of these options are mentioned on this page, and all of them are described in full detail in the testsmith.settings file itself, which can be found in the TestSmith/System directory.

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CHANGES: redesign of existing functionality
  1. Keep the Script Window Visible
    Make the Script Window visible (at 20% of the available View space) during a playback.

    Ensure the Script Window takes at least 50% of the available View space when a script is opened.

  2. Ctrl+Shift+LeftClick Action
    The key/mouse combination Ctrl+Shift+LeftClick is now used to record mouse-overs and validation bitmaps.

    This replaces the previous key/mouse combination of Alt+LeftClick, which is no longer supported. The recorded events remain the same.

  3. Allow < and > Characters in Scripts
    The "<" and ">" characters are no longer replaced by TestSmith constants in the script files. They are displayed visibly.

  4. No Keyboard/Menu Interaction
    Keyboard interaction with menus is no longer supported in a recording. This has proved to be too error-prone. All menu interaction should be done with the mouse. Attempts to interact with menus using the keyboard will result in a warning appearing in the script file.

  5. Reports Numbered from 1
    Parallel playbacks of the same script will now create reports numbered from 1 (not 0).

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BUG FIXES: the following bugs have been resolved  [ late fixes here ]
Please note that beta-2 fixed bugs are not listed on the knownbugs page.
  1. Passwords being recorded as clear text
    When 'Obfuscate Password Inputs' is checked in the Recording Options dialog the passwords are still recorded as plain text when the password field is clicked on after the password has been entered.

    Status: Fixed

  2. Text Fields and List Boxes losing focus
    Controls on some windows lose focus between commands. For example, clicking an Edit box, and then entering text in that box will fail to playback because the focus gets lost between the msLClick command and the ktext command. This is also true of drop-down list boxes/combo boxes.

    Status: Fixed

  3. Wrong window being closed on wndClose command.
    If the window to be closed is not in the foreground when wndClose is called the action causes the foreground window to be closed, or on occasion the O/S shutdown prompt to appear.

    Status: Fixed

  4. Html commands not always being recorded
    An Advanced Option is now available to configure the recording of html actions.

    Status: Workaround

  5. Playback completion is followed by system crash
    Playback completes successfully and the report is created, but TestSmith crashes immediately after each playback.

    Status: Fixed (for Systems with IE6.x), Unknown (for Systems with IE5 or less)

  6. Recording Session is followed by system crash
    Recording completes successfully and the script is created, but TestSmith crashes about one second after completion. This is not a consistent problem but occurs from time to time.

    Status: Fixed

  7. Recording feature is unavailable (NT Systems only)
    On attempting to start a recording session a "Recording Cancelled" dialog is always seen before the recording can begin. This happens on NT systems only. To solve this issue Service Pack 6 (SP6) needs to be installed, or the 2 libraries, oleacc.dll and oleaccrc.dll (from SP6) need to be acquired and added to the TestSmith main directory (where the .exe resides).

    Status: Workaround

LATE BUG FIXES: added to beta-2 (03-05-13)
  1. htmlCheck command fails every time
    The htmlCheck command to click HTML Check Boxes and Radio Buttons causes errors to be generated on playback, even when nothing has changed.

    Status: Fixed

  2. System crash during an IE Browser playback
    TestSmith occasionally crashes during a IE Browser playback. This is not always reproducible, but happens if a playback occurs immediately after the recording has been made.

    Status: Fixed (not yet verified)

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