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KRogersX's avatar
KRogersX
Contributor
3 months ago
Solved

How to Test If Associated PDF Viewer Has Been Opened?

Hey y'all, We have a PDF user manual that can be accessed from the desktop application under test. I need to test if the PDF has actually successfully opened in the associated PDF viewer. I don't w...
desktop testing
  • KRogersX's avatar
    KRogersX
    3 months ago

    In case it's helpful, here's what I came up with. This only works if the associated PDF app is initially opened with the PDF file; if the app is already open, it gets much harder to check. (Chrome and Edge in particular are difficult to check since it's highly likely they are already open.)

    import winreg
import shlex

class Registry:
	@staticmethod
	def ReadValue( root, keyPath, valueName ):
		try:
			with winreg.OpenKey( root, keyPath, 0, winreg.KEY_READ ) as key:
				value, _ = winreg.QueryValueEx( key, valueName )
				return value
		except FileNotFoundError:
			Log.Error( fr"Registry key or value not found: \{keyPath}\{valueName}" )
		except Exception as e:
			Log.Error( f"Exception: {e}" )

		return

	@staticmethod
	def DoesProgIdKeyExist( progId ):
		try:
			return winreg.OpenKey( winreg.HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, progId ) != ""
		except FileNotFoundError:
			Log.Error( f"ProgId '{progId}' key not found." )
		except Exception as e:
			Log.Error( f"Exception: {e}" )

		return

	@staticmethod
	def GetAppOpenCommandPath( progIdKey ):
		try:
			keyValue = Registry.ReadValue( winreg.HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, fr"{progIdKey}\shell\open\command", "" )
			exePath = shlex.split( keyValue )[0]
			return exePath
		except FileNotFoundError:
			Log.Error( f"App open command key not found for key '{progIdKey}'." )
		except Exception as e:
			Log.Error( f"Exception: {e}" )

		return
# end Registry class

def GetProcessName( exePath ):
	startIndex = exePath.rindex( '\\' ) + 1
	endIndex = exePath.rindex( '.' )
	processName = exePath[startIndex:endIndex]

	return processName

def CheckProcessForPdfFile( pdfProcessName, pdfFileName ):
	result = False
	processCount = Sys.ChildCount
	for index in range( 0, processCount - 1 ):
		process = Sys.Child( index )
		if pdfProcessName == process.ProcessName:
			#Log.Message( f"PDF process '{process.ProcessName}' found..." )
			if pdfFileName.lower() in process.CommandLine.lower():
				Log.Message( "PDF file in command line.")
				result = True
				break

	return result

def Example():
	pdfExtPath = r"Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.pdf\UserChoice"
	pdfExtValue = "ProgId"
	progId = Registry.ReadValue(winreg.HKEY_CURRENT_USER, pdfExtPath, pdfExtValue)
	Log.Message(f"Prog ID = {progId}")
	
	exePath = Registry.GetAppOpenCommandPath( progId ) if Registry.DoesProgIdKeyExist( progId ) else ""
	Log.Message( f"App open command path = {exePath}")

	pdfProcessName = GetProcessName( exePath )

	thePdfFileName = "User-Manual.pdf"
	if Sys.WaitProcess( pdfProcessName, 5000 ).Exists:
		Log.Checkpoint( f"PDF viewer '{pdfProcessName}' is open." )
		if CheckProcessForPdfFile( pdfProcessName, thePdfFileName ):
			Log.Checkpoint( f"PDF viewer has opened the expected PDF file '{thePdfFileName}'." )
		else:
			Log.Warning( f"The expected PDF file '{thePdfFileName}' might be open, but can't determine for sure." ) 
	else:
		Log.Error( "PDF viewer is not open." )

     

Hassan_Ballan's avatar
Hassan_Ballan
Icon for Champion Level 3 rankChampion Level 3
3 months ago

After your application under test launches the required PDF file and to verify that the file is opened correctly in its associated application even when another instance of the viewer might already be running or in Browser / Embedded viewers.

This can be achieved by reading the Windows Registry to determine the default PDF viewer, and checking window titles for the expected file name within a 10-second timeout.

I have not tried it out but here's a TestComplete example in JavaScript:

function VerifyPDF(pdfFilePath) {
  if (!aqFileSystem.Exists(pdfFilePath)) {
    Log.Error("The specified PDF file does not exist: " + pdfFilePath);
    return;
  }

  var fileName = aqFileSystem.GetFileName(pdfFilePath).toLowerCase();
  var fileBase = fileName.replace(/\.[^/.]+$/, "");

  // === STEP 1: Determine default viewer from registry
  var exeName = null;
  var useFallback = false;

  var progID = aqRegistry.GetRegValue("HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\.pdf", "");
  if (progID) {
    var commandPath = "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\" + progID + "\\shell\\open\\command\\";
    var openCommand = aqRegistry.GetRegValue(commandPath, "");
    var exeMatch = openCommand.match(/"?(.*?\.exe)"/i);
    var exePath = exeMatch ? exeMatch[1] : null;
    exeName = exePath ? aqFileSystem.GetFileName(exePath).toLowerCase() : null;
  }

  // === STEP 2: Define fallback process list (common browsers and embedded containers)
  var fallbackProcesses = [
    "msedge", "chrome", "firefox", "iexplore", // browsers
    "electron", "yourapp", "customviewer" // embedded apps (customize here)
  ];

  if (!exeName) {
    Log.Warning("Could not detect default PDF viewer from registry. Falling back to known browser/embedded types.");
    useFallback = true;
  }

  var timeout = 10000; // 10 seconds
  var start = aqDateTime.GetTickCount();
  var found = false;
  var anyViewerFound = false;

  while ((aqDateTime.GetTickCount() - start) < timeout) {
    for (var i = 0; i < Sys.ProcessCount; i++) {
      var proc = Sys.Process(i);
      var procName = proc.Name.toLowerCase();

      // Match default viewer or fallback list
      var isTargetViewer = (!useFallback && procName === exeName.replace(".exe", "")) ||
                           (useFallback && fallbackProcesses.indexOf(procName) >= 0);

      if (!isTargetViewer) continue;
      anyViewerFound = true;

      // === Check top-level windows
      for (var j = 0; j < proc.WindowCount; j++) {
        var wnd = proc.Window("*", "*", j);
        if (!wnd.Exists) continue;

        var title = wnd.WndCaption.toLowerCase();

        // For browsers, title may show full path or filename
        if (title.includes(fileBase) || title.includes(fileName)) {
          Log.Message("PDF file '" + fileName + "' is opened in: " + procName + " - Window: " + wnd.WndCaption);
          found = true;
          break;
        }
      }

      if (found) break;
    }

    if (found) break;
    Delay(500);
  }

  // === Final result
  if (!found) {
    if (!anyViewerFound) {
      Log.Error("No PDF viewer process (application or browser) was started.");
    } else {
      Log.Warning("Viewer is running, but no window was found showing the PDF file: " + fileName);
    }
  }
}

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