Issue in name mapping
Using the object spy , I got a mapped name for an object. Say for example the mapped name looks like Aliases.abcd.xyz.window.Item I ran the test cases using this mapped name it all worked fine....
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OR... if you're going to use automapping (because it is a good shortcut to get items mapped quickly), please, please PLEASE go back and edit what was mapped. Look for dynamic properties, close the application and re-open it to see if the objects STAY mapped, adjust properties, property values, etc., to be more robust. And for goodness sack, clean up your Aliases... no more
Aliases.Myapp.myunusedobject1.myform2.mypanel2.somegarbagecomponent_that_has_a_weird_name.buttonThatIsUsable
Make it "nice"
Aliases.MyApp.myActualForm.buttonThatIsUsable.
Thanks for the replies.
You have mentioned about auto-mapping. I am not sure what that is. I can explain how i did mapping here.
I used the object spy and select the desired object , then use "Highlight the object in object tree" option. Once am able to view the object in object browser , i right click on the object and get the mapped name (it has the alias ) . I use this mapped name in my code. Assign a variable to the mapped name and use that vairable.
I am doing this for mapping all the objects. I have run tests for close to 6 months using these mapped name ( variable). 95%-97% of the mapped name dont change. Its working fine. The remaining % changes for some reason which I dont know.
So that's most like exactly what is causing you're issue here.
What's happening is something your app is changing a property that is being used by your name mapping to identify the object. Most likely some kind of ID or Index. By having automatic name mapping turned on Test Complete made its best guess at properties to use for identification, which as tristaanogre mentioned is a good start, but should always be manually adjusted no only from an identification standpoint, but also from an organization standpoint.
Can you post screen shots of the name mapping properties for the original Aliases.abcd.xyz.window and Aliases.abcd.xyz.window2 so we can compare what changed? Then we can determine what needs to change on your end to account for changes to your application.
Thinks about this way, say your object is mapped with a class of myWindow and an Index of 1. You get a new version of your application and and that window has the same class, but is now not the first window in your application so it's Index changed to 2. Well now your tests are failing because it's looking for Index 1 still. So in that situation you would probably just want to remove Index as one of your identification properties and just look for the window's class. Not saying this is exactly what's going on, as without the screenshots list above I'm shooting in the dark here. But I bet it's something very similar.
Besides that I highly recommend reading every last word in this section: http://support.smartbear.com/testcomplete/docs/testing-with/object-identification/name-mapping/index.html
A good understanding of what name mapping is, aliases are and how they are used to find objects is paramount to creating solid and stable automated test. Otherwise you're just playing a guessing game with your application.
Thanks for the reply.
In my previous post I have mentioned the steps I follow to map objects. Is that not the correct way of mapping objects?
Please find below the sample of the issue i faced :
Aliases.AppName.HwndSource_ShellWindow.ShellWindow.bv.ScrollViewer.ItemsControl
Aliases.AppName.HwndSource_ShellWindow.ShellWindow.bv.ScrollViewer2.ItemsControlThe Line 1 was mapped intially. I was using it in code and it was working fine for couple of months (for few application releases)
Then one day one of my test failed. Then when checked the object it has been modified to as mentioned in Line 2
Hi,
Once again as it has been said previously by others: your NameMapping uses identification properties that sometimes change their values thus breaking the identification. You must compare initial and newly created mapping, figure-out what was changed, whether the change was caused by developers or by runtime environment and correct your NameMapping to either use new value or to replace unstable identification parameter with the stable one.
As it also has been said, TestComplete tries to make its best guess while doing automatic NameMapping but this might not always work and manual verification and adjustment (if needed) is a good recommended practice.
For example, you may have a web browser mapped using its name (e.g. chrome) and index (e.g. 1). This will work while you have one Chrome browser running but will fail when another instance of Chrome will be started because this will change the value of Index from 1 to 2.
Your case is likewise - some identification property for ScrollViewer has changed. Find what and why was changed and correct the NameMapping to not use unstable properties for identification.
And, in addition to all links to the documentation already mentioned, https://support.smartbear.com/screencasts/testcomplete/reliable-tests-for-dynamic-objects/ webinar might also appear to be useful.
