Forum Discussion

kevin_kapell's avatar
kevin_kapell
Frequent Contributor
9 years ago

Looking for .MDS file viewer/editor

Has anyone created a simple viewer/editor for the .MDS file? I run test execute on multiple PCs on a copy of the script code. To run specific scripts I either have to create an elaborate file to run via command line or I have to open the mds file in TestComplete and check the boxes for the scripts I want run. Both are time consuming.

 

I noticed that I can edit the .mds file directly and enable or disable a script by modifying the value in <Prp name="enabled" type="B" value="0"/> for each script.

Before i go and create a GUI that will show me the same tree view that is in TestComplete and allow me to enable/disable scripts via a checkbox I was wondering if someone already created this or tried and failed.

Thanks

.MDS
TestExecute
  • TanyaYatskovska's avatar
    TanyaYatskovska
    SmartBear Alumni (Retired)
    9 years ago

    Hi Kevin,

     

    We don’t recommend that you use a third-party tool to edit project files. It may happen that their structure can be changed, for example, after a product update. Thus, this will corrupt your project and you won’t be able to restore it. So, if you want to modify your project, it’s better to use TestComplete.

     

    If you want to modify your test somehow, I recommend that you learn TestExecute’s command line. You can pass any parameters to it and your test will process them as you wish.

    • kevin_kapell's avatar
      kevin_kapell
      Frequent Contributor
      9 years ago

      Tanya - I understand what you are saying. Fortunatly I would be working with a local copy of the MDS file while all files are in a code repository that would not be changed so project corruption is not a problem.

       

      Alex - Thanks for the pointer but that still does not solve the issue where I have a number of scripts that I may or may not want to run. To determine how many command line entries I need to make i still need to open TestComplete. That starts to limit the benifits of have TestExecute to allow me to distribute the execution of the scripts.

       

      All I am looking for is the tree view with the enable/disable checkboxes that I get in TestComplete that I can use to set in the MDS file what is run. Something like that would make my life so much easier.

      • TanyaYatskovska's avatar
        TanyaYatskovska
        SmartBear Alumni (Retired)
        9 years ago

        I guess that following approach should help you - you can create a simple text file where you will write the name of tests you want to execute. In TestComplete, you will need to create a function that will read that file and execute the tests by their names. Will it work for you?

         

  • frank_vanderstr's avatar
    frank_vanderstr
    Contributor
    9 years ago

    I am looking to find a solution to this as well, and figured I would ask if there is a specific header name that is used to designate the part of the xml tree that is your projects test items.

     

    Through my investigations of the .mds file, it seems other areas have specific names to them that help better identify what their values effect, but nothing that clearly states the test items.

     

    Is there a way to easily identify the areas that effect the test items of your project? If there isn't could it be possibly be added at some point?

    • kevin_kapell's avatar
      kevin_kapell
      Frequent Contributor
      9 years ago

      We still have not found a solution. We have looked at xml file viewers and they do not appear to help.

      It would be so nice that is in Test Execute after the project or mds file is loaded that we could open a dialog with a tree view  that would simply allow us to enable/disable what to run. No other changes will be needed. All the view needs is the view that you see in TestComplete in the Test Items view. It only need the tree view, the checkboxes that can be checked/unchecked, the name and the test columns.

      I attached a screen shot of what I need (disregard the Count column that is in the screen shot)