Dear All,
Currently, Name mapping behaves/works as a reference especially when testing web pages or .net programs. When a script is recorded and i am referring to script and not to Keyword test the...
If you're having as situation where an object is mapped... and then when you record a test it creates another mapping for the same object... that's a problem with your mapping criteria. What you have used as properties to define the object identification are insuffient to uniquely identify it and so each time you reference it, a new object mapping is created.
In truth, NameMapping is more than just a reference... it is a storage. It is the storage of the object identification criteria to be used by the internal object recognition engine so that, when you want to reference an onscreen component, TestComplete can find it. If your NameMapping mapping criteria and structure are sufficiently robust and properly maintained, you will not have those problems that you have described.
And both techniques you described are available. You can map everything ahead of time and have them used in your tests as you create them... or you can map only those items you need at the time.
So... what it sounds like is that, rather than needing a development change to NameMapping, you need to examine how you've mapped your components to make them better at object identification.