Currently, TestComplete Indicator shows the Project name and the step it is executing. It will be good if it shows the Script name as well so that one can see which script has been reached in a bulk run of the scripts. Otherwise it is difficult to know how much of the scripts are pending to be completed.
This can be achieved through the Indicator Object and the associated push method (see https://support.smartbear.com/testcomplete/docs/reference/program-objects/indicator/index.html). Why is it not included natively?
Define a "test". Is it a single script function? A keyword test? A test item in the project test organization panel? What exactly is the "test" you want to see showing up in the indicator.
Because a "test" may consist of any number of combinations of the above, having TestComplete automatically push to the indicator object what "test" you're running doesn't make sense. For example, in the project I'm currently working on, we are using Keyword tests for test cases. So, a single keyword test represents a test case. However, that keyword test consists of calling other keyword tests to run common tasks (adding a contact, updating a user role, etc) as well as executing script routines (searching for a cell in a web table, dragging an object from one point on the screen to another). So, a default "out of the box" pushing to the indicator every time we call a different keyword test or script routine is just as confusing... which test case, specifically, am I running when I see the indicator saying "Running WebPageLogin"?
To this end, I use the indicator object at the start of what I consider to be a test case and push the text I want to display. I have this integrated in my larger framework that pulls that test case name from an SQL table and pushes it to the indicator object along with whatever parameters I may be utilizing in executing the test case. I then "pop" that text at the end of that test case and "push" the next text at the start of the next test case.
Actually, I have this wrapped up in a Script Extension I wrote called TestLogUtils that has the additional bonus of adding "folders" to the test log to better organize the log so that, rather than all the test cases showing up in one large mass, I can expand or collapse nodes in my test log that correspond to my test cases. Feel free to download and utilize that extension to give you this functionality.
Thanks for the utility.
But I see a general trend with TestComplete. Everything is upto the test developers to do or do big coding to get what we want. If that is the case, I can get an open source tool and do all these stuff. I don't have to shell out the money on TestComplete.
When I ask for basic features, the standard reply I get is that this is a different tool. A tool for test automation right ? Not some pure development tool that offers test automation like Visual studio. For example, in this case, it can at least show the basic test name, whether it is the keyword test or the individual function and then we can customize it from code. But if it doesn't offer anything and everything is upto the testers, then the licensing cost is useless.
And that trend is correct because that is how TestComplete was designed... it was designed with the concept of an open architecture and the ability to customize it to your needs through writing script code and extensions. It does have PLENTY of built in objects (the indicator object being one of them) that make such customization easy. Yes, it is up to the testers... but that is because every shop, every tester, every development group has different ways of doing things. TestComplete, while it doesn't have all the built in features you want, has plenty of space for anyone to make TestComplete work within their particular needs. I think that makes this a much better tool than a tool that pushes the tester into a particular box of a way of doing things. It allow the tester to define their own methodology and make the tool work for them rather than having to work within the confines of the tool.
I'm sorry you don't see the worth in TestComplete. Feel free to go looking elsewhere... I'm not a SmartBear employee so it doesn't cause me any financial harm. But since you have already paid for your licenses, might as well make the best of them. The TestLogUtils extension is free of charge (Creative Commons license only) so feel free to use it.
Perhaps SmartBear will decide to adopt your feature request. But that may take sometime because, like any development shop, things need to be prioritized. If you need this functionality right away, though... as mentioned, you already have options.
