Forum Discussion

adrian_g's avatar
adrian_g
Occasional Contributor
14 years ago

TestComplete's .Exists Function

Hi Guys,


I am used to Quick Test Pro so I am sometimes lost as to what to do in TestComplete.


I am familiar with doing the following:


If WebpageObject.exists Then

‘do something

Else

‘do something else

End If


QTP simply runs through this and if the object is not there it simply moves on to the else statement without pausing or logging an error.


The problem with TestComplete is that when the .Exists part fails, it logs and error to the log and in my case it pauses test execution (because I have “Pause test execution on posting an error” ticked).


I don’t want it to pause because it almost defeats the point of automation in that someone has to keep monitoring the script to see what is happening with it. I don’t want to remove the tick in “Pause test execution on posting an error” because instances where something fails badly the scripts keeps executing nonstop which is silly if the first screen returns a server error and keeps executing through many screens that aren’t there.


What solutions do I have with TestComplete to check if an object exists without pausing the script. This applies to web page objects and desktop applications e.g. .Net


Thanks,

Adrian

14 Replies

Sort By
  • Pavel_1's avatar
    Pavel_1
    Contributor
    14 years ago

    Hi,


    You can use WaitPage method or other TestComplete's Wait methods (like WaitChild WaitWindow etc) and check Exists property of the returned object. They won't post errors to the log, and you can specify definite timeout to wait for an object.

  • AlexKaras's avatar
    AlexKaras
    Champion Level 3
    14 years ago
    Hi Adrian,



    Pavel's advise is absolutely correct.



    To make things more logically reasonable, I would say that you may think that functions that "directly address" some objects (i.e. .Window, .Page, etc.) perform an implicit verification at the same time. I.e. if the test code is like sys.process("aaa")... this means that process "aaa" must exist and if for some reason it does not exist then this is a problem that should be reported. The above approach is reasonable because: a) you may not write dosens of 'if' statements in the script code to check if this or that object exists; and b) if for some reason some object does not exist then the error will be posted to the test log and the problem will not be missed.

    Alternatively, if some object may or may not exist at some time, then test code should use the Wait... version of the relevant function (i.e. .WaitProcess, .WaitWindow, etc.). Wait... functions do not post errors to the log if the object does not exist but return an empty object instead with the only .Exists property which is set to False. The code should analyse the value of the .Exists property and perform accordingly.



    Hope this makes things somewhat more clear...
  • adrian_g's avatar
    adrian_g
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago
    Thanks for the response guys, but Im running into problems:




    If I use WaitProcess:


    Set Object = Sys.WaitProcess("iexplore",0,2).page("http://qvw3appem02/ems2/Default.aspx").Form("FormDefault").Frame("iframeMain").Form("aspnetForm").Table(0).Cell(1, 0).Panel("ctl00_pnlMainContent").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_upnlDisplayOrSearch").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_pnlFind").Table(0).Cell(0, 1).Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_upnlFind").SubmitButton("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_btnFind")

    If Object.Exists Then

     MsgBox("Object exists")

    Else

     MsgBox "Object does not exist"

    End If


    The execution pauses and the log reads:


    Unable to find the object panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch").

    The object does not exist. 


     


     If I use WaitChild:


    Set Object = Sys.Process("iexplore",2).page("http://qvw3appem02/ems2/Default.aspx").Form("FormDefault").Frame("iframeMain").Form("aspnetForm").Table(0).Cell(1, 0).Panel("ctl00_pnlMainContent").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_upnlDisplayOrSearch").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_pnlFind").Table(0).Cell(0, 1).Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_upnlFind").waitchild("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_btnFind",0)

    If Object.Exists Then

     MsgBox("Object exists")

    Else

     MsgBox "Object does not exist"

    End If


    The execution pauses and the log reads:


    Unable to find the object panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch").

    The object does not exist.     



    Help :)


     

  • YMinaev's avatar
    YMinaev
    Staff
    14 years ago
    Hi,



    You need to use the WaitPanel method. The first parameter is the same as in Panel, the second one is a timeout. After that, check the WaitPanel result's Exists property.
  • adrian_g's avatar
    adrian_g
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago

    Ok thanks heaps.


    So there is no way to find out if a button exists without erroring, i can only find out if some other object in the panel's heirarchy exist without erroring?


    e.g. for the following button:


    Sys.Process("iexplore", 2).Page("http://qvw3appem02/ems2/Default.aspx").Form("FormDefault").Frame("iframeMain").Form("aspnetForm").Table(0).Cell(1, 0).Panel("ctl00_pnlMainContent").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_upnlDisplayOrSearch").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_pnlFind").Table(0).Cell(0, 1).Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_upnlFind").SubmitButton("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_DocumentSearch1_btnFind")


    As TestComplete is erroring with:


    Unable to find the object panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch").


    As a result I have to use this instead?


    Sys.Process("iexplore", 2).Page("http://qvw3appem02/ems2/Default.aspx").Form("FormDefault").Frame("iframeMain").Form("aspnetForm").Table(0).Cell(1, 0).Panel("ctl00_pnlMainContent").Panel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_upnlDisplayOrSearch").WaitPanel("ctl00_ContentPlaceHolderMain_pnlDocumentSearch",1).Exists


     

  • YMinaev's avatar
    YMinaev
    Staff
    14 years ago
    Hi,



    If you're trying to obtain an object (by whatever means), and one of its parents doesn't exist, you'll get an error. It has nothing to do with the object type, all parent objects of the target one should exist, otherwise, you won't be able to obtain it by any means. That's why, you need to check whether your panel exists first.



    Another way is to try obtaining the button by using the Find method. In this case, you won't get any errors at all - Find will just return an empty object (that whose Exists is False) if it cannot find it for whatever reasons.
  • krupa_luke's avatar
    krupa_luke
    Occasional Contributor
    11 years ago
    Hello Adrian,



    I am looking for exactly the same thing as you are. In QTP (UFT), there is Exist with timeout parameter which does not "judge" whether object was found or not and I consider this approach as the correct one since it should be up to you whether you see the result of Exist function relevant or not based on the situation.



    For instance, if I am trying to log in some application, succesful login is checked by identification of some object which is available only if I put correct username and password and everything went well with login. However, there could be various outcomes :

    - warning message telling me about wrong username

    - warning message telling me about wrong password

    - warning that my password is going to expire soon

    - error dialog which is not critical - needs to be confirmed - and you can continue



    now try to imagine that in some situations (different than login), these object can be individual objects - so they do not share the same parrent. You do not know in advance what objects you are dealing with... webObject or .NET object... they are parameters which you wish to evaluate if needed. You just need to know if they exist or not and you are not sure in which hierarchy they are.



    That is exactly why Exist(timeout) function in QTP (UFT) is so helpful. It keeps on you what you do with result.



    The only way how to simulate this kind of behaviour in testComplete is somehow bend waitxxx functions and combined it with "superParent" = Sys. I do not have solution yet, but I believe I will go that direction.



    I let you know if I find solution

    Lukas

    :-)











  • krupa_luke's avatar
    krupa_luke
    Occasional Contributor
    11 years ago
    Hi all,



    so... I have created my own "Exists solution" . I wrote function which divide full path of object identification (from Sys to the end) to individual parts, which I evaluate one by one.



    Individual object parts must be divided by using ";" delimited since "." can be commonly present inside brackets. So you need to adjust it accordingly like this:  



    var objDefinition = Find("ObjectIdentifier","iexplore");Find("URL","http://newtours.*");FindChildByXpath("//input[@name='userName']")






    following function returns mapped object - if object (including all its parents) is/are found - or null object - if not. Of course... if object is not found, testComplete still runs which was one of the main points :-).

     


    function objGet (objDefinition)


                


    {


      objExistResult = false;


        var objExistResult = true; 


        


        var objArray = objDefinition.split(";");  


        var obj = "Sys";


            


        mappingLoop:


        for (var i in objArray)    


        {    


          switch (aqString.SubString(objArray, 0, aqString.Find(objArray, "(")))


          {


            case "Find":


               if (eval(obj+"."+objArray).Exists)


               {        


                obj = obj+"."+objArray;


               }


               else


               {


                objExistResult = false;


                break mappingLoop ;


               }


            break;


     


            case "FindChildByXpath":


               if (eval(obj+"."+objArray) != null)


               {


                obj = obj+"."+objArray;


               }


               else


               {


                objExistResult = false;


                break mappingLoop ;


               }


            break;


            }


             


          }


        


        if (objExistResult == true)


          {return eval(obj);}


        else


          {return null}             


    }





    you can use following function (which uses one above), and returns true if object is found, otherwise false: 




    function objExists (objDefinition, syncTimeLimit)  {


     


      for (var attempt = 1; attempt <= syncTimeLimit; attempt++)


      {


        if (objGet (objDefinition) != null)


        { 


          return true;


        }


        else


        {


          aqUtils.Delay(1000);


        }      


      }


      return false;  


    }





    This approach currently supports only methods Find and FindChildByXpath, but another can be integrated (however this should be quite sufficient for most situations).



    Lukas





  • Ravik's avatar
    Ravik
    Super Contributor
    11 years ago




    Hi All,



    I want to be add something, ralated to above post.



    In my application, there is one panel, that panel text get change randanly (text is fixed, like - Result Found/Result not Found) I want to be check, If I fond result (Result Found Text) then do something else, If I found (Result Not Found) then do Something else.



    what I checked -



    IF Panel.ResultnotFound.Esixt Then

    msgbox     "Thanks"

    else

    ResultFound.Click



    End If



    How I can handle such a condition.



    Please help us>

  • VegasQA's avatar
    VegasQA
    Contributor
    11 years ago
    So how would one do this if their ENTIRE script library has been created via record and playback.  I've not manually written any of the scripts used in my library.  What I'd like to do is add some conditional testing so I can say "If this window exists, close it, otherwise skip this and keep going".



    But every example I see has lines of manually written script.  



    If anyone knows how to take recorded scripts and add if/then to them using the interface, I'd be much obliged.



    Thanks!