Issue in name mapping

Question

&nbsp;Using the object spy , I got a mapped name for an object. Say for example the mapped name looks like&nbsp;Aliases.abcd.xyz.window.ItemI ran the test cases using this mapped name it all worked fine.Now after couple of days if I run it now it failed because the mapped name got changed . It got changed to likeAliases.abcd.xyz.window2.Item&nbsp;This has happened for couple of objects over a period of time. I raised this concern with my team and asked the developers if they have changed any of these objects. They confirmed that they didn't touch any of these objects.&nbsp;Can someone help me find out the reason as to why the mapped name gets changed for some of the objects ?&nbsp;I need to find a way to stop this , as this affects&nbsp;my test results

cunderw · Answer

While the devs may not have explicitly changed anything in code, the properties of the object are likely dynamic and there is an issue with what you're using to identify the object.
&nbsp;
As for the alias itself changing, this is probably because you have automatically map objects turned which is creating a new mapping because the dynamic property has changed.
&nbsp;
Can you provide more info about what properties you are using to identify the objects in your name mapping, and what the difference is from the first and second mapping? Without any other info any furthers attempts to debugs this would be shots in the dark.&nbsp;

nishera · Answer

I also agree with&nbsp;cunderw&nbsp;to add more...auto-mapping is not a good practice to develop large scale test suits. (good for beginners )it will create a mess up in mapping you would not be able to clean up later, remember when your suite grows name mappings also will grow.&nbsp;If it's a dynamic object you can use dynamic mappings techniques like using wild cards&nbsp;...Link....&nbsp;and extended find in mapping&nbsp;..link..&nbsp;&nbsp;It is advisable always do mapping manually so you can carefully select and map&nbsp;&nbsp;

tristaanogre · Answer

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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; And for goodness sack, clean up your Aliases... no more
&nbsp;
Aliases.Myapp.myunusedobject1.myform2.mypanel2.somegarbagecomponent_that_has_a_weird_name.buttonThatIsUsable
&nbsp;
Make it "nice"
&nbsp;
Aliases.MyApp.myActualForm.buttonThatIsUsable.

cunderw · Answer

So that's most like exactly what is causing you're issue here.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
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&nbsp;tristaanogre&nbsp;mentioned is a good start, but should always be manually adjusted no only from an identification standpoint, but also from an organization standpoint.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Can you post screen shots of the name mapping properties for the original&nbsp;Aliases.abcd.xyz.window and&nbsp;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.
&nbsp;
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.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Besides that I highly recommend&nbsp;reading every last word in this section:&nbsp;http://support.smartbear.com/testcomplete/docs/testing-with/object-identification/name-mapping/index.html
&nbsp;
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.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

alexkaras · Answer

Hi,
&nbsp;
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.
&nbsp;
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.

Forum Discussion

Issue in name mapping

7 Replies

Related Content

Name Mapping Issues with 14.4

Name Mapping Issue

Issue with Azure Test Mapping

Constant Name Mapping issues

Button issue

Recent Discussions

mht files are by default opening in Edge browser and its blank

Searching for mapped object took too much time msg

Azure Devops Integration supports Testcomplete Base Fixed Dektop Module License

Devops integration support

TestComplete14.72 is not recognizing WinUI-3 objects