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tristaanogre's avatar
tristaanogre
Esteemed Contributor
7 years ago

Most Valuable TestComplete feature

OK... first of all, disclaimer... I am not a SmartBear employee nor am I being compensated in any way by posting this here.  This is purely my curiosity as I have my own opinion and I'd like to hear from others.

 

There are all SORTS of features in TestComplete that enhance the test automation experience.  One of the things that TestComplete has over some of the other tools is it's wealth of built in features, objects, capabilities, etc.  From the NameMapping object repository to the Keyword testing drag-and-drop test construction interface to the many different built in objects for script development (aqFile, aqDateTime, etc), there's a lot in the product that, in my opinion, makes my job as a test automation engineer easier.

 

I know there is always room for improvement (the 375+ feature requests here on the community prove that) but, if put to the vote, if you had to pick ONE feature, just one feature that is your MVP of the TestComplete tool, what would it be and why?

 

FYI, I'm going to hold off on answering this question myself until after SmartBear Connect as my talk on day two of the conference will probably give the answer and I don't like to spoil the surprise. ;)

12 Replies

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  • Ravik's avatar
    Ravik
    Super Contributor
    7 years ago

    1- Conditional Name Mapping Creation

    2- Working with name mapping at run time

    3- Project suite variable - Type = Table

     

    Network suite also a very good feature in TestComplete

  • NisHera's avatar
    NisHera
    Valued Contributor
    7 years ago

    When you compare with other tools like Selenioum, HP/QTP most of TC features  are not unique.

    So could not found any exclusive feature as such...

     

    But in a way combination of usage of every thing is valuable.

    For eg. both newbie and experienced coder both can use TC.

    supports many languages many technologies, single usage to multiple  ..so and so.

     

    Hence I think catering for broader range of users is it's strength. 

  • baxatob's avatar
    baxatob
    Community Hero
    7 years ago

    Hi,

     

    My choice is the Object storage and Object checkpoints.

     

    It's a great feature to have a template of some complex object (e.g. document form or user interface panel etc.) and test its different properties in one checkpoint.

     

    And I wanna take this opportunity to say, that I am very bothering if this feature (Objects) will be depreciated in the future.

     

    Also I highly appreciate the Python binding.

  • dmiscannon's avatar
    dmiscannon
    Frequent Contributor
    7 years ago

    I selected TestComplete because it had the capability to create tests in both keyword and script tests. This was important to me since I am not a programmer.

     

    Since I have used it, I would say one of the features I like best is the ability to extend the functionality by creating Script Extensions.

  • Marsha_R's avatar
    Marsha_R
    Champion Level 3
    7 years ago

    The "save" button  ;)

     

     

    I like Convert To Script.  We are new at scripting and sometimes I just can't get the script to do what I want or I can't find an error.  I can do a quick keyword test and convert it and see what's going on.

  • tristaanogre's avatar
    tristaanogre
    Esteemed Contributor
    7 years ago
    Well, thats not what i was looking for, either response... While the suggestions are good, what im curious about is what EXISTING feature, already in TestComplete, do you find the most valuable.
    • nebsta's avatar
      nebsta
      Contributor
      7 years ago

      tristaanogre that will teach me for not reading the question thoroughly! In that case I guess I would say the NameMapping. Despite the fact that I think there are a few improvements that could be done to make it a lot easier to maintain (e.g. links above) it does a good job of abstracting references to objects in tests to minimise rework required when the UI is changed.

    • shankar_r's avatar
      shankar_r
      Community Hero
      7 years ago

      One thing i very admire and helped a lot is Project Variables that too table type.

       

      Problem i had,

                           I have developed a data-driven framework which uses lot of excel sheets to get input.  I'm having minimum of 10+ excels for input for a run. In this case i need to create 10+ DDT drivers to handle the scenarios which causes excel application not responding issue. Hence i was not able to run whole suite  even a single time. 

                           This given a bad point to management to think of automation feature in current project.

       

      Solution i having now,

                          I used table type Project Variable to store all my excel sheet values in start of my execution and reused the Project Variable during the run. This got no pain excel application since the link between excel and TestComplete ended during the 1st few minutes setup.

       

      Some more powerful features which doesn't need any explanation,

       

      1. Script Extension 
      2. Extended Find in Name mapping
      3. Custom Object Mapping under Tools > Current Project Properties

      I love most of the TestComplete features since it is ease our Automation process.

    • AlexKaras's avatar
      AlexKaras
      Champion Level 3
      7 years ago

      Hm-m-m...
      I believe these are:

      -- Object Browser;

      -- Aliasing;

      -- Provided infrastructure (Log, Project Variables, Shared Mode, Test Items, etc.)

  • Manfred_F's avatar
    Manfred_F
    Regular Contributor
    7 years ago

    For me, it is ODT, object driven testing, as I do use it.

    My ODT tree provides testing flow Control and also holds most of the test data.

     

    Sweet spots:

    - Separating test Control and test data from testing Code (keeping init/test Code separately)

    - capability to handle complex Tests (keeping Control...) because of hierarchical structure (e.g. applying init Code at the appropriate Level :-) )

    - test Control structure (= ODT tree) absolutely parallel to log tree => Maximum clarity about what was done

    - Control structure dynamically adaptable (during test run) => sub-Tests can be configured as needed in the local context

    - capability to use multiple instances at a time

     

    .. simply great, but rarely used, I suspect

    I do not know about any other Automation tool supporting this.