OCR in UI Test Automation: Extending Coverage Where Traditional Identification Breaks Down
Automated UI testing increasingly operates in environments where traditional object identification is not reliable. Modern applications frequently render text and controls using custom graphics, canvases, charts, and dynamically generated visuals that do not expose accessible properties or stable locators. As a result, automation tools that rely solely on object hierarchies and properties can struggle to validate what is actually presented to the user. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) addresses this gap by enabling automation to extract and interpret text directly from what is rendered on screen. Instead of depending on the underlying implementation of a control, OCR works at the visual layer, analyzing pixels and patterns to recognize characters and convert them into machine readable text. This capability allows automated tests to validate user visible content in situations where traditional approaches fall short. Why OCR Matters in Real World UI Testing In many business critical applications, text is not always exposed through standard UI controls. Common examples include: Charts and dashboards rendered using custom drawing libraries Canvas based interfaces and rich graphical components Embedded documents such as PDFs or reports Custom buttons, labels, or alerts built without standard accessibility metadata In these scenarios, the risk is not just test fragility it is blind spots. If automation cannot confirm what text is displayed, teams are forced back to manual validation for critical user facing information. OCR enables tests to verify visible content regardless of how it is implemented. By converting visual text into actionable data, OCR allows teams to assert that values, labels, messages, and statuses shown to users are correct, even when object level access is unavailable. This makes OCR especially valuable for validating end-to-end business workflows where correctness depends on what users actually see, not just what the application internally represents. OCR as Part of TestComplete’s Object Recognition Strategy TestComplete incorporates OCR as part of its broader approach to handling complex and non standard user interfaces. OCR is available directly within the platform and can be applied to many different types of application testing without requiring separate tools or configurations. When TestComplete encounters unsupported or custom controls, OCR can be used to: Recognize text from a specified screen region Extract and compare visible text against expected values Locate UI elements based on displayed text rather than coordinates Interact with visual elements by identifying their text content OCR actions can be recorded automatically during test creation when traditional object recognition is not possible. Teams can also explicitly define OCR based checkpoints to validate messages, labels, and dynamic values that appear during test execution. By allowing interactions to be driven by recognized text instead of fixed screen positions, OCR based tests tend to be more resilient to layout changes and UI adjustments. See OCR in Action A short demonstration shows how OCR is applied in real testing scenarios, including recognizing text in custom or unsupported controls, validating user visible messages, and driving interactions based on on screen text rather than fixed coordinates. The demo focuses on practical use cases where traditional object identification is not available. Expanding Automation Coverage Without Increasing Fragility One of the persistent challenges in UI automation is balancing coverage with maintenance. Scripts that rely on brittle locators or coordinates often fail when visual layouts change, even if the underlying functionality remains correct. OCR helps mitigate this issue by anchoring tests to user visible content rather than implementation details. This is particularly useful for: Validating alerts or error messages drawn directly on the UI Verifying values inside charts or graphical widgets Testing applications with frequent visual refinements but stable business logic By enabling validation at the visual layer, OCR reduces the need for workarounds or manual testing in areas that were previously difficult to automate. The result is broader coverage with fewer fragile dependencies. OCR as a Bridge Between User Experience and Automation OCR is not intended to replace traditional object based testing. Instead, it complements it by extending automation into areas where conventional techniques are insufficient. Within TestComplete, OCR functions as a bridge between how users experience an application and how automated tests validate it. When automation can read and verify the same information a human user relies on, test results better reflect real world behavior and risk. As applications continue to evolve toward richer and more visually driven interfaces, OCR plays a key role in ensuring automated testing remains aligned with actual user experience not just underlying code structure.Stop Skimming PDFs, Start Automating PDF Testing
On the surface, PDFs look simple, but testing them is a whole different story. Invoices, contracts, statements, compliance reports… they’re often the last thing that lands in a customer’s hands. That also means even the smallest issue, like a missing field or a misplaced decimal, can turn into something big. The challenge is that PDFs aren’t like web pages or apps where you can easily inspect elements. They’re containers packed with content, layout, images, and data from different systems. When you add in dynamic content that changes for every customer, formatting that has to stay perfect, and the regulatory risks in industries like finance or healthcare, you start to see why manual testing just doesn’t cut it. It’s slow, inconsistent, and doesn’t scale. This is where automation becomes essential. With automation, you can make sure data is always accurate, layouts stay consistent, and testing scales across thousands of documents without slowing down your team. Instead of spending hours opening PDFs by hand, QA can focus on higher-value work while still knowing that every report or statement going out the door is right. That’s exactly where TestComplete comes in. It’s built to handle the tough parts of PDF testing so you don’t have to. You can validate content down to the last character, run visual checks to keep layouts consistent, and plug it all straight into your CI/CD pipeline. The result is faster releases, fewer headaches, and a lot more confidence that the documents your customers see are exactly as they should be.Accessibility Testing Made Easy: How TestComplete Ensures Web Compliance
Most test automation focuses on functionality but in regulated industries like healthcare, finance, and education, teams must also prove accessibility and compliance. TestComplete’s Web Audit Checkpoints make this simple by integrating accessibility scans directly into automated tests, identifying errors like missing alt text, deprecated tags, and invalid HTML. Teams can set practical thresholds (e.g., zero critical errors, limited warnings) to balance enforcement and flexibility. This ensures every regression run checks not only if features work, but if they meet legal and usability standards. The result is faster compliance, reduced risk, and higher-quality user experiences for everyone. Check out our demo video to see how accessibility testing in TestComplete fits seamlessly into your automation pipeline and helps you build more inclusive, compliant web applications.
Send Request Operation - Response Body?
Is there no way to use the Send Request operation GET method and save it to a variable? I created a keyword test that will only open the URL on a server. It grabs a password from CyberArk that changes every day. Because of CyberArk's security, the URL will only open in the server. The Send Request runs but since there's no response body option, there's no where to save the json that it grabbed. I've already tried assigning a variable to the Body, but that's a request body, not response body so it doesn't work. I've tried just coding it but just gives a syntax error on the server/pipeline, but when ran just in TestComplete, it gives a certificate authority is invalid which means it should work fine. Is there a workaround for being able to set the response body as a variable on a Send Request operation so that I may parse the JSON. EDIT: found a solution using script only, thanks!Unable to click second item/object in File Explorer
Hello ! I just want the test automation to navigate to second folder (RT1.0) in this case, it is always changing name so cant go on that. I tried using keyboard nagivation but sometimes it goes to the bottom if i just have Down + Enter keys. Am i doing something wrong? or why is it so inconsistent, im using keyword tests if that helps. Thankful for help !If ... Then issue
Hello ! Backstory: Trying to get it to click on a button IF it is set to "off" so use the "onscreen object" and choose the property of the button "ClrFullClassName" which has property "off" and then equals the same. Which works fine when the button is actually Off, it will turn on correctly. But if it is already On, it cant find the property and it will fail the test, i just want it to continue if it is already set to ON in the first place. Shouldnt it be If ... Then, and then else in the end as shown in the image?
KeyWord Test Operations Favorites Category
The Frequently Used category is overall great, but I have some gripes with it. Unable to manually choose the order of the Operations that appear. The Operations supposedly order themselves automatically based on how often they are used, but it sometimes seems a bit arbitrary, with some Operations appearing on the list i think i use less than some Operations that do not show up on the list. Only 10 Operations can be displayed at a time. This is too few Operations to show and i often find myself needing to type search for addition Operation i often use. In the default Workspace layout / 'Desktop' / screen arrangement there is room for maybe at least another 10 Operations to be displayed on a 1080p monitor. showing 20 might be a bit excessive tho. Unable to choose which Operations appear. While this problem generally sorts itself out after a long time in usage, it would be nice to be able to just choose what shows up, or if the usage data where to ever be wiped for some reason (getting a new workstation, etc) I think adding a Favorites Category would solve all of the above small issues.
Automatic creation of "Variables"
While recording a test, we input values into one or more fields of a form under test. Currently TestComplete "hard codes" these as constant values in the test steps. even when we create a script out of these steps, the constant values go in there. In order to make the script work for generic test data, testers have to manually create variables and assign the values, which takes as much time as there are input fields. In order to reduce the cycle time from recording to replay with any test data, it is suggested that: For all input fields that the user enters some value during recording of a test, TestComplete has to create as many variables automatically Assign the default values to these variables with the values supplied / keyed-in by testers during test recording. This feature can be made available as one of the project / tool options.
