Recorder control center and hotkeys

In this chapter, learn how to use the Recorder control center and hotkeys effectively.

Full/minimized view

The Recorder control center is available in a full and minimized view. Switch between them by clicking the button in the top right of the window.

Full view displaying all controls and an actions table that shows the last four recorded actions.
Minimized view that only shows the controls in the bottom ribbon.

Standard functions

The Recorder control center has three button-activated controls.

1. Validation mode
  - Inserts a test validation action into the recording
2. Pause/continue
  - Pauses/continues the recording
  - No user interaction is recorded while paused
3. Stop
  - Stops the recording
  - Returns to Ranorex Studio

Add/delete actions during recording

In the full view, the control center displays the last four recorded actions. From there, you can delete them or view their respective screenshots.

A list displaying the last four recorded actions
Mouse over the eye to display a screenshot of the action
Click the trash can to delete an action

You can also add one of three action types by clicking Add in the bottom right of the control center
Click Add to directly add one of three action types. Recording pauses while you do so
The available actions are Message, Screenshot, and Delay. For more information on what these do, refer to Action properties
This is where you configure the selected action. Changes depending on the action
Click this button to add the action and resume recording

Enable/disable hotkeys

Turn hotkeys on and off by setting the corresponding switch to on or off.

Switch to turn hotkeys on and off
Mouse over this info element to display the available hotkeys

Note: While hotkeys are enabled, you won’t be able to use the hotkey characters (v, m, t, i) in your recording, e.g. to enter a text. The uppercase characters V, M, T, I can be used normally.

Validation mode hotkey

Pressing V on the keyboard activates validation mode in the same way clicking the Validate button would.

Reference: The concept of test validation is described in Test validation.

Mouse movement recording hotkey

Usually, mouse movements are not recorded. If you need to record mouse movements, you can do so by pressing M. Follow the instructions below to practice recording mouse movements.

Move the mouse over the Introduction tab and press M
Move the mouse over the name text field and press M
Move the mouse over the Submit button and press M
Move the mouse over the Exit button and press M

Result(s)

Once you’ve stopped recording, the action table will list four mouse movement actions. Each movement is linked to a UI element.

Tooltip validation hotkey

Press T to start a tooltip validation. Tooltip validation is explained in Validation of tool-tips.

Image-based recording hotkey

Press I to activate image-based recording. Image-based automation is an advanced topic and is explained in Image-based automation.

Change recognition level

When hotkeys are activated, the mouse wheel controls the recognition level of the UI element detection. Let’s take a look at this with a simple example.

Initial recognition level:

Ranorex Recorder identifies every UI element during the recording.
This UI element identification is made visible by a red frame that follows your mouse movement during the recording (see image).

Change the recognition level:

Scroll the mouse wheel to move through the UI element levels.