Best practices

Creating a Ranorex snapshot

A Ranorex Snapshot is a file representation of the user interface (UI) structure of an application under test (AUT) at a particular point in time. A Ranorex Snapshot captures all interface elements, their hierarchy, values, etc.

It can be saved as a single file. A Ranorex Snapshot file can be created and viewed with Ranorex Spy. The file extension is .rxsnp.

Typically, Ranorex Snapshots are used to share detailed information about the UI of an application with the Ranorex support and technical sales team.

Further reading Creating a Ranorex snapshot is part of the Ranorex Spy knowledge. Therefore, it is introduced and explained in Snapshot files.

You may also want to have a look at the available screencasts on this important topic.

Screencast Create a snapshot file (.rxsnp) to save (parts) of a repository for communication with the Ranorex support team.

Screencast ‘Create a snapshot of a context menu (approach 1 of 2)’ See how to create a snapshot of hidden UI-elements such as menu items, drop-down list items, combo box items, and others using instant tracking.

Screencast ‘Create a snapshot of a context menu (approach 2 of 2)’ See how to create a snapshot of hidden UI-elements such as menu items, drop-down list items, combo box items, and others using the track function.

Creating a compressed Ranorex solution

A compressed Ranorex solution is a file archive including all relevant files of a solution. This solution is created by a built-in compression function which works similarly to any other compression software.

Create a compressed Ranorex solution

Creating a compressed solution is simple – follow the below instructions.

1. Loaded a solution, open the Tools menu

2. Click Compress solution and open folder

Result(s)

The compressed file will be created in the solution folder.

1. Project file folder before the creation of a compressed Ranorex solution

2. Project file folder with the compressed Ranorex solution (Introduction.zip)

Creating a compressed Ranorex report

A compressed Ranorex Report is one zipped file including all files that belong to a single report. These are the report file itself (*.rxlog), all images and further relevant files. The file extension is ‘.rxzlog‘.

Automatically create compressed Ranorex report

Ranorex can be configured to create a compressed copy of every report that is created. This is done in the report settings of the settings & configuration area. Here is what to do.

Accessing the report settings

1. Select the test suite and open the context menu

2. Click Properties in the context menu

3. In the settings window, click the Report Register tab

Enabling compressed report copy

Check the corresponding checkbox in the settings dialog to enable the automatic creation of a compressed report copy.

Result(s)

The compressed Ranorex report file is saved in the output folder of the project file structure.

1. Destination folder
   The output folder of the solution is binDebug
   In this folder, the compressed report copy is saved to
2. Compressed report copy
   See the compressed report copy with the file ending '.rxzlog'
   The naming conventions are the same as for regular reports

Any created report can be saved as a compressed Ranorex report. This is how to do it.

1. Open the context menu in a created report in Ranorex Studio and click Save as…

2. Select a destination folder, optionally change the file name, and click Save

Important to consider:

1. See the default destination folder which is the current root solution folder

2. See the default file name for the compressed report and the according file type .rxzlog
3. Click OK in the information window confirming the creation of the compressed report
   

Result(s)

3. See the compressed report file in the designated destination folder

Fix the ‘element not found’ error

The “element not found” error (i.e. ENF) is one of the most frequent errors that can cause a test to fail. Unfortunately, it’s often not easy to find out what caused the error, especially if you’re not that experienced in Ranorex Studio yet.

This is where this guide comes in. It will help you identify the most common causes of the error and resolve them so your test will execute successfully.

When you encounter the ENF error, report analysis is the first thing to do.

1. See the report identifying a test failure

2. ENF error stating that a UI element could not be found

Note: ENF errors are often rooted in the individual characteristics of an application under test. This means that this guide can only speak in very general terms about solving such errors.

Screenshot inspection

The report provides several screenshots to make it easier for you to identify what went wrong. These screenshots show what happened in the last seconds up to the error.

Compare the screenshots and pay special attention to the UI element you wanted to find. Select the corresponding to your analysis:

1. Proceed to Step 1 if the UI element is NOT in the screenshot
2. Proceed to Step 2 if the UI element is IN the screenshot

Solution approach

Make sure the application under test is in the correct state.

Summary

If the UI element isn’t there, it means that your application under test (AUT) wasn’t in the correct state for the UI element to be found within the search timeout. This can have various causes. For example, a button might not appear until a certain action is completed and this action is taking longer because the system is working slower than usual. This will cause the UI-element to be there during some runs, and not during others.

Solution

Ensure the application under test always reaches the correct state for Ranorex Studio to find the UI element:

• Check that all the actions needed to reach this state are there. For example, if a UI element is only reachable through a context menu, make sure there is an action that opens this context menu beforehand.
• Add validations to verify that the window, page, etc. that contains the UI element appears during test execution.
• Increase the search timeout on the repository item or add a WaitFor action in the action table to compensate for slowdowns of the application under test and other possible delays.

Further reading The concept of test validation is introduced and explained in  Ranorex Studio fundamentals > Test validation >  Introduction.

The search timeout of repository items can be set in the repository properties in Ranorex Studio fundamentals > Repository > Managing repository items.

If the UI element is still not found, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2 – UI element is in the screenshot

Solution approach

Check the RanoreXPath specification of the UI element.

Summary

If the UI element is in the screenshot, it means that your application under test reached the correct state for the UI element to be found within the timeout. However, Ranorex Studio still couldn’t find the UI element, so something else must be wrong. The most likely explanation is a faulty RanoreXPath. This can have various reasons, such as changes to the GUI, dynamic parts, multilingual GUIs, or even simple typos.

Open the UI element in Spy

To be able to check and edit the validity of the RanoreXPath specification it is necessary to open the UI-element in Spy.

1. Ensure the application under test is in the same state when the ENF error occurred

2. Select the repository item and click EDIT IN SPY to open it in Ranorex Spy

Identify faulty RanoreXPath elements

First of all, the highest faulty level in the UI-element tree browser needs to be identified for more detailed error analysis.

1. Identify the highest faulty tree level

Check for RanoreXPath syntax

Check the predicate of faulty RanoreXPath specification for possible errors:

• Check attributes, values, and operators
• Look for typos, incomplete specifications, and wrong values

Further reading The advanced concept of RanoreXPath is introduced and explained in Introduction.

Check variables

• Does the RanoreXPath specification contain variables?
• Check if variables are correct and if they are bound to data sources
• Check if the referenced values are correct

Further reading The concept of variables & parameters is introduced and explained in Introduction

Re-track UI-element(s)

Perhaps the attributes and variables are correct, but the path structure itself is faulty, resulting in the UI element not being found. A good way to solve this problem is by re-tracking the UI element.

Further reading The tracking of UI-elements is explained in Introduction.

Contact Ranorex support team

If you tried everything to solve the problem, but it remains – your challenge seems more complex. Therefore, make a snapshot of your solution and contact the Ranorex support team using the contact form at /support-query/.

Further reading If you need to know how to create a Ranorex snapshot file, refer to Snapshot files.