Plugin Specific Settings – Ranorex

Plugin-specific settings allow you to modify the behavior of individual Ranorex plugins. Use these settings to optimize object recognition or ensure backward compatibility with older application versions.

Warning: Most of these settings directly impact object recognition. Only modify them if instructed by Ranorex Support or official documentation, as incorrect changes can cause test failures.
*Settings that are generally safe to change include an asterisk.

The Plugins tab in the Settings dialog contains the options below.

Solution settings
User settings

CEF (solution setting)

Setting	Description
DOM pageurl regex black-list	Add a regex to filter out DOMs. The Regex is checked against the pageurl attribute
Force win32 rectangle for dom element	Forces Ranorex to use the Win32 rectangle for DOM elements.
Process name black list	Defines the process names (without the file extension) that the CEF plugin ignores. Add processes to the list in a new line.
Use injection (deprecated)	Uses injection for recognition in applications that use older CEF versions. This setting is deprecated.
WPF window rule FullType white list	Lists FullType names of WPF elements that are valid for WPF window rule replacement.

Delphi (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Enabled	Enables or disables the Delphi plugin.

Java (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Enable filtering on the Fx scenegraph	Filters dummy and intermediate containers out of the Fx scenegraph.
Refresh Java window after injection	Refreshes the Java window after injection to help ensure that the UI is loaded correctly.
Show SWT custom data properties	Includes custom SWT widget data values as dynamic properties.
Use Java SWT legacy automation mode	Enables legacy Java SWT automation mode using MSAA and Win32.
Whitelisted class names	Adds additional whitelisted class names (comma-separated) for Java object recognition.

Keyboard

Setting	Description
Keyboard sequence backoff interval	Specifies the cumulative time interval, in milliseconds, between focus attempts.
Keyboard sequence max focus retries	Specifies the maximum number of retries when Ranorex tries to focus the target element of a key sequence.

Misc (solution setting)

Setting	Description
WpfImproved forced once as default in Ranorex Setting hack	Set WpfImproved as the default for new Ranorex 7 version

Mobile (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Android OS Automation	Enables automation on Android OS screens. Disable this setting to improve performance
Connect timeout	Specifies the maximum time to wait for a connection to a mobile device.
Deploy timeout	Sets the maximum time allowed for deploying an app to a device. The required time depends on the application size and deployment method.
Force Android OS Automation	Forces Android OS automation and disables the standard instrumented application channel. Use this setting only in specific scenarios.
General timeout	Applies a timeout for short-running background processes (less than 10 seconds in general). If you get a lot of timeout exceptions that do not occur during special operations like instrumentation or deploying, try to increase this value.
Instrument timeout	Specifies the maximum time allowed for instrumentation operations. A starting value of 2 minutes is recommended. Very large applications may require up to 10 minutes, depending on system performance.
iOS: Maximum number of invisible children	Controls cell fetching: -1: Fetches all cells of UITable and UICollection views. Use this setting only when all views have a relatively small number of cells and static/finite data sources. 0: Disables the fetching of invincible cells. Use this setting when data in your tables is loaded dynamically, e.g., from successive web requests. Specific value (e.g 50): Fetches all visible cells and the first 50 cells surrounding the visible cells area.
Network discovery timeout	Specifies how long Ranorex sends UDP broadcasts when searching for automation devices.
Remote call timeout	Specifies the maximum time to wait for a remote procedure call response.
Screenshots on AndroidOS	Enables or disables screenshot captures for AndroidOS screens. Disable to improve test execution performance.
USB discovery timeout	Specifies the maximum time to wait for a device to be detected via USB.

Mouse (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Disable user input during automation actions	Disables manual mouse movement and clicks while a mouse input action is performed.
Mouse move interpolation mode	Determines how the mouse cursor moves between the start and end points during (Mouse.Move(..)) actions.

MSAA (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Evaluate computationally expensive attributes	A true setting instructs the plugin to evaluate attributes that are expensive to compute. This may result in longer delays when retrieving such attributes. Spying on elements with these attributes may take considerable time.
Filter elements	A false setting makes all MSAA elements available without filtering. This includes elements that are unavailable, invisible, or equivalent to elements of other flavors.
Filter Windows Forms elements	A false setting makes MSAA elements available that are direct children of Windows Forms elements and have the same role and screen rectangle as the parent element.
Filtering compatibility level	Use this property to make legacy RanoreXPaths work with the current Ranorex version. Set this value to match the Ranorex version used to create the original paths.
Refine FromPoint results	A true setting triggers an additional search operation for a better-fitting element for every MSAA FromPoint operation. This helps if the MSAA FromPoint implementation of a control is broken.

*Performance tracing (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Active tracer	Selects the active performance tracers.
Output directory	Selects the performance tracing log output directory.

Enabling this setting optimizes test execution times. For more information, see Enable Performance Tracing.

Qt (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Enable filtering on the QtQuick scenegraph	Filters out unnecessary layout, loader, and style items from the QtQuick scene graph.
Use QT legacy automation mode	Enable Qt legacy automation mode using MSAA and Qt Accessibility.

RawText (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Capture ANSI text	Determines whether ANSI text is captured.
Capture GDI+ text	Determines whether GDI+ text is captured.
Include text in rectangle filter	Determines whether text is considered when comparing captured rectangles.

Recorder (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Enable focus resolving for keyboard input	Resolves the focused element for recorded keyboard input actions.
Enable focus resolving with fallback top-level item	Resolves the focused element for recorded keyboard input actions and uses a top-level fallback item when needed.

SAP

Setting	Description
Enable SAP Row Offset	Controls whether Ranorex applies row offset handling for SAP elements at the solution level. It resolves row indexing issues in SAP GUI 800.

Tracing (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Log file name	Current NLog ranorex-logfile target file name. Value is not persisted.
Log level	Current NLog log level. Value is not persisted.

UIA (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Enable debugging mode for Windows apps	A true setting enables debugging mode for Windows apps, preventing them from suspending until logout. A false setting attempts to resume suspended apps, which may cause a race condition.
Enable filtering of Windows app frame	A true setting filters Windows 10 app frames and displays relevant elements as children of the app element. This allows for transparent automation of Windows apps in windowed and full-screen modes.
Enumerate lists using the ItemContainerPattern	A true setting instructs the plugin to use the ItemContainerPattern to iterate items of virtual lists that implement this UI Automation pattern. It may find items scrolled out of view, but it can be slower and might invalidate existing RanoreXPaths.
Evaluate computationally expensive attributes	A true setting instructs the plugin to evaluate expensive attributes. This often causes longer delays during attribute retrieval and spying.
Force recognition of context menus with UIA plugin	A true setting forces the UIA plugin to recognize context menus. Otherwise, Ranorex uses the MSAA plugin for these menus.
Force virtual items to be realized	A true setting forces virtual items to be realized when getting child elements. This allows searching lists with virtual items, but realizing may have undesired effects on the list depending on the list implementation, e.g. that the list is scrolled to make the realized item visible.
Provide elements for non-WPF windows natively implementing UIA	A true setting instructs the plugin to provide elements for any non-WPF windows that natively implement the UIA interface.
Subscribe to the UIA FocusChangedEvent	A true setting makes the plugin subscribe to the UI FocusChangedEvent. This may improve object recognition in apps like MS PowerPoint, but can negatively affect performance.
Try to convert UI elements with WindowPattern property to UIA elements	A True setting means UI elements with WindowPattern property will be converted into UIA elements if possible. Otherwise, Ranorex does not add to the element tree hierarchy.

Web (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Enable automation of embedded IE web documents	Enable automation of Internet Explorer web documents embedded in other applications.
Enable Chromium renderer accessibility	Starts Chromium-based browsers with --force-renderer-accessibility to improve recognition outside the DOM and on browser-internal pages that are not accessible through the extension. This can negatively affect browser performance.
Enable dynamic ID detection	Enable the detection and rejection of dynamic IDs when building paths.
Enable JS acceleration for IE9+ without addon	Enables the JavaScript acceleration library for Internet Explorer 9 and later when no add-on is used.
Enable JS-based RanoreXPath evaluation	Evaluates RanoreXPaths directly inside the browser DOM for all supported web plugins.
Enable usage of IE addon if available	Uses the Internet Explorer add-on, when available, to improve automation performance.

WebDriver (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Attach to open sessions	Allows Ranorex to attach to existing WebDriver sessions for test analysis and debugging. If disabled, tests/debug runs must include an ‘Open Browser’ action. Not recommended for high-latency environments.
Browser Tab Automation	Enables automation across multiple browser tabs. Not recommended for high-latency environments.
DOM fetch mode	Set to Always (DOM updates at specific intervals) or WhenChanged (DOM pulls only after changes are detected to preserve bandwidth).
DOM update interval	Defines the timespan of the interval used to update the DOM.
Screenshot update interval	Defines the timespan of the interval to update screenshots. Values that are too small cause errors.
Update screenshots after dom change	Triggers a screenshot update after DOM-changing operations (like mouse clicks). Not recommended for high-latency environments.
WebDriver Command Timeout	Sets the maximum wait duration for a web driver command to return a result. If the call takes longer, the application throws a timeout exception and may set the endpoint into the error state. A program restart is required for this parameter to take effect.

Win32 (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Black-listed process names*	Defines process names that Ranorex Studio and its components ignore during object recognition. Ranorex skips these processes unless they appear in the white list.
Enable accessibility (MSAA) actions and attributes	Specifies whether Win32 elements provide accessibility (MSAA) actions and attributes (as a Dynamic capability).
Enable basic Delphi support	Enables support for basic Delphi controls like text boxes and buttons. Set this to false for backward compatibility.
Read UI Automation attributes	Specifies whether the plugin tracks and presents the AutomationId.
Show hidden elements in the element tree	Determines whether hidden elements appear within Ranorex Spy.
Use legacy Form role	Enables 2.X legacy mode, where many elements used the Form role. Set to true for backward compatibility with 2.X paths.
White-listed process names*	Defines the only process names Ranorex Studio and its components identify. This setting overrides the black-list and ignores all processes not listed here. It also shares entries with the whitelisting feature and is a simpler version of it.

WPF (solution setting)

Setting	Description
Allow selected instance properties	Extends the dynamic attribute list with entries for plain .NET properties. Format each line as a full-type name and attribute name separated by a pipe (e.g., Ranorex.ExampleType\|IsAvailable).
Disable WPF plug-in for processes	Prevents the native WPF plug-in from acting on specified processes. Ranorex uses UIAutomation for these processes instead.
Ignore Attributes starting with	Reduces clutter in the dynamic attributes list by filtering out specific prefixes.
Legacy paths without ContentPresenter elements	A true setting creates legacy RxPaths without ContentPresenter elements, matching behavior from versions before Ranorex Studio 10.7.6.
Realize Items in Virtualizing Containers	A true setting forces WPF containers to show all child items, even those off-screen. This may significantly impact performance in large grids.
Show All Elements	Displays the complete element tree, including all visual and logical WPF elements. This disables other filtering and helps analyze inaccessible structures.
Use a legacy serialization mechanism	Reverts to the older serialization method if you experience problems with the new, faster version. Restart the AUT after changing this.
Enable tracing logs for the new serialization	Collects serialization logs for support analysis in C:\Temp\Ranorex\RanorexLogs_Server.txt and C:\Temp\Ranorex\RanorexLogs_Client.txt.
Legacy paths without ContentPresenter elements	A true setting creates legacy RxPaths without ContentPresenter elements, matching behavior from versions before Ranorex Studio 10.7.6.

WPF Legacy/UIA Interaction

References:
(##) The tree strategy is used to build the tree, with the root element being WPF- or WPF Core-based.
(**) The first tree is used to record or track elements. When the user clicks track elements from this tree, they are grabbed and inserted into the solution.
(***) The second tree is used to create solutions by hand using the repository’s elements.
(###) The improved WPF tree filters out unwanted items or items that are not useful for the solution.
(####) The legacy WPF tree should be used only for customers using solutions before Ranorex version 10.0.

Tree Strategy Name (##)	Definition	Tree 1 (**)	Tree 2 (***)	WPF tree structure	WPF Core tree structure
`WPFOnly`	Only shows the native WPF plugin tree and suppresses UIA.	WPF (legacy) (####)	Not produced	Classic (Legacy)	Improved (###)
`WPFPreferred`	Shows both WPF and UIA trees, and returns the WPF elements for tracking.	WPF (legacy) (####)	UIA	Classic (Legacy)	Improved (###)
`UIAPreferred`	Shows both UIA and WPF trees, and returns UIA elements for tracking.	UIA	WPF (legacy) (####)	Classic (Legacy)	Improved (###)
`UIAOnly`	Completely deactivates this plugin, making all other settings obsolete. This does not use the native WPF plugin.	UIA	Not produced	Classic (Legacy)	Not used for UIA
`WPFImprovedOnly` (Default option)	Only shows the improved native WPF plugin tree and suppresses UIA.	WPF	Not produced	Improved (###)	Improved (###)
`WPFImprovedPreferred` (New option)	Shows both WPF and UIA trees and returns the WPF elements for tracking.	WPF	UIA	Improved (###)	Improved (###)
`UIAPreferred_WithWPFImproved` (New option)	Shows both UIA and WPF trees and returns UIA elements for tracking.	UIA	WPF	Improved (###)	Improved (###)

Ranorex also requires Administrator privileges in specific scenarios to work correctly:

Tree Strategy Name	Using Windows 10	Using Windows 11
`WPFOnly`	Admin mode	Standard mode
`WPFPreferred`	Admin mode	Admin mode
`UIAPreferred`	Standard mode	Admin mode
`UIAOnly`	Standard mode	Standard mode
`WPFImprovedOnly`	Standard mode	Standard mode
`WPFImprovedPreferred`	Standard mode	Admin mode
`UIAPreferred_WithWPFImproved`	Standard mode	Admin mode

See also: Improved WPF Plugin for information on the improved WPF plugin available in Ranorex 7.0+.

WPF Tree (solution setting)

For all filter entries, use the following format: “CurrentType|ParentType|ApparentParentType”. Each entry is a pipe-separated tuple of type-names for current, parent, and apparent-parent elements. An empty field denotes match-all, for example, “FrameworkElement||” matches for all parent and apparent-parent elements.

Setting	Description
Always Show Visual Children	Instructs Ranorex to show visual children for specific types even if they have logical children. This enables access to elements outside the logical tree, such as data-bound elements.
Never Show Visual Children	Hides visual children for matching elements even if they lack logical children. This reduces unnecessary branches in the element tree.
Skip Elements	Prevents Ranorex from showing or traversing specific types. This reduces tree size by hiding types irrelevant to UI testing.
Skip Elements but Descend to Children	Hides redundant elements but continues the tree with their children. This simplifies the hierarchy by removing common nested container constructs.
Skip Elements but Descend to Single Child	Hides redundant containers if they have one or zero children. Ranorex only shows these containers if they hold at least two children.

WPF.Core (solution setting)

Settings	Description
Allow selected instance properties	Extends the dynamic attribute list with entries for plain .NET properties. Each line specifies a full-type name and the attribute name, separated by a pipe, e.g., Ranorex.ExampleType\|IsAvailable
Disable WPF plug-in for processes	Do not use the native WPF plugin for any process specified in the list; keep using UIAutomation for WPF as in Ranorex version up to 5.2
Enable tracing logs for the new serialization	Enables tracing logs for the new serialization mechanism for support analysis.
Ignore attributes starting with	Reduce clutter in the list of dynamic attributes.
Legacy paths without ContentPresenter elements	Set this setting to True if you want to build legacy RxPAths without ContentPresenter elements. This can result in having similar paths as in versions earlier than Ranorex Studio 10.7.6
Realize items in virtualizing containers	Many WPF containers only show children that are also visible on the screen. To show all child-items, set this option to true. By default, this is false, as the performance impact for large grids can be very high.
Show all elements	Displays the complete WPF element tree, including all visual and logical elements. This disables other filtering options and can help analyze inaccessible application structures.
Use a legacy serialization mechanism	A new faster serialization mechanism is being used. Use this option in case of any issues caused by the new one. Make sure to restart the AUT after changing this setting.
WPF Core plugin enabled	Set to False to completely deactivate this plugin, making all other settings obsolete.