Roles, Capabilities, and More

When Ranorex identifies a UI element, it also assigns metadata that describes what the element is and what it can do. This metadata helps you validate element recognition, build more stable repository items, and troubleshoot identification issues early.

In Ranorex Studio, this metadata is grouped into:

• Roles (purpose / how a user interacts with the element)
• Characteristics (role-derived properties)
• Capabilities (technology-derived features)
• Attributes (concrete values that describe the element)

If Ranorex can’t determine an appropriate role, the element is classified as Unknown.

Ranorex categorizes UI elements in a consistent order. Understanding this order helps you reason about why an element ended up with a specific role, attribute, or capability.

1. Technology-independent role assignment: Ranorex first determines the element’s role, which describes how users interact with it. If no adequate role is found, the role becomes Unknown.
2. Role-specific characteristics: Based on the role, Ranorex derives characteristics, which group attributes that describe the element in more detail.
3. Attributes: Each characteristic contributes a set of attributes (with values).
   Attributes take values to define the UI element in more detail.
   Together with those derived from the capability category (item 4), there are more than 600 attributes.
4. Technology-specific capabilities: Ranorex then derives capabilities based on the UI technology used by the AUT (for example, WinForms). Capabilities also contribute attributes. Based on the technology used for the UI element, Ranorex Studio derives a set of capabilities.
   Capabilities contain sets of attributes (see item 5) to define the UI element in more detail.
   There are around 150 capabilities divided into 15 categories.
   As technology evolves, some capabilities become outdated, and new ones are being added.
5. Attributes: Each capability comes with a set of attributes. Attributes take values to define the UI element in more detail.
   Together with those derived from the characteristics category (item 3), there are more than 600 attributes.

Roles describe the UI element’s purpose—in other words, how a user can interact with it. Roles are intended to be technology-independent and cover common UI elements.

If Ranorex can’t assign an adequate role based on its identification algorithm, the role is set to Unknown.

Where you see the role

• In a repository item’s RanoreXPath

• In Ranorex Spy (element tree and element details)

Example: Check the assigned role

For a quick example of an assigned role, simply take a look at a repository item’s RanoreXPath or select a UI element in the tree browser in Ranorex Spy.

1. Radio button for gender selection in AUT.
2. Corresponding repository item named RdbFemale in the repository.
3. Assigned role in the item’s RanoreXPath.
   
4. Spy displaying the UI element with the assigned role outside quotes in the UI element name (element tree)
5. Spy displaying the UI element with the assigned role outside quotes in the UI element name (element details)

After the role is determined, Ranorex derives role-specific characteristics. Characteristics group attributes that further describe the element, and the number/type of characteristics depends on the role.

A typical set of characteristics includes:

1. General: Attributes and actions in this category are directly derived from the UI element. This category sums up attributes and actions that may originate from other categories.
2. Layout: Contains all attributes that refer to the graphical layout of the UI element. Attributes in Layout are technology-independent.
3. Dynamic: When a UI element has been implemented with extended functionality by the developer, the corresponding attributes are contained in this category.
4. Role attributes: Contains attributes that only apply to this specific role. Takes the name of the role. In the example, the characteristic is called RadioButton.

View role-specific characteristics

You can view characteristics and their attributes in Ranorex Spy under the Overview and Advanced tabs in the element details.

1. Overview: Shows a summary of the currently available and assigned attributes of the UI element.
2. Advanced: Shows the attributes in detail and lets you edit them.

In addition to role-based characteristics, Ranorex assigns technology-specific capabilities derived from the UI technology used by the AUT. Capabilities are organized into technology categories and contribute additional attributes.

The table below shows these categories and the number of capabilities they contain.

Example for capability assignment

1. The Control capability, part of the WinForms technology
2. The four attributes of this capability contain

View all capabilities and their attributes

Use the attribute overview dialog when you need to inspect the full set of capabilities/attributes available for an element.

1. In Spy’s attributes overview, click Edit path weights…

2. In the dialog, click Show attribute overview…
   

3. The attributes overview opens.
   

1. Capabilities list
2. Attributes for each capability