Solutions to common problems
This topic is an information container where solutions to problems or test challenges are addressed which have not yet been described in detail in the Ranorex documentation, user guide, release notes, or eLearning modules. Usually, this chapter hosts upcoming problems primarily addressed within the forum or through support queries. This chapter is your first address when not finding information about your problem or question before contacting the forum or Ranorex support.
Structure of this chapter
Technology limitation warning
Technology limitation warnings usually have their origin in an incomplete instrumentation. We recommend following the below-listed link before contacting the Ranorex support team.
Further reading
Technology limitation warnings are addressed in > Interfaces & connectivity > Technology instrumentation > ⇢ General troubleshooting.
How does Ranorex identify UI-elements?
Ranorex tracks, identifies and stores UI-elements in a two-step process. Basically, UI-elements are referenced by an inner representation called repository items. Each repository item abstracts the corresponding UI-element with a role and optional capabilities. The position within the GUI is described by a special RanoreXPath specifier which uniquely identifies each UI-element.
Further reading
We recommend start reading about UI-elements in the fundamental chapter > Ranorex Studio fundamentals > Repository > ⇢ Introduction.
If you are interested in more advanced information according to this topic, please refer to > Ranorex Studio advanced > UI-elements > ⇢ Introduction.
Is it required to use RanoreXPath for test automation?
No. It’s also possible to search for UI-elements or forms using a number of different Find
methods to search and/or filter for UI-elements.
Further reading
The user guide chapter ‘Code examples’ provides the necessary information > Hands-on application topics > ⇢ Code examples.
Besides this, we provide a fundamental and easy-to-understand introduction to RanoreXPath with lots of syntax examples for you to use, apply and raise your understanding. Once you are familiar with RanoreXPath, you will find it more easily to perform your UI-elements tracking challenges.
Further reading
The concept of RanoreXPath is introduced and explained in detail in > Ranorex Studio advanced > RanoreXPath > ⇢ Introduction.
Does Ranorex support data-driven testing?
Yes – data-driven testing is an advanced key concept of Ranorex. Ranorex supports data connectors for simple data tables, CSV-files, Excel files and SQL database files.
Further reading
Data-driven testing is introduced and explained in > Ranorex Studio advanced > Data-driven testing > ⇢ Introduction.
How can I speed up my Excel-based data connector?
Especially with large files, the performance of Microsoft’s default file format for excel spreadsheets is getting poor. This weakness might also affect your data-driven test execution. For performance improvements we recommend to use the binary file format (xlsb) instead of the default one (xlsx). Simply save your Excel spreadsheet with the extension “xlsb” and assign it to your excel data source.
Further reading
More information on this topic can be found in > Ranorex Studio advanced > Data-driven testing > ⇢ Data & data management (#Excel data connector).
What to do if items can’t be found during Ranorex test execution?
Further reading
More information on this topic can be found in > Hands-on application topics > Best practices > ⇢ Fix ‘element not found’ error.
Is it possible to extend recordings with user-specified code actions?
You can easily extend standard recordings with user specific code actions by converting existing action items or by adding a new user code action item to a recording.
Further reading
More information on this topic can be found in > Ranorex Studio fundamentals > Actions > ⇢ User code actions.
What is the difference between Adapter and Element?
In Ranorex, UI-elements are mapped against an inner representation which is called a repository item. UI-elements are described by roles, capabilities, attributes & values and the RanoreXPath specification. These important topics are addressed in corresponding chapters:
Further reading
If you want yourself get familiar with this important topic, we recommend start reading > Ranorex Studio advanced > UI-elements > ⇢ Introduction.
The advanced concept of RanoreXPath is introduced and explained in > Ranorex Studio advanced > RanoreXPath > ⇢ Introduction.
Note
Formerly, the term adapter (aka adapter-type) was used to describe the internal representation type of a UI-element. This definition has now been replaced by a more consistent specification distinguishing between roles, capabilities, attributes, and values.
The term was also used as part of the RanoreXPath specification which has now been replaced by the term ‘role‘.
Is it possible to trigger Ranorex tests from an existing test or build environment?
The result of a Ranorex test automation project is always an executable file. The generated *.exe
can easily be started from other environments supporting command line execution.
Further reading
Running tests without Ranorex Studio at command level is introduced and explained in > Ranorex Studio fundamentals > Test suite > ⇢ Running tests without Ranorex Studio.
Can I run my tests on machines where I am not allowed to install Ranorex?
Yes, it is possible to run automated tests on runtime machines without Ranorex Installation.
Further reading
The topic is addressed in > Interfaces & connectivity > ⇢ XCOPY deployment.
Can I use Ranorex libraries within Visual Studio?
That’s one of the big advantages of using Ranorex. You’re able to use your existing development environment to develop Ranorex based test automation code. Additionally, the code generated by the Ranorex Recorder or Ranorex Repository can easily be integrated into your Visual Studio projects.
Further reading
The topic is addressed in > Interfaces & connectivity > ⇢ Visual Studio integration.
What shall I do with unexpected dialogs and popup windows during test automation?
Ranorex provides the dedicated class PopupWatcher
to watch for and to handle popup windows. By using this class, not only simply click actions to close popup dialogs can be called. Even more complex scenarios can be handled in custom callback routines being called at the time the popup appears.
Further reading
Read more about how to handle popup dialogs with Ranorex in > Hands-on application topics > ⇢ Code examples.
Is it possible to test Silverlight applications with Ranorex?
Yes, it is. Simply ensure that your Silverlight application does not run in window-less-mode, i.e. set the Windowless
property of the Silverlight HTML object to false. Find more information about window-less mode on the following site: msdn.microsoft.com
Is it possible to automate a webpage without moving the mouse pointer?
Yes, it is. Simply use the PerformClick
instead of the normal Click
method when working with web adapters like DivTag
, Input
or Link
.
Further reading
This topic is addressed in > Ranorex Studio fundamentals > Actions > ⇢ Invoking actions.
What are the system requirements for developing and running Ranorex tests?
The following link to our online documentation shows what is needed to develop or to simply run Ranorex tests.
Further reading
Ranorex system requirements are listed in > Ranorex Studio system details > ⇢ System requirements.
Are there known incompatibilities with other software?
In general, there are no known incompatibilities. However, some antivirus or security software blocks certain Ranorex functionality. Consequently, if you experience problems with your automation and are running antivirus or security software, we recommend temporarily switching that software off for a test run.