Recovery Scenarios in Quicktest

A recovery scenario consists of the following:

• Trigger Event—The event that interrupts your run session. For example, a window that may pop up on screen, or a QuickTest run error.
• Recovery Operation(s)—The operation(s) that need to be performed in order to continue running the test or component. For example, clicking an OK button in a pop-up window, or restarting Microsoft Windows.
• Post-Recovery Test Run Option—The instructions on how QuickTest should proceed once the recovery operations have been performed, and from which point in the test or component QuickTest should continue, if at all. For example, you may want to restart a test or component from the beginning, or skip a step entirely and continue with the next step in the test or component.

Recovery scenarios are saved in recovery scenario files. A recovery scenario file is a logical collection of recovery scenarios, grouped according to your own specific requirements.

Select a type of trigger and click Next. The next screen displayed in the wizard depends on which of the following trigger types you select:

• Pop-up window—QuickTest detects a pop-up window and identifies it according to the window title and textual content. For example, a message box may open during a run session, indicating that the printer is out of paper. QuickTest can detect this window and activate a defined recovery scenario in order to continue the run session.

Select this option and click Next to continue to the Specify Pop-up Window Conditions Screen.

• Object state—QuickTest detects a specific test object state and identifies it according to its property values and the property values of all its ancestors. Note that an object is identified only by its property values, and not by its class.

For example, a specific button in a dialog box may be disabled when a specific process is open. QuickTest can detect the object property state of the button that occurs when this problematic process is open and activate a defined recovery scenario to close the process and continue the run session.

Select this option and click Next to continue to the Select Object Screen.

• Test run error—QuickTest detects a run error and identifies it by a failed return value from a method. For example, QuickTest may not be able to identify a menu item specified in the method argument, due to the fact that the menu item is not available at a specific point during the run session. QuickTest can detect this run error and activate a defined recovery scenario in order to continue the run session.

Select this option and click Next to continue to the Select Test Run Error Screen.

• Application crash—QuickTest detects an application crash and identifies it according to a predefined list of applications. For example, a secondary application may crash when a certain step is performed in the run session. You want to be sure that the run session does not fail because of this crash, which may indicate a different problem with your application. QuickTest can detect this application crash and activate a defined recovery scenario to continue the run session.

You can define the following types of recovery operations:

• Keyboard or mouse operation—QuickTest simulates a click on a button in a window or a press of a keyboard key. Select this option and click Next to continue to the Recovery Operation - Click Button or Press Key Screen.
• Close application process—QuickTest closes specified processes. Select this option and click Next to continue to the Recovery Operation - Close Processes Screen.
• Function call—QuickTest calls a VBScript function. Select this option and click Next to continue to the Recovery Operation - Function Call Screen.
• Restart Microsoft Windows—QuickTest restarts Microsoft Windows. Select this option and click Next to continue to the Recovery Operations Screen.

QuickTest can perform one of the following run session options after it performs the recovery operations you defined:

• Repeat current step and continue

The current step is the step that QuickTest was running when the recovery scenario was triggered. If you are using the On error activation option for recovery scenarios, the step that returns the error is often one or more steps later than the step that caused the trigger event to occur.

Thus, in most cases, repeating the current step does not repeat the trigger event. For more information,

• Proceed to next step

Skips the step that QuickTest was running when the recovery scenario was triggered. Keep in mind that skipping a step that performs operations on your application may cause subsequent steps to fail.

• Proceed to next action iteration

Stops performing steps in the current action iteration and begins the next action iteration from the beginning (or the next action if no additional iterations of the current action are required).

• Proceed to next test iteration

Stops performing steps in the current action and begins the next test iteration from the beginning (or stops running the test if no additional iterations of the current action are required).

• Restart current test run

Stops performing steps and re-runs the test or component from the beginning.

• Stop the test run

Stops running the test or component.