Frequently asked questions about Rational® Functional Tester

For answers to some generic questions on using IBM® Rational® Functional Tester, see this topic.

Does Rational® Functional Tester support the testing of my application?

Rational® Functional Tester supports applications that are developed using certain technologies. Verify the type of technology that is used to develop the test application, and verify if Rational® Functional Tester supports functional testing of the domains and the controls in the application. If Rational® Functional Tester supports the technology, and does not support a specific control for functional testing by default, you can use Proxy SDK to develop proxies that enable support for specific controls.

For information about supported domains, see Test application domain support.

For information about using Proxy SDK, see Introduction to Proxy SDK.

Can Rational® Functional Tester be used to test Eclipse-based applications?

Yes. For configuration details, see Eclipse Support.

Is the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) provided with Rational® Functional Tester?

If your Rational® Functional Tester installation detects another Rational Software Development Platform (SDP) tool on the workstation or an existing Eclipse installation, it shares the IDE shell on the workstation. If no other SDP tool is found on the workstation, Rational® Functional Tester installs its own instance of the shell. Rational® Functional Tester shares the shell with Rational® Software Architect, Rational® Application Developer, Rational® Performance Tester, or any of the Rational Software Development Platform offerings .

For information about shell sharing, see the technote http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?&uid=swg27038243.

How do I enable debugging in Rational® Functional Tester?

When you encounter a problem, debugging might be helpful to obtain more information about the possible causes of the problem. The problem can be in playback as well as in recording. To set the Rational® Functional Tester Debug Perspective preference, see the instructions in Debugging scripts.

How do I transfer the information specified in the Rational® Functional Tester Application Configuration Tool to playback agent machines?

Rational® Functional Tester scripts contain startApp API calls to start your application under test at run time. For example:
startApp("IBM.com");
At run time, the startApp command matches the string that is passed to it, with the corresponding entry in the Application Configuration Tool on the local playback machine. If no matching entry is found, an exception occurs and playback fails:
com.rational.test.ft.script.RunException: CRFCN0630E: Cannot find application [IBM] in the configuration file.

To avoid this exception, applications must be configured for testing on the playback workstation before the scripts are played back. For instructions to configure your applications for testing, see Configuring applications for testing.

To transfer your configured applications list between workstations, do these steps:
  1. Open the Application Configuration Tool (click Configure > Configure Applications for Testing).

    Alternately (or if you do not have a scripting environment installed), use the command line interface as described in the technote Invoking the Functional Test Configure menu items from a command line. If you have multiple applications to test, manually specifying the application information in the Application Configuration Tool can be time consuming. This technote describes how to copy the application configuration information between workstations, avoiding the need to manually enter this information.

  2. Open the C:\ProgramData\IBM\RFT\configuration\configurations.rftcfg file in a text editor. This XML file stores the information specified in the Application Configuration Tool.
  3. Copy the information contained within these tags:
    <ApplicationList L=".ApplicationList">
</ApplicationList>
  4. Paste this information in the C:\ProgramData\IBM\RFT\configuration\configurations.rftcfg file on your additional workstations.
  5. Save the changes and restart Rational® Functional Tester. The updated information is displayed in the Application Configuration Tool.

How do I run Rational® Functional Tester under a different Java™ Runtime Environment (JRE)?

In a normal Eclipse-based Rational® Functional Tester installation, Rational® Functional Tester uses its own JRE, or the JRE of the Eclipse-based shell in which it has been installed. However, you can specify the JRE to be used, if required. Use the -vm argument at the command prompt to specify the JRE to be used:
"C:\Program Files\IBM\SDP\eclipse.exe" -vm "C:\Progra~1\j2sdk1.4.1_02\bin\javaw.exe"
Note: The Java version is only provided as an example. You can specify any Java version that is supported by Rational® Functional Tester.
You can also change the JRE permanently by editing the eclipse.ini file in the SDP directory or by editing this registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Rational Software\Rational Test\8\Rational FT JRE
Note: These steps to change the JRE are applicable only to Java-based Rational® Functional Tester installations and not to installations in Microsoft Visual Studio for .NET.

How do I cleanly uninstall Rational® Functional Tester versions 7.x, 8.0 and 8.1.x on Microsoft® Windows®?

See Uninstalling Rational Functional Tester cleanly.

How do I enable the browser environments for testing applications on Microsoft® Windows® systems compliant with Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC)?

Do these steps if you encounter problems trying to enable the browser environment for testing applications on FDCC compliant Microsoft® Windows® computers:

To enable the Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 browsers:
Note: This workaround is not required when you enable these browsers in Rational® Functional Tester, version 8.1.1.2.
  1. Click Start > Run. In the Run window, type regedit.
  2. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Enable Browser Extensions key in the Registry Editor, enable the third party browser extensions.
Note: Ensure that the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) corresponding to Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 is properly enabled and aligned with the browser.
To enable the Mozilla Firefox browser:
  1. Click Tools > Add-Ons.
  2. Navigate to the <product installation directory>\FunctionalTester\bin\enabler directory.
  3. Drag the enabler files RtxFFEnabler.xpi (for Firefox 2.0) , RtxFF3Enabler.xpi (for Firefox 3.0) , RtxFF35Enabler.xpi (for Firefox 3.5) and RtxFF36Enabler.xpi (for FireFox 3.6) to Add-Ons in Firefox.
  4. Click Install.

Can Rational® Functional Tester be used with a project enabled for Unified Configuration Management (UCM)?

Yes. However, Rational® Functional Tester supports only single-stream UCM.

Does configuring the application under test (AUT) modify the AUT?

Configuring an application does not modify it. It is analogous to setting up a system of shortcuts so that Rational® Functional Tester can start the application.

What happens when Internet Explorer is enabled?

Internet Explorer is enabled by registering a browser helper object (BHO) with Internet Explorer. In the registry, this key is added if Internet Explorer has been properly enabled:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{1E9FB1C4-F40B-4E10-898E-D6209B122F6B}	Rational IE Enabler

What are the language limitations for Rational® Functional Tester scripts?

Rational® Functional Tester uses standard Java. All the normal Java functions are available in functional test scripts and no subset of the language with custom extensions is used.