Automatically enabled environment for functional testing

From Rational® Functional Tester version 8.2.2 onwards, Rational® Functional Tester automatically enables the environments for functional testing.

Typically, you prepare the functional test environment by enabling components such as browsers, associated Java™ Runtime Environments (JREs), Java™ plug-ins, and Eclipse platforms. With automatic enablement of the test environment, you can directly record and play back functional test scripts without enabling components manually.
Note:
  • Automatic enablement option is available only on Windows machine.
  • When you turn on automatic enablement, ensure that in addition to the application under test only the processes required by Rational® Functional Tester are running on the computer.

To turn off automatic enablement in Rational® Functional Tester Eclipse IDE version 8.5.1 9.1 and later, click Window > Preferences > Functional Test, then clear the Automatic enablement check box.

To turn off automatic enablement in Rational® Functional Tester Visual Studio IDE version 8.5.19.1 and later, click Tools > Options > Functional Test the clear the Automatic Enablement check box.

Before version 8.5.1, automatic enablement is modified with the rational.test.ft.browser.infest_on_demand in the ivory.properties file. By default, this property is set to true.

The automatically enabled environment overcomes significant limitations that are seen while testing JRE versions later than Sun JRE 1.6 Update 17.

Rational® Functional Tester enables the components automatically only in Microsoft™ Windows™ environments, including Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) setups. The automatic enablement takes place under certain conditions and has limitations. Table 1 lists the components that are enabled automatically and the components that need to be enabled manually. Table 2 lists the applications for which the test environment is enabled automatically, and the applications for which the environment must be enabled manually.

Table 1. Scenarios for automatic enablement - components
Component types Automatically enabled Enable manually
Browsers
  • Automatic enablement is supported on Microsoft Internet Explorer for 32-bit Rational® Functional Tester installation.
Learn more about automatically enabled browsers:
  • Any associated Java™ plug-ins for the supported browsers are also enabled automatically.
  • You can test HTML applications that contain Sun JRE applets on automatically enabled 32-bit browsers. For this, you must replace the contents in the java.policy file by the following code to make sure that the browser is enabled automatically for applet testing:
    grant {
permission java.security.AllPermission;
};
    You must also make sure that during playback, the first click must be on the applet window.
  • Testing HTML applications that contain applets that are loaded in automatically enabled 64-bit browsers is not supported.
  • Google Chrome browsers
  • Microsoft™ Edge
  • Mozilla Firefox
JREs All Sun or IBM® JREs versions 1.5 or later that are supported by Rational® Functional Tester. All Sun or IBM® JRE versions earlier than 1.5 that are supported by Rational® Functional Tester
Table 2. Scenarios for automatic enablement - application domains
Automatically enabled environment Enable environment manually
  • HTML applications
  • Dojo applications
  • Java™ applications that contain Swing controls
  • Java™ Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) applications
  • Java™ applications that are built by using Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT).
Learn more about automatic enablement for SWT and 64-bit AWT applications: Automatic enablement for SWT applications and 64-bit AWT applications has certain limitations and requires specific conditions. The test environment is enabled automatically if both Rational® Functional Tester and the test applications use a JRE from the same vendor. If the JREs are from different vendors, complete one of the following steps so that the environment is enabled automatically:
  • By default, Rational® Functional Tester uses the IBM® JRE. Verify whether you can set the test application to use the IBM® JRE. If setting the test application to use the IBM® JRE is not possible, set Rational® Functional Tester to use the Sun JRE that the test application uses.
  • If the test application uses Sun JRE, complete one of the following steps:
    • Copy the tools.jar file and the attach.dll file from the Sun jdk<version_number> directory to the jre<version_number>/lib/ext directory.
    • Start the test application with this command: java -javaagent:"<Rational® Functional Tester installation directory>\javaagent\FtAgent.jar"
  • Adobe™ Flex applications
  • Siebel applications
  • SAP GUI client and server, for testing SAP applications

Limitations and workarounds in automatically enabled environments

Automatically enabled test environments have the following limitations:
  • For 64-bit Rational® Functional Tester installer, automatic enablement is not supported for Internet Explorer browser. Dynamic enablement is supported only for 32-bit Rational® Functional Tester installer for Internet Explorer browser.
  • You cannot open the Verification Point Comparator by clicking the View Results link in the functional test HTML log. Instead, open the corresponding project log file from the functional test project log, in the Functional Test Projects view.
  • When you test 32-bit SWT or Eclipse applications in automatically enabled environments, the first click action is not recorded. Perform the first click twice to make sure that it is recorded.
  • In an automatically enabled test environment, if you uninstall a JRE that is associated with a browser, restart the computer, and then disable the uninstalled JRE in any browser add-ons that point to the uninstalled JRE, if any.
  • In some combinations of JREs and operating systems, when the environment is automatically enabled, the browser shuts down unexpectedly when text is entered in a text box in an applet that is embedded in an HTML page. To resolve this, do one of the following procedures:
    • For Internet Explorer browsers, update the policy file with the permissions in the security folder of the JRE that is associated with the browser.
    • For Mozilla Firefox browsers, manually enable the browsers, and ensure that the Next-Gen plug-in is disabled.
    • Use the Scripting option to access elements relative to the enabled domain toplevelwindow (either HTMLTopLevelWindow or JavaTopLevelWindow)