Specifying error-handling behavior

You can specify how error conditions are handled when running a test or schedule. Error conditions include verification point failures, connection failures, server timeouts, custom code alerts, and problems with data correlation.

About this task

You can specify error-handling behavior for the workbench, schedules, tests, and test elements/steps. The Errors report displays the error conditions and error behavior that occurred in a test or schedule. When you set the error-handling behavior for the workbench, it is applied to all the tests in the workbench. To apply it for the workbench, click Window > Preferences > Test > Test Execution > Error handling.

Starting from 9.2, there is a new Error handling preference - Mobile or Web UI Fatal Error - to allow text execution for a compound test to continue even after a fatal exception in one of the tests in a compound test.

Procedure

  1. In the Test Navigator, browse to a test, and double-click it.
    The test opens.
  2. In the Test editor, complete one of the following steps:
    1. To specify error-handling behavior for a request/step or other elements in the test hierarchy, in the Test Contents section, select the element and in the Test Details section, click the Advanced tab.
    2. To specify error-handling behavior for an element such as a connection, verification point, substitution, or reference, select the element, and then click Change. Skip to step 5.
    3. To specify error-handling behavior for a dataset that is associated with a test, on the Common Options page, select the dataset, and then click Dataset Properties. Click Change. Skip to step 5.
  3. Under Error Handling, expand Click to show conditions.
    The error condition table is displayed. The error condition table shows all possible conditions that can be handled in the test.
  4. Select the check box next to the condition for which to specify behavior.
    A window opens where you can specify the action to take and the message to log when the condition occurs.
  5. To apply an action when the specified condition occurs, select the Override action upon error check box .
    OptionDescription
    Continue Click to continue running the test.
    Exit transaction Click to exit a transaction when the specified condition occurs. Select the Innermost or Outermost transaction, or type the name of a transaction.
    Exit loop Click to exit a loop when the specified condition occurs. Select the Innermost or Outermost loop, or type the name of a loop.
    Continue to next iteration of loop Click to continue to the next iteration of a loop when the specified condition occurs. Select the Innermost or Outermost loop, or type the name of a loop.
    Exit test Click to exit the test when the specified condition occurs.
    Exit user Click to stop the virtual user that encounters the specified condition.

    For a Web UI test, this action will stop the test execution.
    Terminate run Click to stop the run when the specified condition occurs.
  6. To contribute to the health of the page, transaction, or loop, select the Override contribution to health status check box and select Yes. The respective reports display the health of the page, transaction, or loop.
  7. Optional: To write a message to the test log when the specified condition occurs, select the Override log message upon error check box and type a message.
  8. Click OK.

Example

To stop running a test when a substitution failure occurs in data correlation, select the Substitution Failure check box. Click Exit Test, and then click OK. The error-handling behavior that is specified closest to where an error occurs takes precedence. If a specific request is set to continue if a substitution fails, and the schedule is set to stop if a substitution fails, then the schedule will continue running if the substitution fails in that request.