Automate Your
UI Testing with Ranorex

We at Ranorex think that a test automation framework has to be easy to use, should recognize common UI technologies and should be suitable to existing development environments. With that said it should bring testers and developers together.

For that reason we have developed the Ranorex Automation Framework which has an open architecture. The core functionality is an API which is based on the .NET framework. All of our test automation tools are based on standards (e.g. XML) and generate real C#, VB.NET and IronPython user code.

Easy-to-Use Test Automation Toolset

The Ranorex toolset allows to automate your UI testing by recording your UI actions without the need to write any code. However, all recordings can have a code file in the background, which gives you the possibility to customize your test scripts if you wish to. In addition, its excellent object recognition enables you to identify the UI elements of your application, regardless of whether it’s a Web or Windows based UI.

We think that testers and developers should be able to write and execute UI tests easily in their preferred environment. All the test automation tools needed for test creation are included. The tester can use Ranorex Studio to create their UI tests.

By starting a Ranorex test project, Ranorex Studio automatically generates an executable file in the background and then runs this exe file. This “program” or executable tests the application under test. This executable file can also be easily transferred to another machine and run there.

UI Testing for Developers

Developers like doing UI testing with Ranorex because they can work in their existing development environment. For example they can use Microsoft Visual Studio to create unit test driven UI test automation. This means simple automation modules can be created and shared between developers and testers. Since the Ranorex Studio project file is fully compatible with Visual Studio, developers can easily open and work on existing UI tests created in Ranorex Studio or vice versa. The Ranorex standalone tools and the powerful API provide everything you need to generate UI tests.

Professional Test Automation Tools

The core component of the Ranorex Automation Framework is the Ranorex Library. This .NET based API provides all the functionality needed to automate application user interfaces based on many different types of technologies. All the Ranorex automation tools use this same core API for all of their functionality.

• Ranorex Spy is a tool that allows you to analyze and validate the current state of an application’s UI elements. You can also read and edit the RanoreXPath. The RanoreXPath provides for the unique identification and filtering of UI elements. Use Ranorex Spy to look at UI element properties and to change the RanoreXPath, for example, you would do this to search and filter for UI elements that have specific property values.
• Ranorex Recorder provides for extremely easy recording and playback of user actions. Recorded actions and their associated UI elements are saved as individual items and therefore can be easily accessed and edited. The Ranorex Recorder is much more than just a recorder, providing powerful editing and customization capabilities. The identifier and a name for the UI elements are saved in the Ranorex Repository. The RanoreXPath, or UI element identifier if you will, can be edited for every element. This allows for increased maintainability, because if the identifier of an element changes you only need to update it once for that UI element and not for all the actions that use that element. C#, VB.NET and IronPython code can then be generated for the recorded actions and UI elements.
• Ranorex Repository is actually a separate tool that is integrated into Ranorex Spy, Recorder and Studio. Its purpose is not only to separate the element identification from the test sequence actions, but also to create a logical mapping of the user interface. As explained earlier, this greatly reduces maintenance by allowing you to update the RanoreXPath - the UI element Identifier - without having to modify the test sequence.
• Ranorex Studio is a fully integrated test development environment that brings all of the Ranorex tools together. In addition to integrating the Spy, Recorder, and Repository into one tool, it provides a test project overview and an intuitive code editor with syntax highlighting, code-completion, debugger, watch monitor and more.

Excellent Object Recognition – Robust Test Automation

The basis for robust test automation depends on accurate recognition and unique identification of the UI elements (this is commonly referred to as good object recognition). For this reason we specialize in the most modern UI technologies enabling the tester to access UI elements and their specific properties, which ultimately enables performing test automation and validation on those elements.

Therefore we support many types of windows and web based applications and user interfaces. More specifically we support Win32, WPF, WinForms and QT Desktop applications, as well as HTML, AJAX, Flash, Flex and Silverlight web applications. Web Based technologies can easily be tested in either Windows Internet Explorer or Firefox. This means you also have access to browser-specific UI elements such as context menus and menu items. Due to the unique object identification and flexibility of the RanoreXPath, it is possible to create one test for your web application that will work for both IE and Firefox as the host. This allows for easy system and integration testing.

Many companies also use 3rd party controls in their applications. Even for these 3rd party controls Ranorex provides solutions and support for leading vendors such as Infragistics, DevExpress, Qt and many more. However, from experience we know that test automation is sometimes complicated and often requires workarounds. It’s also not always obvious how to perform some automation tasks. You can find many tips, tricks and even workarounds in our online forum. The forum is very active and full of good information. Our expert team is always more than happy to answer your question in the forum. Watch Ranorex Test Automation demo video