Run tests automatically

This task describes how to run tests in a Default test set automatically.

In this topic:

Automatic test execution overview

You can run tests in a Default test set automatically from ALM. You can choose to run tests on your machine or on remote testing hosts. A testing host is any machine connected to your network on which a testing tool has already been installed.

As opposed to Functional test sets, which use server-side execution and do not require user intervention during test execution, Default test sets use client-side execution, where the user must start and manage test execution.

You can choose to run all of the tests in a test set, or specific tests, including both automated and manual tests.

• When you run an automated test, ALM opens the selected testing tool automatically, runs the test on your local machine or on remote hosts, and exports the results to ALM.
• When you run a manual test from the Automatic Runner dialog box and specify a remote host, ALM notifies a designated tester by email to run the test on the specified host.

You can also run an automated system test to provide system information, capture a desktop image, or restart a machine. For details on system tests, see Create tests.

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Run tests automatically

Run all of the tests in a test set, or specific tests, including both automated and manual tests using Automatic Runner.

Prerequisites:

Prerequisite	Description
Set up hosts for remote test execution	Before running tests automatically, you must set up host computers for the remote execution of automated tests, and assign testers for the execution of manual tests.
Enable communication between ALM and the testing host	When running Default test sets on remote hosts, ALM communicates directly with the testing host to initiate the test. Refer to the documentation for your required testing tool for more information about what ports must be opened and what other security settings must be adjusted to enable this communication.
Designate testers for running manual tests	When you run a manual test automatically and specify a remote host, ALM notifies a designated tester by email to run the test. This notification can be sent only if you have designated a tester for the test with a valid email address. To designate a tester, locate the test in the Execution Grid tab, and select a user in the Responsible Tester column.

To run tests automatically:

1. Schedule and order test execution.

   You can decide how and when tests are run using the following methods:

   • Scheduling. You can specify the date and time, and set conditions for executing your tests.

   • Ordering. You can set the order in which you want your tests to be executed.

   For details, see Schedule test runs.

2. To run a Default test set automatically, from the test set tree, select the test set, and click Run Test Set.

   Note: To run several test sets concurrently on multiple remote hosts, open a new Automatic Runner dialog box instance for each test set.

   The following table describes the UI elements in the Automatic Runner dialog box:

   UI Element	Description
   Run All	Runs all the tests in the Automatic Runner dialog box.
   Run	Runs the selected tests in the Automatic Runner dialog box..
   Stop	Terminates text execution before it completes.
   Stop All	Terminates all tests that are running in the Automatic Runner dialog box.
   Run All Tests Locally	Executes all tests on your local machine.
   Enable Log	Creates an execution log file during the test run. To view the execution log after text execution, select Run > View Execution Log.
   Run Selected	Runs selected tests in the Automatic Runner dialog box. Available from: Run menu
   Select All	Selects all tests in the Automatic Runner dialog box. Available from: Run menu
   Deselect All	Clears selection of all tests in the Automatic Runner dialog box. Available from: Run menu
   Invert Selection	Selects or clears the selection of all tests in the Automatic Runner dialog box. Available from: Run menu
   Test Name	The name of the test to be run.
   Run on Host	The host machine designated to remotely run the test. To execute tests remotely, select a host machine for each test. You must first clear the Run All Tests Locally check box. To select a host, click the Run on Host grid box, and click the browse button. In the Select Host dialog box. Under <Any Host>, select a host or host group to run the test. If you select a host group, ALM runs the test on the first available host in the group, not on every host in the group. For details about host management, see Create test sets.
   Status	Displays text execution progress.

3. To run selected automated and manual tests automatically, from the test set tree, select the test set. In the Execution Grid or Execution Flow tab, select one or more tests, and click Run.

4. To run multiple manual tests automatically, from the test set tree, select the test set. In the Execution Grid or Execution Flow tab, select one or more tests, and click Run. In the Manual Test Run dialog box, select Automatic Runner and click OK

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Run UFT One GUI tests

When running UFT One GUI tests, consider the following:

• To enable ALM to run GUI tests on a remote host, open the relevant application on the remote host and select the required option. For details, see the UFT One help.

• Before running a GUI test, ALM loads the UFT One add-ins that are associated with the selected GUI test. You must ensure that you run the GUI test on a machine on which the required UFT One add-ins are installed. For details on working with add-ins and associated add-in lists in UFT One, refer to the documentation and the relevant add-in documentation.

• When you run GUI tests from the Test Lab module, they are automatically run in Fast mode. They cannot be run in Normal mode.

• By default, ALM closes UFT One at the end of a test set run. This ensures that the UFT One license is released at that point and made available for other UFT One users. To keep UFT One open after a test set run, you can edit the SUPPORT_TESTSET_END parameter in the Site Configuration tab in Site Administration. For details, see Set configuration parameters.

• Troubleshooting:

  It's recommended that you use the default authentication mode (with the ENABLE_CSE_V1 parameter set to Y) for running GUI tests.

  If the parameter is set to N (which enables Approve ID mode), you may encounter the "OTA server is not connected" error. To solve this issue, remove the parameter or set the parameter value to Y.

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View automatic execution result

For Default test sets, you can view details about the automatic test execution after execution is complete. In the Automatic Runner dialog box, select Run > View Execution Log.

You can also view a summary of test results in the following modules:

• Test Lab. The updated status for each test run is displayed in the Execution Grid. Results for each test step appear in the Last Run Result pane. You can view more detailed results in the Test Instance Details dialog box.

• Test Runs. The updated status for each test run in the project is displayed. You can generate reports based on test execution details.

For more details on viewing test results, see Test Runs.

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See also:

• Run tests manually

• Run tests in a Functional test set