Select Link Source Dialog Box (API Testing)

Relevant for: API testing only

This dialog box enables you to select a data source for the step's properties.

To access

Click the Link to data source button in the Value column of the property for which you want to select a data source.
Important information

  • To see the icon, move the cursor to the right of the property value area.

  • A step property not contained within a loop, cannot be linked to a data source. For example, the For Loop's Number of Iterations property, cannot be linked to a data source, because it is not contained within the Test Flow loop.
Relevant tasks

Assign data to API test/component steps

See also

User interface elements are described below (unlabeled elements are shown in angle brackets):

UI Elements

Relevant for

Description
Link from:

All types

The source for the property value:

  • Available steps. A property value from another step.

  • Data source column. A value from a data source—Excel, XML, local table, or database.

  • Test variables. A value of an test variable—either a user-defined variable or a system variable.
Select a step

Available steps

A tree hierarchy of the steps whose properties are available as data for the current step. This list could include:

  • Previous steps.

  • An input value of the current step, when selecting data for a property in the Checkpoints section.

  • For loop type steps, previous steps or other steps within loop.
Select a property

Available steps

The step's linkable properties. The displayed sections depend on the step type. For most step types, the Checkpoints section is displayed.
Select data

  • Available steps

  • Data source column

  • For table-based data sources such as Excel, local tables and database: a list of the columns in the data table.

    Non-unique column names are displayed with a numeric suffix (Price1, Price2, Price3...) to help you link to the correct column. The column name is not changed in the data source.

  • For XML data sources: a hierarchy of the data source's nodes.
Matching data types only

Data source column

Hides all columns (or schema rows for XML data sources) whose data types do not match the properties of the step whose value you want to set.
Attach the data source to the loop

Data source column

A drop down list of the loops in the test containing the step. The data source is only associated with the selected loop.

Default: Innermost loop containing the step.
<user variable grid>

Test variables

A list of the user-defined test variables and their values in the current profile.
<system variable grid>

Test variables

A list of the system environment variables and their values:
Custom Expression

All types

Expands the dialog box to allow you to manually edit the link and create a complex value to compare against. This is useful for creating an expression that uses multiple sources.

For example, you can add a custom expression that:

  • Concatenates the value of two or more environmental variables
  • Creates an expression that represents the output or outputs of multiple steps previously run in the test
  • Parameterize an expression by combining another value with a value from a data source.