Embedded frameworks / headless browsers

This topic describes how to get started with testing Web apps in embedded frameworks, or testing headless browsers.

For details on testing web apps in an Internet Explorer embedded browser control, see Internet Explorer embedded browser controls.

In this topic:

Supported frameworks / Headless browsers

UFT One can test Web apps developed with the following frameworks and Headless browsers using standard GUI testing support:

Chromium-based frameworks	Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) Chromium Embedded Framework support is applicable for Java CEF, CEF Sharp, and Adobe CEP. CEF in this topic refers to all of the above. Electron JxBrowser NW.js Before you test Chromium-based frameworks, see Connect to your Web app.
Microsoft Edge WebView2	Before you test Web apps embedded in Microsoft Edge WebView2, see Connect to your Web app.
Headless browsers	Headless Chrome. Before you test headless Chrome, see Prepare to run tests on Headless Chrome. PhantomJS. Before you test PhantomJS, see Run tests on PhantomJS. Note: Recording on PhantomJS toolkits or Headless Chrome is not supported.

These advanced frameworks and browsers are not supported for other Web-based add-ins, such as .NET Web Forms, Web-based SAP, Siebel, and Java. However, they are supported in Web extensibility-based add-ins, such as Web 2.0 Toolkits.

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Connect to your Web app

Before recording or running tests on Web apps developed with Chromium-based frameworks or Microsoft Edge WebView2, connect UFT One to your Web app:

To connect UFT One to your Web app:

1. Prepare the web driver.

   Make sure the web driver that matches the version of the embedded browser is stored on your computer.

   CEF, Electron, and JxBrowser	114 or earlier	Download the ChromeDriver from the official website.
   	115 or later	Download the Chrome for Testing from the Chrome for Testing availability dashboard. If you cannot find the version that matches the framework version, download it from Google Chrome Labs.
   Microsoft Edge WebView2		Download the WebView2 driver from the Microsoft Edge WebDriver download page.
   NW.js		Download the NW.js SDK, which includes the chromedriver.exe file.

2. For CEF, Electron, and JxBrowser, replace the chromedriver.exe file in the <UFT One installation folder>\bin\WebDriver directory with the version that matches your application.

   For NW.js, copy the chromedriver.exe file to the <UFT One installation folder>\bin\WebDriver\NW directory.

   Alternatively, you can use different versions of ChromeDriver for different applications. Store the chromedriver.exe file in different locations, and provide the path to the relevant ChromeDriver in the call to WebUtil.AttachRemoteDebugging.

3. Configure your embedded browser to always open a port for remote debugging. For instructions on how to do this, check your embedded browser's documentation.

   Note the port number, to use in subsequent steps.

   Example: In the CEF folder, open a command prompt and run the following command: cefclient.exe --remote-debugging-port=<port number>

   The default way for an official WebView2 application to listen to debugging port is to add environment variable WEBVIEW2_ADDITIONAL_BROWSER_ARGUMENTS and set its value to --remote-debugging-port=<port>.

4. Do one of the following to connect to your Web app.

   • Add the remote address and remote debugging port number for your Web app in the Remote Connections pane of the Options dialog box. This enables UFT to find the application's objects.

     To use this method, you must perform the second step.

     For details, see Web Remote Connections Pane (Options Dialog Box > GUI Testing Tab).

   • Add the following statements to your test or component to enable UFT One to attach to the application. In these statements, provide the remote IP address, remote debugging port number, and web driver path.

     Chromium-based frameworks

     WebUtil.AttachRemoteDebugging "localhost:<port>", "default", "<DriverPath>"

     Microsoft Edge WebView2

     WebUtil.AttachRemoteDebugging "localhost:<port>", "MsEdgeWebView2", "<DriverPath>"

     For more details, see the WebUtil object in the Utility section of the UFT One Object Model Reference for GUI Testing.

     To detach from the application, use the following statement:

     WebUtil.DetachRemoteDebugging "localhost:<port>"

   Note: UFT One cannot identify objects in your application if you have manually closed the connection to that application.

5. If you are running a UFT One script on a remote machine, continue with Configure connections on a remote machine before you run your test.

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Configure connections on a remote machine

If you are using a Chromium-based framework and running a UFT One script on a remote machine, additionally configure the remote machine as follows:

1. Install socat from one of the following locations:

   Mac: http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/download/

   Windows: https://github.com/tech128/socat-1.7.3.0-windows

2. Run the socat command:

   socat tcp-listen:<x>,fork tcp:localhost:<y>

   Where:

   <x> is the port number on the target machine that UFT One tries to access

   <y> is the CEF remote debugging port exposed for debugging on the target machine

3. Disable or change the firewall to allow the relevant port.

UFT One is now able to work with remote applications through the port you defined for <x>.

For more details, see: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6827310/chrome-remote-debugging-doesnt-work-with-ip

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Prepare to run tests on Headless Chrome

Before running your tests on Headless Chrome, you have to perform some preparatory steps.

To prepare to run tests on Headless Chrome:

1. Check whether the ChromeDriver installed with UFT One matches the version of Headless Chrome you are using. If not, refer to the following table to get the correct ChromeDriver:

   Headless Chrome 114 or earlier	Download the ChromeDriver from the official website.
   Headless Chrome 115 or later	Download the Chrome for Testing from the Chrome for Testing availability dashboard. If you cannot find the version that matches the framework version, download it from Google Chrome Labs.

   Replace the chromedriver.exe file in the <UFT One installation folder>\bin\WebDriver directory with the correct chromedriver.exe file.

2. Select Google Headless Chrome as your browser in the Record and Run Settings dialog box.

3. If you want to run steps that use AI object identification, we recommend enlarging the default browser size to make sure that all the controls you want to test are visible.

   The browser size is controlled by the --window-size parameter (unit: pixel).

   Add the browser size setting to the end of the <UFT One installation folder>\bin\mic.ini file. For example:

   Copy code

   [ChromeHeadlessOption]
   --window-size=1920x1080

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Run tests on PhantomJS

Run tests on the PhantomJS toolkit without any changes in your existing test.

To run your test on PhantomJS:

1. Add the phantomjs.exe file to the <UFT One installation folder>\bin\PhantomJS directory.

   This file is accessible as part of your PhantomJS download. For details, see http://phantomjs.org.

2. In the Record and Run Settings, select PhantomJS as your browser.

3. UFT One uses a newer WebDriver version, which does not support PhantomJS.

   To downgrade your WebDriver to support Phantom JS:

   Replace the WebDriver.dll and WebDriverHost.exe files in the <UFT One installation folder>\bin folder with the ones in <UFT One installation folder>\bin\WebDriver\3.0.1.0.

When you run your test, UFT One will launch the installed version of PhantomJS and run the test on the toolkit.

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See also:

• Web Remote Connections Pane (Options Dialog Box > GUI Testing Tab)
• Known Issues - Embedded frameworks and headless browsers