A checkpoint verifies that expected information is displayed in your application while the test is running.
QuickTest Professional offers the following types of checkpoints:
Checkpoint Type Description Example of Use
Standard Checkpoint Checks values of an object’s properties. Check that a radio button is selected.
Image Checkpoint Checks the property values of an image. Check that the image source file is correct.
Table Checkpoint Checks information in a table. Check that the value in a table cell is correct.
1. Start QuickTest and open your test.In the Open Test dialog box, locate and select your test, then click Open.
2. Save the test as Checkpoint. Select File > Save As. Save the test as Checkpoint.
3. Confirm that the Active Screen option is enabled.
If you do not see the Active Screen at the bottom of the QuickTest window, click the Active Screen button, or choose View > Active Screen.
4. Locate the page where you want to add a standard checkpoint. 5 Create a standard checkpoint.
In the Active Screen, right-click element in your application and choose Insert Standard Checkpoint.
6 Save the test.
How to add a page checkpoint to your test?
The page checkpoint checks that the number of links and images in the page when you run your test is the same as when you recorded your test.
1 Locate the page where you want to add a page checkpoint.
2 Create a page checkpoint.
Right-click anywhere in the Active Screen, and choose Insert Standard Checkpoint. The Object Selection – Checkpoint Properties dialog box opens. Note that this dialog box may include different elements, depending on where you click in the Active Screen.
3 Save the test.
Table and DB Checkpoints:
By adding table checkpoints to your tests or components, you can check that a specified value is displayed in a cell in a table on your application. By adding database checkpoints to your tests or components, you can check the contents of databases accessed by your application. The results displayed for table and database checkpoints are similar. When you run your test or component, QuickTest compares the expected results of the checkpoint to the actual results of the run session. If the results do not match, the checkpoint fails. You can check that a specified value is displayed in a cell in a table by adding a table checkpoint to your test or component. For ActiveX tables, you can also check the properties of the table object. To add a table checkpoint, you use the Checkpoint Properties dialog box. Table checkpoints are supported for Web and ActiveX applications, as well as for a variety of external add-in environments. You can use database checkpoints in your test or component to check databases accessed by your Web site or application and to detect defects. You define a query on your database, and then you create a database checkpoint that checks the results of the query. Database checkpoints are supported for all environments supported by QuickTest, by default, as well as for a variety of external add-in environments.There are two ways to define a database query:(a) Use Microsoft Query. You can install Microsoft Query from the custom installation of Microsoft Office.(b) Manually define an SQL statement.The Checkpoint timeout option is available only when creating a table checkpoint. It is not available when creating a database checkpoint
Checking Bitmaps:
You can check an area of a Web page or application as a bitmap. While creating a test or component, you specify the area you want to check by selecting an object. You can check an entire object or any area within an object. QuickTest captures the specified object as a bitmap, and inserts a checkpoint in the test or component. You can also choose to save only the selected area of the object with your test or component in order to save disk space.When you run the test or component, QuickTest compares the object or selected area of the object currently displayed on the Web page or application with the bitmap stored when the test or component was recorded. If there are differences, QuickTest captures a bitmap of the actual object and displays it with the expected bitmap in the details portion of the Test Results window. By comparing the two bitmaps (expected and actual), you can identify the nature of the discrepancy. For more information on test results of a checkpoint, see Viewing Checkpoint Results.For example, suppose you have a Web site that can display a map of a city the user specifies. The map has control keys for zooming. You can record the new map that is displayed after one click on the control key that zooms in the map. Using the bitmap checkpoint, you can check that the map zooms in correctly.You can create bitmap checkpoints for all supported testing environments (as long as the appropriate add-ins are loaded). Note: The results of bitmap checkpoints may be affected by factors such as operating system, screen resolution, and color settings.
Text/Text Area Checkpoint :
In the Text/Text Area Checkpoint Properties dialog box, you can specify the text to be checked as well as which text is displayed before and after the checked text. These configuration options are particularly helpful when the text string you want to check appears several times or when it could change in a predictable way during run sessions.
Note: In Windows-based environments, if there is more than one line of text selected, the Checkpoint Summary pane displays [complex value] instead of the selected text string. You can then click Configure to view and manipulate the actual selected text for the checkpoint.QuickTest automatically displays the Checked Text in red and the text before and after the Checked Text in blue. For text area checkpoints, only the text string captured from the defined area is displayed (Text Before and Text After are not displayed). To designate parts of the captured string as Checked Text and other parts as Text Before and Text After, click the Configure button. The Configure Text Selection dialog box opens
Checking XML :
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a meta-markup language for text documents that is endorsed as a standard by the W3C. XML makes the complex data structures portable between different computer environments/operating systems and programming languages, facilitating the sharing of data.XML files contain text with simple tags that describe the data within an XML document. These tags describe the data content, but not the presentation of the data. Applications that display an XML document or file use either Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) or XSL Formatting Objects (XSL-FO) to present the data.You can verify the data content of XML files by inserting XML checkpoints. A few common uses of XML checkpoints are described below:An XML file can be a static data file that is accessed in order to retrieve commonly used data for which a quick response time is needed—for example, country names, zip codes, or area codes. Although this data can change over time, it is normally quite static. You can use an XML file checkpoint to validate that the data has not changed from one application release to another.An XML file can consist of elements with attributes and values (character data). There is a parent and child relationship between the elements, and elements can have attributes associated with them. If any part of this structure (including data) changes, your application’s ability to process the XML file may be affected. Using an XML checkpoint, you can check the content of an element to make sure that its tags, attributes, and values have not changed.XML files are often an intermediary that retrieves dynamically changing data from one system. The data is then accessed by another system using Document Type Definitions (DTD), enabling the accessing system to read and display the information in the file. You can use an XML checkpoint and parameterize the captured data values in order to check an XML document or file whose data changes in a predictable way.XML documents and files often need a well-defined structure in order to be portable across platforms and development systems. One way to accomplish this is by developing an XML schema, which describes the structure of the XML elements and data types. You can use schema validation to check that each item of content in an XML file adheres to the schema description of the element in which the content is to be placed.
