Coded UI Object Identification Mechanism

This blog tells about How Object Identification Mechanism work for Coded UI.In Coded Ui each object has some properties associated with it, basically it has two types of properties associated, Search Properties and Filter Properties. If the object’s Technology is Web then it also has both Search and Filter properties associated with it.

Coded UI uses these properties to identify the objects at runtime:

·         Search Properties and Filter Properties of Coded UI

Object’s Properties in CodedUI Test Editor

When some object is added using the Coded UI Test Builder and then generating the code using Generate Code button[right most in the below screenshot], Coded UI adds these objects in a file called UIMap(UIMap.uitest), Coded UI adds the exposed properties of the object as Search and Filter properties.

·         Coded UI Test Builder

                                                           

    

· UI Map

·         Select the ‘Properties’ from context menu and you will see ‘Search Properties’ and ‘Filter Properties’ of the selected object in the Property Editor.

·         Search Properties:

·         Filter Properties:

·         You can edit the object’s properties based on your requirements. E.g. if you know that object can be uniquely identified by its ‘Id’, you can remove all other Search and Filter properties. This will improve the performance of the CodedUI.

 Search Properties:

·         In case of Filter properties, the properties get checked one by one in the sequential order.

·         If object cannot be identified based on one filter property, then that property is ignored and Coded       UI starts identifying the object based on the next filter property.

Object Identification Mechanism

During the Playback, Coded UI first searches for the object having all the specified Search Properties using ‘AND’ and then one by one it searches with Filter Properties using ‘OR’ and returns the resultant UI Object.

Search, then the first object satisfying the search would be returned.

·  Unique property can be made as the ‘Search property’ of the object, and other Search and Filter properties can be removed.

·  If there are some properties in ‘Filter Property’ which can help in identifying the object uniquely, make that property as a ‘Search Property’.

·   Coded UI uses Search and Filter properties of an object for identifying it during the Playback.

·    Coded UI performance can be improved by the use of these properties and it makes the test automation stable for future.

·  Exceptions when property is not found.

    In case of, Search Property not found:

   For Web Technology:

   ‘UITestControlNotFoundException’ will be thrown

   For MSAA/UIA Technology:

  ‘System.ArgumentException’ will be thrown

     In case of, Filter property not found, it is just ignored.