How to: Preview Action Steps

Before you play back an action recording, you can preview the action steps within the recording. The preview steps are displayed in text format in the Preview dialog box and include detailed actions that took place during the step. These details can help you determine the exact steps that took place in the application when you are trying to isolate errors or determine whether the steps were conducted correctly.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Ultimate, Visual Studio Premium, Visual Studio Test Professional

Preview Action Steps When Loading a Test with an Action Recording

To preview action steps in an action recording, you must first load a test that contains an action recording into Test Runner from Microsoft Test Manager or create one in the current test. For more information, see How to: Create an Action Recording and How to: Play Back an Action Recording. This procedure shows how to load a test that has an existing action recording and then how to preview the action steps within the recording.

Load a test with an action recording

To load a test with an action recording into Test Runner

1. Open Microsoft Test Manager.

   Note

   To display the Microsoft Test Manager window, choose Start, and then choose All Programs. Point to Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 and then choose Microsoft Test Manager.

2. Choose the down-arrow on the center group switcher and then choose Testing Center.

3. On the center group menu bar, choose Test.

4. In the menu under the center group menu bar, choose Run Tests if it is not already selected.

5. In the left pane, under Run Tests, select either the test plan or the test suite listed under the test plan that contains the test that you want to run.

   The right side pane displays the test cases within the selected test suite.

6. In the right side pane, choose a test case that contains an action recording and then choose Run.

   The Test Runner opens.

   Note

   Select Run with options to specify a build to run the test on, or to override the test settings and environment settings for the test plan.

Preview action recording in Test Runner

To preview the action steps in a test with an action recording

1. When you load a test from Microsoft Test Manager into Test Runner, you are prompted to Start Test with the option Create action recording. The Create action recording check box should be clear. Choose Start Test.

2. In the toolbar, choose the down-arrow next to Play and select Preview.

   The Preview dialog box is displayed.

3. Scroll through the steps and expand the detailed actions to view detailed information about the steps in the action recording.

Preview Action Steps in a Previously Loaded Test

To preview action steps in an action recording, you must first load a test that contains an action recording into Test Runner from Microsoft Test Manager or create one in the current test. For more information, see How to: Create an Action Recording and How to: Play Back an Action Recording. This procedure assumes that you already have a test loaded which has an existing action recording, or a test that you have just added an action recording to.

Preview action recording in a loaded test

To preview action steps in a previously loaded test

1. Choose a test step for which you want to preview the action step. The test step must have an orange action recording section indicator associated with it.

   Note

   You can use CTRL+Click or SHIFT+Click to select multiple test steps as long as they each have an associated blue action recording section.

2. In the toolbar, choose the down-arrow next to Play and select Preview.

   The Preview dialog box is displayed.

3. Scroll through the steps and expand the detailed actions to view detailed information about the steps in the action recording.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Play Back an Action Recording

How to: Create an Action Recording

Concepts

Recording and Playing Back Manual Tests