How to: Change the Run Settings
The run settings of a load test determine a variety of settings, including the duration of the test, results collection detail level, and the counter sets that are collected when the test runs. You can create and store multiple run settings for each load test, and then select one particular setting to use when you run the test.
This topic provides help for the following common issues that arise when you work with run settings.
To change the properties of a run setting, see Changing Run Settings.
To select which run settings will be active when a load test is running, see Selecting the Active Run Settings.
To add a context parameter to a run setting, see Adding Context Parameters to a Run Setting.
Changing Run Settings
To change run settings
Open a load test.
Expand the Run Settings folder.
Click a Run Settings node.
On the View menu, click Properties Window.
The Properties Window is displayed and the properties for the selected run setting are displayed.
Use the Properties Window to change the run settings. For example, change the run duration to 00:05:00 to run your test for five minutes.
Note
For a full list of the run settings properties and their descriptions, see About Run Settings.
When you are finished changing properties, on the File menu click Save to save your load test.
Note
Counter set mappings are also a part of run settings. For more information, see About Counter Sets.
Selecting the Active Run Settings
The run-settings model that is used with load tests matches the run-configurations model that is used with all test types of Team Edition for Testers. In both cases, you create and store several instances of settings, but only one instance is active when the test is run. For run settings, each instance appears in the Load Test Editor as a node in the Run Settings folder. For run configurations, each instance is a separate file in the Solution Items folder in Solution Explorer. For more information about run configurations, see Configuring Test Execution.
If your load test contains only one run setting node under the Run Settings folder, that node is always the active node. If your load test contains multiple run settings nodes, you can select the one to use when you run a load test.
To select the active run settings
Open a load test.
Expand the Run Settings folder.
Right-click the run settings node that you want to be the active one, and then click Set As Active.
This run setting becomes active, and remains active until you select a different run setting to be active.
Note
You can override the active run setting by setting an environment variable named Test.UseRunSetting=<run setting name>. This is useful when you run a load test from the command line or from a batch file. This lets you choose different run settings without opening your load test.
Adding Context Parameters to a Run Setting
If your load test contains Web tests that use a parameterized Web server, then you can add a context parameter to the run settings that maps to a different server.
For example, if you have a set of Web tests in the load test that have WebServer1 set to ContosoServer01, you can add WebServer1 to the load test context parameters and set the value to the name of your production server production server.
Warning
A load test context parameter overrides a Web test context parameter of the same name.
To add a context parameter to a run setting
Open a load test.
Expand the Run Settings folder.
Right-click a specific run setting and then click Add Context Parameter.
Use the Properties window to change the values as appropriate.
See Also
Concepts
About Run Settings
About Counter Sets