Software Testing

Questions & Suggestions
1

I had a general question about Keyboard Maestro. Specifically, does anyone know if there are people/organizations out there that are using KM to do formal software testing and automation? The likes of Selenium or other test automation platforms?

2

I don’t know of anyone specifically using it for this purpose.

Certainly it is plausible to use it, especially in conjunction with both clicking at an image and looking for an image to verify behaviour. And with the ability to adjust the AppleScript support of the target application (or other API), interacting with the UI and verifying the underlying model changes should be possible too.

Whether it is the best tool for this job, I’m not sure.

3

I work in the world of enterprise web development, so I have some experience here.

The test automation platforms out there far exceed what KM can do to automate a browser. That said, KM is very quick to set up, and I’ve used it extensively when taking on manual testing on my own to help speed up repeated manual steps - e.g. filling out registration forms or e-commerce checkouts.

Setting something up like this in KM is a matter of 15 minutes’ work, and if I’m validating half a dozen e-commerce-related bugs, having a quick keyboard shortcut to get me to checkout is well worth it.

4

Hey iNiK, thank you for the response (and Peter!).

iNiK, can you give me some examples about the test automation methods that are best left to the formal test automation platforms? as opposed to KM?

I know KM can utilizing scripts to dig into actual application screens (not just web based), but that is not exactly the same as utilizing the nice interface in some of the natively supported functions within KM.

But staying focused on website test automation, any insights would be certainly appreciated.

5

Basically high volume repeatable testing or “headless” testing.

6

Thanks iNik…

7

OK, reopening this one...

I am wondering if there is a way to do the following:

every time I click on a webpage, it will take a picture of the screen (or more specifically a browser window) and add a marker on where it was clicked.

Not sure if KM can do it, or if there something else out there that can simply do it. I figure something like this can be done with video, but I wanted to see first if there might be a simple way to accomplish this.

8

Yes, you should be able to do that.

  • Use a USB Device Key trigger to detect the click.
  • Use the WINDOW function to get the window frame.
  • Use the Screen Capture action to capture the front window (capture the area of the window so you can avoid the shadow).
  • Use the MOUSEX and MOUSEY functions to get the mouse location.
  • Do some maths to figure out where in the image the mouse would be.
  • Use the Draw Shape onto Image action to draw a shape at the desired location.
  • Use the Write to a File action or otherwise save the image.
9

I will have to sit down and go through this. Many thanks for the comment
Peter. By the way, will the USB device Key trigger work for a wireless
mouse?

10

Probably if it comes in through a USB dongle. But with the USB Device Key trigger, it really is a case of try it and see - whether it works is highly dependent on the implementation details of the device.