Test Checkpoint Form

The Test checkpoint form is used to maintain Test checkpoints and view linked archives and test results.

Existing Test checkpoints can be viewed in the Test checkpoint form, which can be opened by navigating to:

• Lasernet > Test and Performance Suite > Test checkpoints

• Lasernet > Common > Reports, select a report, and then click Testing > Test checkpoints. This opens a pre-filtered list of Test checkpoints based on the selected report.

• Lasernet > Common > Archive, select a record that has been used as a Test checkpoint (marked in yellow), and then click Testing > Test checkpoints. This opens a pre-filtered list of Test checkpoints based on the archived record that was selected.

The Test checkpoint form displays a list of checkpoints (grid) on the left side of the form. The details of each checkpoint are split into five FastTabs (sections):

• Checkpoint

• Checkpoint archives

• Test results

• Log

• Test result archive

Grid for Test Checkpoints

The following buttons on the Action pane can be used with a Test checkpoint:

• Edit – This provides the ability to edit a Test checkpoint. However, bear in mind that most of the fields are read-only.

• Delete – This can be used to delete a Test checkpoint.

• Run test - This can be used to run a test based on the selected Test checkpoint in the list.

• Backup > Export - This can be used to export the selected Test checkpoint as an XML file.

• Backup > Import – This can be used to import a Test checkpoint that has previously been exported as an XML file.

Checkpoint

• Description: Description of the Test checkpoint.

• Created by: The user that created the Test checkpoint.

• Test type: Reserved for future.

• Report name: Name of the report.

• Force rerun: Yes - A new XML file will be created for the next test run. No - A new XML file will not be created for the next test run. The last archive record found will be used for the test run.

• Compare PDF: Set to Yes to compare the PDF files in addition to the XML files. This setting will provide additional information in the Log when a test is run. This is useful when testing a form design, as in some cases, the XML file is identical, but the PDF file is different.

• Skip ‘JobInfo’ and ‘Report’ section check: Set to Yes to skip the validation of the data in the JobInfos section of the XML file. In the following example, the data outlined in red is displayed because the validation for the JobInfos section has not been skipped. It is useful to set Skip ‘JobInfo’ and ‘Report’ section check to Yes when the data in the JobInfos section causes a failed test, but the differences do not affect the output. For example, when the created date of the Test checkpoint is different from the date the test is run, causing the Report/JobInfo/Xml/XmlFilePath to be different:

• Destinations: This provides the ability to manually change the destination on the next test run. The following options can be used to define the destination:

  • Original – Same destination used as the Checkpoint archive.

  • Run to specified destination – Destination must be set with the following icon:

  • Default – Uses a hardcoded destination, which is Fax: TEST. A record is created in the Lasernet archive each time a test is run. Therefore, a Default destination can be used to help identify the Lasernet archive records which were generated using the Test and Performance Suite.

In this scenario, a checkpoint named KT_CustTable_006 is used to demonstrate.

The following Log message is an example where:

• Compare PDF is set to No.

• The XML files are identical.

• The PDF files are different.

• The PDF files have not been checked, so it looks like a passed test.

The following Log message is an example where:

• Compare PDF is set to Yes.

• The XML files are identical.

• The PDF files are NOT identical.

• The changes in the PDF files have caused the test to fail, even though the XML files are different.

The following Log message is an example where:

• Compare PDF is set to Yes.

• The XML files are identical.

• The PDF files are identical.

• The test passed because the XML and PDF files are identical.

Checkpoint Archives

The Checkpoint archives section shows Checkpoint archive records.

Note

A single report run might have one or more Archives (for example, separate archives are generated for each destination).

This record is used as the point of comparison when checking test results.

The Preview button can be used to open the XML or PDF (if saved in the archive) files for this Test checkpoint.

The Details button opens the Lasernet Archive record linked with this Test checkpoint.

The Compare button can be used to compare the XML files between the Test checkpoint and the selected test within the Test results FastTab. The Show only changes checkbox can be selected to hide the elements that are identical between the XML files.

Now, only the changes are displayed:

Test Results

This section displays the test results in a grid (a record is created in the Lasernet Archive each time a test is run as well).

An overview is displayed for each test run, which contains the following data:

• User ID – The user that ran the test.

• Start date/time of the test run.

• End date/time of the test run.

• Result – Defines the test as a Pass or Fail.

  • The XML files need to be identical to get a Pass result.

  • If Compare to PDF is set to Yes, the XML and PDF files need to be identical to get a Pass result.

Note

Some data in the JobInfo section of the XML file is different for each time a report is generated. For example, the ExecutionId. However, these elements are not checked as part of the test comparison, as these are expected to be different. Therefore, these are not mentioned in the Log and if only these elements are different, then the test will be a Pass. This is applicable even when Skip ‘JobInfo’ and ‘Report’ section check is set to No.

Note

If you are testing a Lasernet replacement for an SSRS report, you may find that you get a Fail result, even after no changes have been made to the report. For example, the RecIds are different on the temporary tables, on the PurchPurchaseOrderReplacement, as these are different for each time the report is run. To avoid confusion, these elements can be skipped for testing. Refer to the Test exceptions section of this guide for more information on skipping elements for a test run.

The Set as checkpoint button can be used to update the Checkpoint archive record with this test result.

This is useful as you can use this test result as the Test checkpoint for future test runs. You will be prompted by a message when updating a Test checkpoint:

Log

The Log FastTab displays detailed information about the test result. The following is an example of a failed test result in the Log message, where the XML files are different, but the PDF files are identical:

The following are the differences when comparing the XML files:

Test Result Archives

The Test result archives section shows archive records for the test result selected in the Test results FastTab.

Note

Single report run result might have one or more archives.

The Preview button can be used to open the XML or PDF (if saved in the archive) files for this test result.

The Details button opens the Lasernet Archive record linked with this test result.

The Compare button can be used to compare the XML files between the Test checkpoint and the selected test result within the Test result archives FastTab. Selecting the Show only changes checkbox hides the sections that are identical between the XML files.

Now, only the differences are displayed: