While working on my current project I have been writing programs that test the functionality of our clients upgrades they are making on their main client database. Now, keep in mind that when companies re-write their applications and databases…they have two environments. They have their LIVE and they have their TEST. I use the TEST environment very frequently but, when I write a program that does not save information I test it in both. This week I ran into an issue, one that completely blew me away. It seems that its always the little things that aggravate you the most.

Once I was done writing my code I tested my program in our clients test environment which is accessed through Internet Explorer. Worked like a charm, on the first try even! In the programming world, that does not happen very often. Anxiously, I switched over to their live environment which is also accessed in Internet Explorer. I was not so lucky this time around. This code just worked, flawlessly, but now something is broken. By broken I mean every text field, check box, and button I was verifying would not be recognized by QTP.

I quickly go back to the test environment and run it again. Unbelievably, it fails in this environment as well. Right away I knew that it had something to do with switching the applications. The issue that perplexes me the most is that when I switch between test and live environments, all I change is ONE letter in my URL.

With this in mind, when using QuickTest Professional and you are switching between environments that use the same interface (like Internet Explorer), always make sure to close IE completely and do not simply just change the URLs. It will save you time, energy, and your sanity.

J9 Test Asset Developer