Work on the timeline
Select, move, trim, copy, name and annotate the steps of a test, with undo for everything.
Tracks and blocks
| Track | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Visual Reference | The recording.It is there for you to see the screen at every moment; the run itself never plays it. |
| Mouse Events | Clicks, double-clicks, drags and scrolling. |
| Keyboard Events | Typed text, single keys and shortcuts such as Ctrl+S. |
| Assertion | The checks.Each one waits, at its moment, until what it expects is on screen. |
A recording may add more tracks: Screen Changes holds the checks for what appeared on screen by itself, and a game controller has its own track.Above the tracks, the time ruler holds the Waits and the steps that start or close apps.
Move around
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| See a moment | Click the time ruler, or drag the red playhead.The preview shows the screen at that moment. |
| Zoom | Use the slider at the top right of the timeline, or Fit to see the whole test. |
| Move along a long test | Drag in the overview strip above the tracks, or scroll sideways. |
| Select several blocks | Drag a rectangle around them.Near an edge, the timeline scrolls by itself. |
Edit blocks
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Move a step in time | Drag the block left or right, or type its Position in the Properties panel. |
| Give a check more time | Drag the right edge of a check: its length is how long it waits. |
| Copy, cut, paste, duplicate | Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+D |
| Delete | Delete |
| Add a check or an action | Drag it from the Assertions or Events palette to the moment it belongs.A double-click on a palette item puts it at the playhead. |
| Undo anything | Ctrl+Z, as many times as you need |
Drag a block or a clip past the edge of the timeline and the view scrolls with it.Drop a clip into a gap too small for it and GUI Test Studio asks: shift everything after it to the right, trim the clip to fit, or cancel.
Your report screen sometimes takes eight seconds to load, and the check after it gives up at five.Select that check and set its Timeout to 10 seconds in the Properties panel, or drag its right edge.Nothing else changes.
Give a step a name
Every block gets a name by itself, such as "Click New Ticket" or "Type Text: Anna".Give an important step a name of your own: select it and press F2, or type it at the top of the Properties panel.Your name then appears on the timeline and in every report.
When you zoom out and a block becomes too narrow for its name, a small bubble carries the name beside it.
Leave notes with Markers
A Marker is a note on the timeline, for you and your team.It is never part of the run.Press M to add one at the playhead, or on the selected block, and double-click it to write its note.
"The greeting carries the user's name, so it is never the same twice.Check its shape, not its value."A Marker on that check saves the next tester ten minutes.
Markers list
View, Markers lists every note in time order.Click one to jump to it.Alt+Right and Alt+Left move to the next and previous Marker.
Skip a step, lock the test
To leave a step out of the run without deleting it, tick Ignored on the Preview & Execution tab of its Properties.It stays on the timeline, greyed, ready to be switched back on.
Lock Project, in the timeline's toolbar, protects a finished test from accidental changes.
Still stuck?Tell us what you were trying to do, and we answer within one working day.Ask our team