Image synchronization enables Citrix performance tests
to keep track of the contents of a screen area during replay instead
of focusing only on window events.
Before you begin
You can use image synchronization elements in a test to
facilitate the test replay in applications that do not create or modify
many windows, but update the contents of the window regularly.
The
contents of an image are processed as a value that is either a calculated
bitmap hashcode or a text string obtained by optical character recognition.
During test execution, the test waits for the contents of a screen
area to match the expected image synchronization value before proceeding
with the test. If the value is not matched during the synchronization
period, an image synchronization timeout is produced in the test log.
You
can also add verification points to image synchronizations in the
test editor. The verification point passes if the synchronization
succeeds and fails if a timeout occurs.
You insert image synchronizations
during test recording.
Procedure
- Start recording a Citrix performance test and record a
sequence of user actions.
- To add an image synchronization to the recorded test, in
the Citrix Recorder Control window, click the Insert
image synchronization button, select an area of the screen that will
be used for synchronization, and then click the Insert
image synchronization button again.
- Continue the recording. When you have completed the sequence
of actions to be tested, end the Citrix session cleanly and close
the Citrix XenApp client. A progress window opens
while the test is generated. On completion, the Recorder
Control view displays the message Test generation
completed, the Test Navigator lists your test, and
the test opens in the test editor.
- In the test editor, select the Image synchronization element.
- Set the synchronization state to Conditional, Mandatory or Optional.
In most cases, because you are explicitly requesting for a synchronization
to occur, you should leave the synchronization state as Conditional.
- Specify one of two synchronization methods.
- Select Bitmap hash code if you want the
synchronization to occur when the selected area matches exactly the
recorded image. A single pixel of difference will cause a synchronization
timeout.
- Select Optical character recognition if
you want the synchronization to occur when a text string is recognized
in the selected area. Click Extract text to
test the text recognition on the recorded image. Note that for synchronization
purposes the text recognition results must be repeatable, not necessarily
accurate.
Note: On Windows 2008, it is recommended to use the Bitmap
hash code synchronization method for a Citrix test.
You
can click Extract text several times to make
sure that the text recognition results are repeatable. If the recognized
text differs, click Options to change the Zoom
factor or other optical character recognition settings.
You should not manually correct the recognized text.
You can
click Add to specify multiple expected text
strings, Use regular expression to specify
a text string as a regular expression, or Factorize to
automatically generate a regular expression from multiple expected
text strings.
- Specify whether you want to enable a verification point
on the image synchronization. This enables the test to produce a pass
or fail status in the Citrix Verification Points report.