55.8 Placeholders

55.8.1 Placeholders for node attributes (apart from component nodes)

The following table describes the placeholders that can be used to query information about a recorded step that does not relate to the component itself. Such placeholders can be used enclosed in angle brackets (e.g. <text>) as the value of an attribute in the attributes section, as the value of a parameter in set procedure call parameters, as the value of a doctag in doctags, or in an expression in the condition section.

The name of placeholders for attributes and component nodes corresponds to the name of the associated YAML attribute in the attributes section. Spaces used in YAML names are omitted in the placeholders.

Placeholder Description
client The client under which the event was recorded (content of the step attribute client, usually a variable such as $(client)).
client name The full (absolute) name of the client on which the event was recorded.
check type The Check type identifier of the step, e.g. for Boolean check nodes one of the values selected, checked, visible, or enabled. Also available as alias checktype.
<componentid> The value of the placeholder has to match exactly the QF-Test component ID of the node to be converted. In a Procedure call definition the respective key is in the section attributes.
detail Additional, event-specific detail information, e.g. the specifications for a recorded swipe gesture (see startx, starty, endx, endy, and swipeduration below).
file The file name or path of the recorded event.
height The height of the window or component.
width The width of the window or component.
keychar The character of a recorded keyboard event.
keycode The key code of a recorded keyboard event.
modifiers The modifier keys pressed during the event (e.g. Shift, Ctrl), encoded as a numeric value.
clicks The number of mouse clicks of the recorded Mouse event.
hardclick Whether the recorded Mouse event was a "hard" mouse click that bypasses normal focus handling.
popup Whether the recorded mouse click triggered a context menu (popup).
x The x-coordinate of the event; for Component event nodes the first parameter of the step.
y The y-coordinate of the event; for Component event nodes the second parameter of the step.
startx, starty, endx, endy, swipeduration Start and end coordinates and duration of a recorded swipe gesture. These placeholders only return a value if the value in the detail attribute of the node to be converted starts with swipe: .
procedure Procedure name of a Procedure call's.
window The name of the window in which the event occurred.
singleevents Whether the text input in a Text input was performed via individual key events.
clear Whether the existing text in a Text input was cleared before input.
text, VALUE The recorded text or current value of the component at the time of the event. For Text input and Check text nodes: the entered or expected text. For other events on sub-elements, e.g. of tables or lists: the recorded value of the affected sub-element; otherwise the current selection state of the component. Also available as aliases currentvalue and value.
selectedstate, checkedstate, visiblestate, enabledstate, editablestate, state

The state of the component recorded at the time of the event. For Boolean check nodes the states are instead derived from the expected state (state) and the Check type identifier.

For checkboxes, radio buttons, toggle buttons, and menu items clicked with a mouse click, selectedstate and checkedstate reflect the expected (new) state resulting from the click, not the state before the click.

items The list of entries of a Check items node. By default, list entries are separated by |||. You can set a different value via the option "OPT_RECORDING_PROCESSOR_ITEMLIST_SEPARATOR" in a server script.
itemswithselection The list of entries of a Check selectable items node together with their selection state, separated as for the items placeholder.
event The name of the event, e.g. MOUSE_CLICK for the Event attribute of a Mouse event, or KEY_STROKE for a Key event.
resultvariable The name of the variable into which the index is written for Fetch index nodes.
variable name The name of the variable that receives the return value of a Procedure call (Variable for return value). Also available as aliases returnvariable and variablename.
localvariable Whether the result variable, e.g. of a Check node, is a local variable.
Table 55.1:  Placeholders for step attributes

55.8.2 Placeholders for component nodes

Placeholder Description
<id> The QF-Test ID of a Component node.
<name> The name of the component.
<feature> The feature of the component.
<class> The recorded class of the component.
<COMPEF-name-of-extra-feature> The value of the specified extra feature of the component.
<ENGINE> The name of the engine, either 'awt', 'swt', 'web', or 'fx'.
<ENGINE2> The alternative name of the engine, either 'swing', 'swt', 'web', or 'fx'.
Table 55.2:  Placeholders for node attributes

55.8.3 Placeholders for component states in the SUT

The state placeholders selectedstate, checkedstate, visiblestate, enabledstate, and editablestate are only available as placeholders and are not YAML attributes in their own right.

Placeholder Description
<enabledstate> The state at the time of recording, indicating whether the component is enabled.
<selectedstate> The state at the time of recording, indicating whether the component is selected. For mouse clicks on checkboxes, radio buttons, toggle buttons, and selectable menu items: the (old) state before the click.
<checkedstate> For mouse clicks on checkboxes, radio buttons, toggle buttons, and selectable menu items: the expected (new) state resulting from the click, indicating whether the component is checked or activated. Technically this is the negated value of the state before the click. For other node types, the "checked" or "activated" state of the component is returned.
<editablestate> The state at the time of recording, indicating whether the component is editable.
<visiblestate> The state at the time of recording, indicating whether the component is visible.
Table 55.3:  Placeholders for step attributes