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Difference between revisions of "Web Page Dialogs"
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Do not overlook the possibility that you might not need to handle the web page dialog at all. On some websites the iMacros [[TAG]] command can fill in the values in a box, even so you can not do it manually (= need to use the web page dialog). | Do not overlook the possibility that you might not need to handle the web page dialog at all. On some websites the iMacros [[TAG]] command can fill in the values in a box, even so you can not do it manually (= need to use the web page dialog). | ||
− | An example is the date control of this [http://www.tase.co.il/TASE/General/Company/companyHistoryData.htm?subDataType=0&companyID=000412&shareID=00412015 Hebrew site]. Even so a normal | + | An example is the date control of this [http://www.tase.co.il/TASE/General/Company/companyHistoryData.htm?subDataType=0&companyID=000412&shareID=00412015 Hebrew site]. Even so a normal user needs to use the date control, the iMacros TAG command can fill in the date directly. This works because iMacros circumvents certain Javascript checks. |
[[Image:Web_page_dialog_simple_tag.png]] | [[Image:Web_page_dialog_simple_tag.png]] |
Revision as of 21:28, 23 July 2008
How to automate Web Page Dialogs
This is a collection of tips and tricks on how to automate web page dialogs (WPD). These dialogs are IE only. Technically they are created by either a ShowModalDialog or showmodelessDialog command. They are not tabbed web pages and Internet Explorer (and the iMacros Browser) can not open them inside a tab. But iMacros has several methods to automate and test such dialogs.
1. Use the Dialog Manager
Advantage:
This method works well for simple dialogs.
Semi-visual recording with the dialog manager
Click-command can also click on buttons on modal windows (Use DirectScreen recording to get the coordinates you need, then insert a {{CLICK 11 22}} command in the ONWEBPAGEDIALOG line.
Disadvantage: Tabbing from line to line is complicated and error-prone on complex screens. Click command needs to be created manually.
2. Use DirectScreen
DirectScreen can be used to automate all modeless dialog Windows.
Advantage: Very powerful, supports even drag&drop, mouseover and Image Recognition on the dialog.
Disadvantage: Does not work on modal dialogs (recording works, but replay fails because the dialog stops the application. This is not a bug in iMacros, IE behaves the same way).
3. Try to open the dialog in a tab
If this methods works, it is very powerful and highly recommended. So we suggest to test this method if you need to automate complex web page dialogs:
a. Get the URL of the dialog window. If you open the dialog window inside Internet Explorer (not the iMacros Browser) the dialog has an address field. Get the URL pf the dialog window from there.
b. Now use the iMacros Browser. Open a new tab and paste the URL from step (a). Often, the dialog window opens now inside a tab. You can now use the normal recording features (TAG,...) to automate the dialog!
c. Sometimes the SAVE function of a dialog does not work when opened as tab (data is not send to a server). We found that often the data is still stored by the website locally (e. g. using internal Javascript or cookies). So when you open the dialog method using method (1) it has the correct data and all you need to do is to click the SAVE button of the dialog.
4. Try iMacros for Firefox
Web Page dialogs were "invented" by Microsoft and only work in Internet Explorer (and the IE compatible iMacros Browser). So often the website will simply not work in Firefox. But sometimes a website displays a normal website instead of a web page dialog when used with Firefox. In this case it can be automated with iMacros for Firefox. Or you can change the iMacros Browser user agent to identify itself as a Firefox browser.
5. Simply fill in the values with a TAG command!
Do not overlook the possibility that you might not need to handle the web page dialog at all. On some websites the iMacros TAG command can fill in the values in a box, even so you can not do it manually (= need to use the web page dialog). An example is the date control of this Hebrew site. Even so a normal user needs to use the date control, the iMacros TAG command can fill in the date directly. This works because iMacros circumvents certain Javascript checks.