LoadGen Studio Recorder: Overview of the ToolBox and User Simulation Actions

UserAction blocks will be added here when you have created them. UserAction blocks are a collection of tools and actions that you have selected and grouped as a single tool. Use these UserAction blocks to help you with repetitive tasks.

Validation

Validation is a visual indication that a process has finished. Read more about validations in this article. These indications are one of the following:

1. Caption of the foreground window
The appearance or disappearance of a window caption in the session; A window caption validation will look at the top-level window of a session. In the Studio options, you will find ways to control how to match a window caption. Options include the location of a match, whether a comparison should be case-sensitive, and whether to use regular expressions instead of a line of text.

2. Control in the foreground window (Fat Client, Citrix Enhanced, Remote Desktop, VMware Horizon, and Azure Virtual Desktop)
The appearance of a control in the top foreground window;  in Fat client, you are able to choose a control from the window, e.g. ok button, text, etc.

3. Image
An image appears in an area of the session; An image search will repeatedly search an area of the session for a predefined image. When it finds the image the validation will succeed and the X and Y coordinates of the found location are available in the Last Validation>< and Last Validation Y variables.

4. Single Pixel
An RGB color of a specific pixel, with a tolerance margin for both color and location; RGB color validation will look at the RGB value of a pixel in the session. You can choose a pixel when you create a validation, and the script will wait for a match on RGB values when running. Options for RGB matching include a tolerance margin, in percentages, for each RGB value of a pixel. This percentage is calculated over the co or range of 0-255. Other options include a location margin; this is the number of pixels around the given coordinate that the script vvi1 00k for a match. The search pattern is snake-like, starting at the top left and walking around the pixel clockwise.

Start measurement

A start measurement action sets a stopwatch for a measurement. Its argument is the name of the measurement. Measurements are used later in creating analyses and reports to show user experience. Measurements are part of an application and can be found in the LoadGen Analyzer. 

Stop measurement

A stop measurement action will stop the stopwatch you have started with a Start measurement action. It then records the elapsed time and saves this into the database with the name of the measurement that was last started and the application it is part of. This action is automatically generated for you when you use the Measurement wizard. It is placed at the top of the group of actions to perform when validation has found a match.

Fail measurement

A fail measurement action will stop the stopwatch you have started with a Start measurement action, and flag the recorded time as a failed measurement. This keeps it out of the test results when you create a chart for measurements. This action is automatically generated for you when you use the Measurement wizard. It is placed at the top of the group of actions to perform when validation has not found a match within its timeout period.

Select

A Select action allows you to look at the value of an item, and base actions on a number of possible values. The item value that you can look at can be a script variable or an environment variable. The environment variables you can choose from are:

1. Session height and width
This variable returns the number of pixels high or wide of the desktop session. You would use this information when you are not sure what the dimensions of your session are and you need to right-a-sign a form, for instance.

2. Session color depth
This returns a number indicating the bits per pixel of the session. This may be useful to determine which validation method to use.

3. Username, server name, LoadBot name ( = machine name)
Use a Select action on the username to determine actions for a specific set of users (for instance to start a specific business application). You may also include actions to perform if the user lands on a specific server or LoadBot agent.

4. Foreground window: caption, width, height, X, and Y
Information about the foreground window to help you decide if you want to move, resize, close or minimize a window.

Variable

A Variable action allows you to do one of three things:
 
1. Adjust the value of a variable
Options are dependent on the type of variable. For text variables, you can set their value to, for instance, a timestamp, a unique ID, a username, or the server name. You can now also convert information from a data source to a variable.

 
2. Check the value of a variable
Depending on the type of variable, you can check its value against a range of and even other variables.

3. Send the value of a variable to the session
The value of the variable will be sent to the session as free text, meaning that it will be translated to individual keyboard strokes.

Repeat loop

The Repeat loop action contains a number of actions that will be repeated. Options for repeating are to repeat the actions a specific number of times, or for a specific number of minutes. You can nest Repeat loops if you want. To exit a Repeat loop on a condition, including the Exit repeat action after a check or validation.

Exit repeat

An Exit repeat will exit the Repeat loop it is part of immediately. NS is useful if you only want to repeat until a custom condition is met, such as a successful validation.

Free code

Free code allows you to add code lines to your script.

Group

Group action is a structure that contains other actions, including Group actions. You can select a continuous number of actions in the tree view, right-click them, and choose 'Create a group of selection' to wrap the actions in a group. The group action helps you to structure the tree of actions into easy-to-understand chunks.

Exit block

The Exit block action will leave the current Application block immediately, with a successful or failed flag. If failed, the flow will not continue with the next block in the Application but move on to the next Application.

Exit application

The Exit application action will leave the current Application block immediately, and signal that the entire Application has either been successful or failed. The flow will move on to the next Application.

Exit flow

The Exit flow action will leave the flow immediately and log off or disconnect. You can set the overall type of exit to Success or Failure.

Pause

A Pause action will pause the execution of the flow for a specific number of milliseconds.

Think

A Think action will pause for a number of milliseconds, with a base value and a lower and upper percentage bound. The actual number of milliseconds that will be paused will be randomly generated when the flow executes, between the lower and upper percentages, and based on the base value. This makes the waits in your script more realistic and less predictable.

Lorem Ipsum

A Lorem Ipsum action will insert a number of Lorem Ipsum words into the session. The words are randomly picked from a repository of Lorem Ipsum words, including punctuation. The algorithm will make small sentences of the generated words. Note that each call to this method may result in a different number of characters even though the number of words is the same.

Timestamp

A Timestamp action will send a timestamp to the session. Options include the format in which the timestamp will be sent, including some predefined formats.

Free text

The free text action allows you to send multiple lines of free text to the session. When you normally record a flow, each character you type will be recorded and inserted into the tree of actions. However, it may be more convenient to use a Free Text action to send pieces of text to the session.

Send secure string

The send a secured text to your session is ideal for password fields (if you have the secure string sent to a text application e.g. notepad it will show you what is written).

Keystroke

A Keystroke action allows you to send any combination of modifier keys and a character to the session. When a session is connected and you send a keystroke to it, Studio will automatically record it and insert it into the tree of actions. However, it may be more convenient to configure a keystroke with this action. You can send any combination of Alt, Control, and Shift with one or more keys, including keys like Tab, Backspace, and Enter.

The Datasources functionality has two input methods: 

 

Method 1: Create a datasource text file, that when selected can generate text in your flow for a set amount of time or a set amount of words. You can randomize the output. 

 

Method  2: Create a datasource sheet file, you can create a sheet file and implement if you wish rows or specific words from a column, e.g. password that is linked to a specific user.

Mouse click

Sends a mouse click to the session. You can configure static X and Y coordinates, but you can a so use variables and an offset to place the mouse clicks. We support a click with the left mouse button and with the right mouse button.

Mouse double click

Sends a double mouse click to the session. You can configure static X and Y coordinates, but you can also use variables and an offset to place the mouse clicks. Supports double click with the left mouse button and a so with the right mouse button.

Mouse move

To move the location of your mouse to a specific location on the desktop without clicking anything. The best practice is to use it to move the cursor to an empty location so it can't interfere with your validation on the image/single pixel.

Mouse up

Sends a mouse up to the session. We support a click with the left mouse button and with the right mouse button.

Mouse down

Sends a mouse down to the session. We support a click with the left mouse button and with the right mouse button.

Mouse drag

Drags the mouse from position A to B. We support dragging with the left mouse button and with the right mouse button.

Mouse trail

Painting with the mouse was never so easy :) We support trailing with the left mouse button and with the right mouse button.

Server name

Sends the name of the server to the session. The name of the server only makes sense in a Citrix or RDS setup. When you call this action in a Local setup, the name of the current machine will be returned.

Username

Sends the username of the session to the session as text. In a Citrix setup, this will be the virtual user with which a session has been logged. In a local Client setup, this will be the user with which the LoadBot agent has been started.

Iteration

Sends the current iteration of the user session to the session as text.

Usertype

Sends the current user type of the user session to the session as text.

Start an application

Starts an application in the session of the user, you can also add starting arguments.

Stop an application

Kills the specified process.

Check if a file exists

Check if a file exists in a specific location.

Copy a file

Copy a file will copy an existing file to a new folder location selected by you, you are able to select the option if you want to overwrite the existing file with the same name.

Create a file

Generate a new file. Select a variable or text to fill with content.

Delete a file

Delete a file that you have selected.

Check if a file exists

Check if a file exists in a specific location.

Move a file

Move an existing file to a new location.

Copy a folder

Copy an existing folder and write it to the new location. You are able to select the option if you want to overwrite the existing file with the same name.

Create a folder

Generate a new folder and a predefined location.

Delete a folder

Delete an existing folder.

Check if a folder exists

Check if a folder exists in a specific location.

Move a folder

Move an existing folder to a new location.

Close top window

Sends an Alt + F4 to the session, closing the foreground window. Note that it does not handle scenarios where the foreground window asks for confirmation before closing.

Move top window

Moves the top-level window to the specified coordinates.

Resize top window

Resizes the top-level window to the specified size.

Bring window to top

Sends a call to the session to bring the requested window (match on caption) to the foreground. Note that sending the call does not mean it will be successful. The current window arrangement in a Citrix session may not allow this action.

Is top window maximized

Checks if the foreground window is maximized. This action results in a structure with a Yes and a No branch, into which you can place actions.

Window action

Several window actions are based on either the caption of the window or variable, this can be a substring too.

 

1. Restore window: This lets you restore the window from the previous position.

 

2. Maximize window: Maximize the window.

 

3. Minimize window: Minimize the window.

 

4. Close window: Closes the window.

Send message to Director

This action will send a message to the LoadGen Director. This message will appear in the user status list at the bottom of the Execute module. You could send progress information on the script, for instance at the start of an application, or debug information for a test run.

Send error message

A Send Error message will send a message to the LoadGen Director with its flag set to Error. This message will be displayed in the Execute dashboard in the LoadGen Director, with an error flag. Use this to signal fails in your flow. An error message will not disrupt the continuation of the flow.

Send screenshot to database

Send a screenshot to the database, letting you send additional screenshots from within your session or from the LoadGen Agent (Citrix Enhanced and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services). A failed measurement will automatically send a screenshot, this tool is used for debugging or extra checkpoints for your reporting.

Log message

The Log message action will log a message to the LoadBot logging. Use this for more detailed debug logging that you don't want to appear in the LoadGen Director. Options include the Log level (Fatal, Error, Warn, Info, and Debug) and the message.

Comment

A Comment action allows you to add clarifying comments to your flow. These comments may be useful for adding reminders, clarifications, examples or To Do's. They contain only text but may include screenshots in a future release of the LoadGen Studio.

Measure CPU Performance

Calculate x times the y th power of n. This action will benchmark your CPU performance of a Virtual Machine, VDI, or hosted desktop.

Measure IO Performance

This function will create x files based on a y size, then you can either read these files or remove them. This action will benchmark your IO performance of a Virtual Machine, VDI, or hosted desktop.

Gather System Information

This action will send your Virtual Machine, VDI, or hosted desktop system information to the database.