DoxRunner
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Configuration Items
Overview
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Configuration items (CIs) are critical to DoxRunner operations. They are documented as rows in a table in a Configuration section, which is normally buried as an appendix to the Solution document because, once tailored to the Solution, it rarely needs to be updated.
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The section acts like a .ini file in that it tells the DoxRunner operations how to go about its operations and where to find things.
It is in the Solution document because it normally applies to all test cases. However, there may be occasions where a test case requires one or more of the Configuration Items to be different. In that situation, a Configuration section can be added to any test case.
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The CIs can be catalogued into seven separate groups:
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VTS CIs
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Type
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The following is a list of CI Types:
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Organisation
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Solution
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Project
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Release
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Environment
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Support Folder
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Script Folder
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Included Files Folder
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Timer Name Template
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VTS Server Name
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VTS Server Port
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Database Name
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Database Server Name
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Correlate Values
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Validation Template LB
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Validation Template RB
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Value​
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The Value depends on the CI Type and how it is to be used in the Solution.
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Section Management - Configuration
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A Configuration section is optional, is semi-structured, and may appear in three places:​​
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Any Test Case;
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The Solution document;
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The Test Case Template document.
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Each instance of the Configuration section consists of:
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a Section Title;
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a Bookmark;
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free-form Body Text;
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a Table with a minimum of two columns (Type and Value).
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The Bookmark:​
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Location: Immediately before the Section Title;
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Structure: Depends on which document the section is embedded in:
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Test Case: P_TST110_Configuration (where TST110 is the Test Case ID)
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Test Case Template: P_Configuration
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Solution document: V_Configuration
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The Section Title:
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Structure: Free-format text immediately preceded by the Bookmark;
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Style: I_Heading n or I_Appendix n, where n can be an integer from 1 to 5;
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Length: Cannot be longer than 200 characters.
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The Body Text
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Structure: free-format text and optional:
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Location: between the Heading and the Table;
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Style: I_BodyText;
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Length: Cannot be longer than 1,000 characters.
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The Table:
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Location: immediately below the Body Text (or Section Title if there is no Body Text):
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A minimum of two rows:
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A minimum of two columns:
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All cells in the Type and Value columns must conform to specific rules, as described in the Overview above.​
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Advice
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The Configuration section is mandatory in the Solution document.
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Assess whether the section is necessary in a Test Case. ​
Any Configuration Items at the Test Case level should be by exception only - avoid having Test Case specific CIs.
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Assess the Section Title and update it if necessary.
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Make sure the table has the two mandatory columns (Type and Value), each with the specified heading text.
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Assess the table to see whether more columns are appropriate, especially a Description column.
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Assess the Body Text between the Section Title and the Table and update it if necessary.
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Make sure its bookmark is visible and located immediately before the first character of the Section Title (see each of the examples further down this page).
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Do not change the bookmark.
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The section looks better when on a page with portrait orientation.
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Solution Document Section
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The Solution document is the primary location for the Configuration section. It is mandatory, semi-structured, and can be located anywhere in it.
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It must be referenced by a Bookmark that must be located immediately before the Section Title.
The Bookmark is structured as follows: V_Configuration
There is only one way to add CIs to the Configuration section of a Solution document and that is to manually insert them into the table.
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If a CI in a Data row of the Table is the same as one in a test case then the one in the test case takes precedence.
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Test Case section
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The Configuration section is mandatory in the Solution document, but optional in a test case. If it exists in a test case, it is usually a cut-down version, and it can be located anywhere in a test case between the Description sections and the Transaction Timer section.
It is semi-structured. The structure is described above and illustrated below.
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It must be referenced by a Bookmark that must be located immediately before the Section Title.
The Bookmark must contain the Test Case ID and is structured as follows (where CEP001 is an example Test Case ID):
P_CEP001_Configuration
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CIs must be added manually. If a CI has the same type as one in the Solution document, then the one in the test case takes precedence.
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Test Case Template section
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The Configuration section is not normally present in the Test Case Template that is downloaded from the DoxRunner site.
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If it is required, it must be added manually and located anywhere in the Test Case Template between the Description sections and the Transaction Timer section, preferable just before the Transaction Timer section.
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It is semi-structured. The structure is identical to to test case and Solution document as described above, with the only difference being the name of the referencing bookmark, which is: P_Configuration
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The Body Text is expected to contain generic text that will be copied to any new test case.
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When the Test Case Template is downloaded from the DoxRunner site, it contains the CIs as illustrated below. If it is known that the CIs in the Solution document will be sufficient for all test cases, then it can be deleted from the Test Case Template.
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However if it is known that one or more may be different for some or all test cases, then simply delete those that are known to be unnecessary.
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Example
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Example
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Example
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CI Management
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Add a CI
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A CI can only be added to any document manually.
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In all cases, a CI is added as a row in the table that is embedded in a Configuration section.
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Columns
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Delete a CI
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Except for the last one, deleting a CI can be done manually in all documents by simply deleting the respective row in the table.
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Deleting the last rule can be done in two ways:
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Simply clear all cells in the row (do not delete the row);
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Delete the entire section.
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Section management
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Add a section
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How to add a Configuration section to a Test Case
A Configuration section is not included in the Test Case Template downloaded from this site. Hence it would not normally form a part of any new test case. This is because it is expected that, normally, the CIs in the Solution document will apply to all test cases in the solution.
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Occasionally you may have one or two test cases that require one or more CIs to be different to those defined in the Solution document. A typical example would be a test case that has included files that are in a folder separate from other test cases in the Solution, or maybe a different timer template.
The steps below show you how to add a Configuration section to a specified test case. The first 10 steps are generic to all test case sections and uses the DoxRunner Manage Section operation. Steps 11 to 13 are specific to the Configuration section.
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The new section will contain -all- CIs. You are advised to review each CI and delete those that aren't unique to the test case.
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The bookmark will be structured in a manner similar to all other test case bookmarks. That is, it will be prefaced by P_, followed by the Test Case ID, and end in _Configuration. Example: P_CEP001_Configuration
The triangle symbol at the end of the heading is a link to the top of the test case.
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The table contains -all- possible CIs.
Delete those that don't need to be in the test case and update the remainder.
They will take precedence over those from the Solution document referenced by bookmark V_Configuration.
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Delete a section
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How to delete a Configuration section from a Test Case
This is only required if you added it to a test case, or if you added it to the Test Case Template and created one or more test cases from it, and don't need it in one or more of those test cases.
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The steps below show you how to delete any section from a specified test case. The first 10 steps are generic to all test case sections and uses the DoxRunner Manage Section operation.
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