Creating a Configuration Template

The JavaTest harness provides users and site administrators with the ability to create configuration templates that can be used to run tests on multiple test systems or test platforms with minimal changes. Users can save any configuration as a template (including configurations with unanswered questions).

See Create a Configuration Template from an Existing Configuration or Create a Configuration Template as a New Configuration.

For example, if a test group uses a central location to provide and manage the resources required to run tests (the test suite, report directories, configuration files, or the JavaTest harness), a site administrator or user can create a configuration template that contains all known configuration values required by the test group to run tests. Each user can load the configuration template from the central site, provide only those values unique to their test environment or test run, and run their tests using their completed configuration.

The following text is a Note Use Bookmarks to simplify a configuration template by displaying only the questions that require information from the user. Normally long interviews can often be reduced to a small set of required questions through the effective use of Bookmarks within a configuration template. See Setting Bookmarks in a Configuration.

Configuration templates are created by choosing File and Save As Template from the Configuration Editor menubar. The Configuration Editor opens the Save Configuration Template dialog box.

See Save Configuration Template for detailed information about the dialog box.

Save Configuration Template

The Save Configuration Template dialog box allows site administrators or users to creat configuration templates.

The Configuration template dialog box

The Save Configuration Template dialog box enables site administrators or users to set the following options when creating a template:

Create a Configuration Template from an Existing Configuration

Users can create a configuration template from an existing configuration by performing the following steps:

  1. Click the Full Values view button displayed on the tool bar   button on the toolbar or choose Configure -> Change Configuration -> Other Values from the Test Manager menu bar.
  2. If the configuration is not displayed in the Configuration Editor window, choose File -> Load from the menu bar to load the configuration to be used in creating the configuration template.
  3. The Configuration Editor window displays questions in the center pane (the Question Pane). Click the Next button to proceed to the next question in the configuration. Use the text box, radio button, or combo box controls located beneath the question to change any configuration information required for use as template.
  4. If a user is only expected to answer or change the values of certain questions, use the Bookmarks menu to mark each question that a user is expected to answer. See Setting Bookmarks in a Configuration.
  5. After all questions have been answered and marked, choose Bookmarks -> Show Only Marked Questions from the menu bar to display only the questions that have bookmarks.

Examine the result and verify that the bookmarked questions are the minimum set of questions a user must answer. This is what the user sees when the template is loaded in the Configuration Editor.

  1. After all changes have been made to the configuration values, choose File -> Save as Template from the menu bar.
  2. In the Save Configuration Template dialog box choose the options for the configuration template and click the Save button. See Save Configuration Template for detailed information about the available template options.

Create a Configuration Template as a New Configuration

Users can create a configuration template from a new configuration by performing the following steps:

  1. Open an empty Configuration Editor window by choosing Configure -> New Configuration from the Test Manager menu bar. You can also open an empty Configuration Editor window by clicking the Full Values view button displayed on the tool bar   button on the toolbar and choosing File -> New Configuration from the menu bar.
  2. Create the new configuration file by answering the questions displayed in the Configuration Editor window.
    The Configuration Editor window displays questions in the center pane (the Question Pane). Use the text box, radio button, or combo box controls located beneath the question to provide the required configuration information. After you answer a question, click the Next button to proceed to the next question.
  3. If a user is only expected to answer or change the values of certain questions, use the Bookmarks menu to mark each question that a user is expected to answer. See Setting Bookmarks in a Configuration.
  4. After all questions have been answered and marked, choose Bookmarks -> Show Only Marked Questions from the menu bar to display only the questions that have bookmarks.

Examine the result and verify that the bookmarked questions are the minimum set of questions a user must answer. This is what the user sees when the template is loaded in the Configuration Editor.

  1. Choose File -> Save as Template from the menu bar.
  2. In the Save Configuration Template dialog box choose the options for the configuration template and click the Save button. See Save Configuration Template for detailed information about the available template options.
  3. After the template file is created, use the operating system to mark it read-only so that users cannot accidentally overwrite it.

The following text is a Note When a user loads a configuration template, the Configuration Editor does not save it as a different file. If it is loaded from a central location the user must either copy the .jti file before loading it or save it to a new location immediately after it is loaded.