Where to find help with testing Rad controls?

[Karl]

Hi all, I am an experienced software tester, but new to web testing. Our company has a new website created using Sitefinity and of course just about every element on the page is a Telerik control. I've found a great tool called Selenium for testing our website, but I'm having some serious problems with the Telerik controls. I have posted this question on SeleniumHQ, but have received no answers. I've searched all over the Telerik site, and read a number of blog posts, but so far have not been able to resolve my problem(s). Any suggestions on how to solve them, or a hint of where to look to find help, would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a description of what I'm struggling with, in case anyone here can help.

Selenium does a great job of identifying the elements and inputting data on our Sitefinity site -- except when the fields are masked, like an account number, dollar amount, zip+4 codes, etc. Then, in most cases, the data appears in the field until the script moves to the next item, and then it looks like some sort of validation (that doesn't happen when you simply type the data into the field) clears the field, or resets the value to zero, usually causing a "You must enter a valid xxxxx" error.

Searching through the Telerik forums and blogs, I've read about how Telerik controls have a hidden field with "_text" appended that needs to be set -- in fact, Selenium generally sets it correctly. By using typeKeys along with the type command, and sometimes rearranging the order of those commands, I've been able to get many of these fields to work. The latest one I've encountered, though, is resisting everything I've tried. It is a zip code field, and it will display the value if set with the type command, but as soon as focus is lost -- clicking another field, clicking in the Selenium IDE window, or even outside of the browser altogether, the value disappears.

Is anyone familiar with dealing with fields like this? Is this particular field a different type of control that needs to be handled in some specific way? Here is the element that is giving me the problem, in case that helps:

<input type="text" style="width: 100%;" class="riTextBox riEnabled" name="ctl00_ctl00_PlaceHolderBody_MainContent_ctl00_txtZipCode_text"
<br> id="ctl00_ctl00_PlaceHolderBody_MainContent_ctl00_txtZipCode_text"
<br> value="_____-____" size="20" maxlength="10">

Thanks for any help or direction!

[Daniel Levy]

Hi Karl,

Thanks for writing.

I am not sure if you are aware, but we actually offer automated testing tools that include native support for Telerik controls for ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight. These are the same controls used in Sitefinity.

Out testing tools are build ontop of the WebAii Testing Framework, so you have the ability to use our built-in record / playback engine and automatic element identification, or drop into code and utilize our framework libraries as you wish.

Your timing is perfect as we are hosting a Webinar next week that shows will show you test automation with WebUI Test Studio against both the front end and back end of Sitefinity 4 - if this is you goal, this Webinar should not be missed! I have included a link below to register:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/709153161

WebUI Test Studio has a fully functional, fully supported, 30 day trial. I encourage you to download the trial and tune into next weeks Webinar - there is not a better testing solution available for your Sitefinity projects!

Greetings,
Daniel Levy
the Telerik team