How to retrieve an ObservableCollection from a WPF UI object using Testing Framework

[Stephen]

I'm new to WPF and C#, but have been able to build a simple prototype test automation project using Telerik Testing Framework and C# in Visual Studio 2019.

The application I'm testing uses rich textfield UI objects called LookupButtons.It's a textarea object where you click a control to see a list of valid values. Using WPF Inspector, I can see all the values in an "ObservableCollection`1" object under the property CollnLookupDetails, but cannot figure out how to retrieve the ObservableCollection`1 object using Testing Framework. Is it possible to retrieve an ObservableCollection from a property?

In the attached screenshot, the application under test is on the left, with a LookupButton textarea. On the left is WPF Inspector, showing the LookupButton and its CollnLookupDetails property. There are many "LookUpDetails" objects in the collection. Those are the objects I want to get.

I may be attempting to do the wrong thing. Maybe there is a different way to get all the valid values in a WPF object collection? Any suggestions or pointers would be very much appreciated. Thank-you!

[Plamen Mitrev]

Hello Stephen,

Thank you for contacting us with this question.

I tested against a local demo WPF application and found that it is possible to get the property of an element by its name. That said, I am not familiar with the application under test and can't provide a copy/paste example for you, please try to adjust the following code:

Applications.[application.window.element].GetProperty<ObservableCollection<object>>("ColInLookupDetails");

You need to adjust the above code example and call the method GetProperty against the correct element in the application. Furthermore, you have to specify the type of objects in the collection and get those resources by respective name.

Based on this screenshot and information, that is what I came up with. I will be happy to continue assisting your further, if you can share a sample WPF application and your iteration of this code and we can discuss it.

Thank you for your cooperation in advance.

Regards,
Plamen Mitrev
Progress Telerik

 

 

[Stephen]

Thank-you Plamen,

It's wonderful to hear that you got it to work. I will try it out and get back to you. It's of great interest to me to be able to do this, and I spend some time on this again soon, and report back. Thanks again!

[Plamen Mitrev]

Hello Stephen,

Please take your time to explore my suggestion and the Testing Framework documentation for more details.

I remain available to help you further and analyze the WPF application and the tests, that you have.

Regards,
Plamen Mitrev
Progress Telerik