• Scope and downloads
• Configuration
  • Areas, methods and stages of configuration
  • Configure loading the framework
    • Through values manifests
    • Through GUI
  • Edit or review configuration of the framework
    • Edit through values manifests
    • Edit or review through GUI
• Run scripts
  • No hot switching between frameworks

Scope and downloads

This assumes that you’ve set up your web application and that there is an SeLite framework for it. You’ll need packages mentioned at Overview > Install. If you haven’t downloaded SeLite Components yet, getting them from source (which you’ll need anyway) may be faster.

Regardless of how you install Components, either

• download a ZIP of a chosen framework as per AppsFrameworks. However, then you can’t maintain it with GIT. Or
• follow InstallFromSource > Get the source. If you’re installing components from source, follow Install components from source.

If your web application uses SQLite, you’ll get full SeLite functionality and smoother script data life cycle. You’ll be able to copy/restore appDB, scriptDB and vanillaDB from within SeLite (via SettingsInterface). Otherwise you need to apply DataImport.

The following instructions are generic. For any application-specific steps see documentation of the respective framework.

Configuration

Areas, methods and stages of configuration

You need to configure two main areas

• what framework (or any other bootstrapped extensions) to load
• common and framework/extension-specific settings

There are two methods for this. The simpler one manages it through text file(s), as per SettingsManifests > Values manifests. Such configuration is easier to share and replicate than one administered through GUI. It also involves less steps and only one stage. You can still use GUI to review effect of values manifests (though it involves some extra steps).

An alternative method is Firefox profile-based configuration set(s), controlled through GUI. It can also override any values manifests. It’s done through SettingsManifests > Associations manifests. However, using GUI (for any part of configuration) usually requires the whole configuration to be in two stages.

Configure loading the framework

Through values manifests

This is already done for scripts that come with SeLite frameworks. If you’re using one of those frameworks, you can copy its values manifest SeLiteSettingsValues.txt. Otherwise create it as a plain text file. Either way, you then need to adjust/enter value of field extensions.selite-settings.common.bootstrappedCoreExtensions, so it points to location of the framework Javascript file. See also SettingsManifests > Values manifests and SettingsManifests > Literals for special values.

Through GUI

See SettingsInterface > Managing mode. Select ‘Add a new value’ next to bootstrapCoreExtensions. Point it to where you downloaded the framework JS file.

Edit or review configuration of the framework

Edit through values manifests

Add values for applicable following fields and for any custom fields/keys to SeLiteSettingsValues.txt from the above

extensions.selite-settings.common.testDB
extensions.selite-settings.common.appDB
extensions.selite-settings.common.vanillaDB
extensions.selite-settings.common.webRoot
extensions.selite-settings.common.tablePrefix
extensions.selite-settings.common.roles:abc pqrs
extensions.selite-settings.common.roles:def ijkl
...

See descriptions below.

Edit or review through GUI

This has a dual purpose: to maintain profile-based configuration set(s), and to review effect of configuration set(s) or values manifest(s). If you want to use configuration set(s), create them if you haven’t done so (see above).

Before you use GUI, you need to load the bootstrapped framework. Start Selenium IDE and run any single command, e.g. getEval | true. That has effect only for the current run of Firefox (so next time you start the browser you’ll need to repeat it in order to use GUI). Then you can configure roles and any framework-specific fields.

If you’d like to review configuration, open chrome:// URL chrome://selite-settings/content/tree.xul?selectFolder (or chrome://selite-settings/content/tree.xul?folder=/full/path/to/folder).

If you’d like to edit profile-based configuration set(s), open chrome://selite-settings/content/tree.xul. Then follow SettingsInterface and edit the following fields (if they apply to your framework):

• Enter usernames for roles that you need.
• Point the configuration set at your app/script/vanilla SQLite files. You need at least scriptDB to get benefits of Overview > Data separation (in testing). appDB and vanillaDB make sense only if the application data is in SQLite.
  • For appDB select the SQLite file which is used by your application instance. (The file often has an extension other than .sqlite, e.g. .db or even .php.)
  • scriptDB is for scripts. vanillaDB will serve as a snapshot of appDB, so that you can revert appDB and testDB to it. Enter some new filenames (in a location where your account can create files).
  • If you haven’t got existing testDB and vanillaDB, in Selenium IDE click at button . That reloads vanilla DB and script DB from app DB. (See SettingsInterface).
• Fill in webRoot (it doesn’t matter whether it ends with a slash or not). Your scripts can access it via SeLiteSettings.webRoot(). (This is a workaround for Selenium IDE issue ‘Base URL Should Allow Path’. Please, vote for it and also for other ThirdPartyIssues.)
• Fill in tablePrefix.
• Open the URL of the installation, log in with account(s) that you entered for role(s) above and make Firefox save your password(s). (That’s for SettingsLogins.)
• You may want to activate Auto Check to detect notices/warnings/errors. Currently that works out-of-the-box for PHP only.

Run scripts

Unless you are using GUI to maintain or review configuration, you can run scripts (cases or suites) right after you start Selenium IDE. You don’t need to run any single Selenese command first.

Locate, open and run a suite as per PackagedScripts.

No hot switching between frameworks

If you have two or more frameworks, don’t switch between them during the same Firefox run. You need to restart Firefox (not just Selenium IDE). Reasons:

• Frameworks can remove configuration fields that are not relevant to them, or they add new ones. Such fields stay removed/added during the rest of Firefox run, even after you switch to a different framework.
• If you start with one framework, switch to another one and then back to the first one (all within the same Firefox run), the first framework won’t be re-applied unless its file was modified (as per Bootstrap > Switching between files).
• Frameworks usually benefit from setTestDbKeeper(), but only one framework (or extension) can invoke it. See GeneralFramework > Preserving special values in script DB.