Image Validation
To determine if Flash or other images on the page are displayed to your website visitors as expected, DéjàClick provides
Image Validation. The simple-to-use interface, just like
Keyword Validation, is accessed through the
Validation Panel in the DéjàClick toolbar. Image comparison is done on the actual image in order to validate exactly what appears on the screen.
Prerequisites
- Firefox V3.5 or later (released versions)
- DéjàClick V2.4.1.0 or later
- DéjàClick TrueScreenTM V1.2.0.0 or later
- ImageMagick® Software Library
Familiarity with AlertSite's DéjàClick transaction recording tool and the AlertSite Console is strongly recommended for using this guide. If you don't have the DéjàClick toolbar in your Firefox browser, go to the
DéjàClick Downloads page to download the DéjàClick add-on and additional modules (TrueScreen and ImageMagick). If you have never used DéjàClick before, please go to the
DéjàClick Quick Start Guide. After you have become comfortable with recording DéjàClick transactions, you'll be able to move on to this more advanced feature. To learn more about the AlertSite Console, go to
AlertSite Quick Start Guide.
ImageMagick
ImageMagick is a software library that
must be installed on the system where record/replay will be taking place in order to select images from your page. To install ImageMagick:
- Go to DéjàClick Downloads
- Click on the Download ImageMagick button
- Select the appropriate download link from the table of download in the Binary Release section
- Windows users: If you are not sure which version to use, choose the first one on the list, described as
Win32 dynamic at 16 bits-per-pixel
- Linux users: Check through your system's Package Manager to see if it's already installed on the system, as it is included with many Linux distributions
- After installing ImageMagick, restart your Firefox browser
Image Selection during Recording
You can select any part of the page, such as .jpg, Flash, Java applet, etc., and it will be validated
as an image. DéjàClick will do an image comparison on that area of the page with the saved image to validate it when the script is replayed.
Note: Image Validation is not recommended for HTML text validation due to the variation in fonts among browsers. To validate HTML text (as opposed to text that is part of an image), use
Keyword Validation. To verify that the area you want to validate is an image, right-click on the area. If the menu displayed contains
View Image,
Copy Image,
About Adobe Flash Player, etc., then you can use Image Validation here.
While recording or replaying your transaction, the
Validation icon
on the DéjàClick toolbar will be activated (colorized) after each step. Click the Validation icon to open the Validation Bar:
Click on the
Validation Type dropdown to display the selections:
If DéjàClick TrueScreen and the ImageMagick library are not installed, the
Validation Type dropdown will not include
Image.
To add an Image Validation:
- Select Image from the Validation Type dropdown.
- The Validation bar will appear along the top, displaying the location as an X/Y axis (default
x:75, y:15) and selected area pixel size
(default 150px x 80px), along with Add... and Help buttons
- The window will be shaded in transparent dark gray with a "light-box" appearing on the screen, indicating Image Validation mode
- Click and drag the mouse to expand the box around a selected area
- Drag and re-size the box using the "handles" to outline just the image you want to validate
- The X/Y axis and selected area size values will change as the box size and location are changed
- Once you have outlined the area you want, click the Add... button in the Validation bar to display the Add Image Validation dialog
- Enter a name in the Label field and click OK
- Repeat the process from the click-and-drag step to the Add... step to add more Image Validations on the same page
- To continue to the next step in your recording, click the Close Validation icon
to close the validation panel
You can switch to adding other validations (Keyword or JavaScript) by selecting a different option from the
Validation Type dropdown at any time.
To edit or remove an Image Validation:
- After the recording or replay is stopped, open the Properties Sidebar
- Click to expand the Script section at the top, then click on the Action or Event where the Image Validation was added
- In the Action or Event property at the bottom, click on Image Validation to open the property panel and list the added Image Validation(s)
- Click on the name to highlight it and activate the buttons
- Click Edit to display the Edit Image Validation dialog
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Replay Recording on the Desktop
Replay your script from the start to verify that the recording functions correctly and does not produce validation errors.
Note that the
Add/Edit Image Validation dialog displayed will match the DéjàClick
Display Level,
Basic or
Advanced, that you are currently operating in. You can change the Display Level from the Add/Edit Image Validation dialog. The
Advanced dialog allows you to set additional options, depending on your requirements. You can view the reference image at actual size by clicking on it in the dialog:
| Basic |
|
Advanced |
|
Actual size image |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Once your script has successfully replayed on your desktop, verify that it will also run remotely by clicking on the
Test On Demand icon
in the DéjàClick toolbar and selecting a location for the test. This will give you assurance that the script will function correctly on the monitoring servers after you upload it to your AlertSite account.
Upload to AlertSite Console
To upload a recorded transaction to your account, click on the
Remote Services button
in the DéjàClick toolbar and select
AlertSite Login from the dropdown menu. Enter your login credentials, then click
OK.
Click on the
Remote Services button again and select
Upload Recording from the dropdown.
In the
Upload Dialog that's presented, enter a name for your transaction and click
OK, and AlertSite will begin using this transaction script to monitor your web site from your default monitoring locations.
Troubleshooting
If replay produces validation errors, switch to
Advanced Display Level and try adjusting the
Match Options. After each change, make sure the script plays back successfully on your desktop. If it does, then verify that it runs at a remote location using
Test On Demand by clicking on the
icon in the DéjàClick toolbar and selecting a location for the test.
Match Options
By default, the relative positioning of the image is set to
Keep Proportions. If you are getting image validation errors, try the following modifications, replaying locally after each change first. If replay is successful on your desktop, replay with Test On Demand:
- Select the checkbox Adjust relative positioning and change the relative positioning of the image to Keep Centered
OR
- Deselect the checkbox Adjust relative positioning
OR
- As a very last resort, decrease the Image Match Threshold percentage to no less than 96%.
Under normal circumstances, the default settings are recommended.
Action Options
Advanced Display Level also provides
Action Options that let you either
Generate an error if the image is matched OR not matched, or to
Check again with a
Retry Count and
Retry Interval if the image is matched or not matched.
Check again is especially useful if your page has rotating images, slide show, etc., that you want to validate.
Flash Options
If you are validating a Flash image and if, during recording, moving the mouse over the screen doesn't activate DéjàClick TrueScreen:
- Switch to Advanced Display Level
- Click on the script name in the DéjàClick Properties sidebar script tree
- Scroll down and click Flash Options to expand the Flash configuration panel. Check the box labeled Override Flash WMODE attributes. You should not need to change anything else in that panel.
- Replay locally on your desktop, and if successful, replay from a remote location using Test On Demand.
If your troubleshooting efforts have not been successful and you are an AlertSite customer, contact
AlertSite Customer Care.
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