System and method for making a user interface element visible

• US 20060085764A1
• Filed: 10/15/2004
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Klementiev, Dmitri A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,543,278 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/853
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3688 for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3696 Methods or tools to render software testable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

Various new and non-obvious apparatus and methods for ensuring a user interface element is visible within an automated user interface test environment are disclosed. One of the disclosed embodiments is a method for locating a parent element of the user interface element and then making the user interface object visible using top-down scrolling, bottom-up scrolling, expanding, or a combination of all three. Top-down scrolling scrolls the parent element until the user interface element becomes visible. Bottom-up scrolling first locates a grandparent element. The parent element then scrolls until the user interface element is within the parent object. The grandparent element is then scrolled until the parent element is visible within the grandparent element, the parent object is then scrolled until the user interface element is visible within the grandparent element. This exemplary embodiment further confirms that the user element interface made visible can be selected by ensuring that the window where the user interface element resides is ready for user input and is not covered by another object.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

within an automated user interface test environment, choosing a user interface element that is to be made visible;

determining at least one parent element of the user interface element;

performing a make child visible action for the at least one parent element of the user interface element; and

ensuring that the user interface item is selectable;

wherein performing a make child visible action comprises;

if the parent element is scrollable, then scrolling the parent element to make the user interface element visible; and

if the parent element is expandable, then expanding the parent element to make the user interface element visible.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrolling comprises using one of top-down scrolling or bottom-up scrolling.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the parent element further comprises at least one currently visible child element, the child element further comprises a child location variable;

and wherein the user interface element comprises a user interface element variable;

the scrolling further comprising;

finding a currently visible child element;

comparing the currently visible child location variable with the user interface element variable to determine a move direction; and

scrolling in the move direction until the user interface element is visible within the parent element.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein scrolling in the move direction reaches an end location prior to the user interface element becoming visible, and wherein the method further comprises scrolling in the opposite direction to the move direction until the user interface element is visible.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein scrolling in the move direction fails to change the current location, and wherein the method further comprises scrolling in the opposite direction to the move direction until the user interface element is visible.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein finding a currently visible child element comprises searching for a first visible child element using at least one search type, the search type comprising a binary search, a Fibonacci search, a jump search, or a linear search.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein there are N child elements, the method further comprising using a binary search, and wherein the search recursively checks for visibility of each nth child element, initially n=N/2 or n=N/3;

and at each successive recursion level n=n/2.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each child element that has been checked for visibility is marked, and wherein the marked child elements are not checked in subsequent recursive searches.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising a hash table and wherein the marked child elements are stored in the hash table.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface element is selected from an element list comprising, a listbox, an element of a listbox;

a combo box, an element of a combo box, a menu, an element of a menu, a multi-column listbox, an element of a multi-combo listbox, a multi-column combo box, an element of a multi-column list box, a multiple selection extended listbox, an element of a multiple selection extended listbox, a text box, an element of a text box, a scroll pane, an element of a scroll pane, a tabbed pane, an element of a tabbed pane, a calendar, an element of a calendar, a tree, an element of a tree, a window, or an element of a window.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein expanding the parent element to make the user interface element visible further comprises using top-down expansion or bottom-up expansion.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein ensuring the user interface element is selectable comprises ensuring that the window associated with the user interface object is ready for user input.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein ensuring that the window associated with the user interface object is ready for input comprises at least one of giving a window associated with the user interface object focus, making a thread associated with the interface object the foreground thread, or ensuring there is not another object covering the user interface object.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface element to be made visible comprises a grandparent element, and wherein bottom-up scrolling comprises:

scrolling the parent element to make the user interface element visible within the parent element;

scrolling the grandparent element to make the parent element visible within the grandparent element; and

scrolling the parent element to make the user interface element visible within the grandparent element.

15. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for causing a computer system to perform the method of claim 1.

16. A method of making a user interface object visible, the method comprising:

choosing a user interface object from a plurality of interface objects within a graphical user interface that is to be tested using automation, the user interface object being at the base of an object hierarchy;

traversing the user interface object hierarchy from the base object to a child of the top object, scrolling each parent object of a current object until the current object overlaps the parent object;

traversing the user interface object hierarchy from the base object to a grandchild of the top object, scrolling each parent object of a current object until the current object overlaps the grandparent object; and

ensuring that a window associated with the user interface object is ready for user input.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein scrolling further comprises scrolling in at least one of the directions x, y, and z.

18. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for causing a computer system to perform the method of claim 16.

19. In a computer system having a user interface, the system comprising:

user interface objects comprising a plurality of hierarchically-arranged nodes;

a request action module, which requests that a user interface object be visible;

an automated tester module, which triggers the request action module;

a traverse hierarchy module, which traverses a hierarchy of objects;

an expand module, which expands a parent object to make the user interface object visible;

a locate in parent module, which searches elements of the parent object to locate a child object within the parent object;

a locate in grandparent module, which scrolls the parent object to make the child object visible in a grandparent object; and

a window ready module, which ensures that a window associated with the user interface object is ready to accept user input.

20. A user-interface service comprising:

means for a test program to designate a user object element as to be made visible, the user object element a component of a user object, the user object being part of a hierarchically-arranged set of user objects, and the child object of a parent object;

means for hierarchically traversing the hierarchically-arranged set of user objects;

means for scrolling a parent object to display a designated child object;

means for scrolling a parent object to display a designated child object in a grandparent object;

means for expanding a user object to display a designated child object;

means for searching an element list of a user object to locate a designated list object; and

means for ensuring that the designated child object is selectable.