Common Desktop Environment: Application Builder User's Guide

8 Testing Menus, Help, and Connections

Contents of Chapter:
To Test a Project or Selected Modules
To Test Help Volume Access
To Test On Item Help
To Test Menus in a Module
To Test Connections in a Project
Many functions of your interface can be tested without generating code and making the application. In both Test Shown Modules and Test Project mode, all build windows except the App Builder primary window are closed, and the App Builder primary window is inactive except for the Build button and the Help menu.

If your project is small, you will probably want to test the entire project. If it is large, you may want to test only selected modules, thus saving the time it takes to load a large project. In Test Project mode the entire project is available. Windows that are designated as not visible at startup (as are custom dialogs by default, for instance) will not be visible.

See "To Show a Hidden Module" for instructions if you are going to use Test Shown Modules.

To Test a Project or Selected Modules

  1. Click Test Project or Test Shown Modules in the App Builder primary window.

    Depending on which button you selected, all modules in the current project or only shown modules will be tested.

  2. Test help, if appropriate.

    See "To Test On Item Help" for instructions.

  3. Test menu displays, if appropriate.

    See "To Test Menus in a Module" for instructions.

  4. Test connections, if appropriate.

    See "To Test Connections in a Project" for instructions.

  5. Click Build to return to build mode.

To Test Help Volume Access

These instructions assume you have created a help menu and attached it to a Help menu on the menu bar of a main window, as described in "Creating Help and Help Connections".

  1. Display the modules to be tested, if necessary.

    If you are not going to test the entire project, you will need to show the modules to be tested. See "To Show a Hidden Module" for instructions.

  2. Click Test Shown Modules or Test Project, as appropriate.

    Click Test Project to test the entire project. Click Test Shown Modules to test selected modules.

  3. Test help volume access by choosing one of the help volume chapters (Overview, Tasks, Reference, for example) from the Help menu.

    A help volume window with the appropriate help text will be displayed, if the help viewer (dthelpview) is accessible and the proper connection has been made to the compiled help volume. See "Creating Help and Help Connections" for instructions for creating help and making connections to it. Dismiss the help window when you are finished with it.

  4. Click Build to return to build mode.

To Test On Item Help

These instructions assume you have created a help menu and attached it to a Help item on the menu bar of a main window, as described in "Creating Help and Help Connections".

  1. Display the modules to be tested, if necessary.

    If you are not going to test the entire project, you will need to show the modules to be tested. See "To Show a Hidden Module" for instructions.

  2. Click Test Shown Modules or Test Project, as appropriate.

    Click Test Project to test the entire project. Click Test Shown Modules to test selected modules.

  3. Test help volume access by choosing one of the help volume chapters (Overview, Tasks, Reference, for example) from the Help menu.

    A help volume window with the appropriate help text will be displayed, if the help viewer (dthelpview) is accessible and the proper connection has been made to the compiled help volume. See "Creating Help and Help Connections" for instructions for creating help and making connections to it. Dismiss the help window when you are finished with it.

  4. Test On Item help by choosing On Item from the Help menu.

    The cursor will turn into an arrow and a question mark.

  5. Move the cursor over an interface object and click.

    If the object (or one of its parent objects) has help text, it will be displayed in a quick help window.

  6. Click the More button in the quick-help window, if it is active.

    The help volume will be displayed, at the location specified in the Location ID for the selected object in the Help Editor. Dismiss the help window when you are finished with it.

  7. Click the Close button in the quick help window to dismiss it.

  8. Click Build to return to build mode.

To Test Menus in a Module

In Test Shown Modules mode, all windows in the currently-shown modules will be displayed, including those whose initial state is not set Visible. See "To Test a Project or Selected Modules" if you want to test the entire project, with not-Visible windows hidden.

  1. Display the module to be tested, if necessary.

    See "To Show a Hidden Module" for instructions.

  2. Click Test Shown Modules.

  3. Click or press on the items in a menu bar, if appropriate.

    The menus will be displayed. If you select a menu item that is connected to certain predefined functions (Show or Hide a dialog, Access Help Volume, Activate On Item Help, for example), the function will be performed.

  4. Click each button menu, as appropriate.

    The menus will be displayed. If you select a menu item that is connected to certain predefined functions (Show or Hide a dialog, Access Help Volume, Activate On Item Help, for example), the function will be performed.

  5. Press mouse button 3 on a pane or list item to display a pop-up menu, if appropriate.

    The menus will be displayed. If you select a menu item that is connected to certain predefined functions (Show or Hide a dialog, Access Help Volume, Activate On Item Help, for example), the function will be performed.

  6. Click Build to return to build mode.

To Test Connections in a Project

  1. Display the modules to be tested, if necessary.

    See "To Show a Hidden Module" for instructions.

  2. Click Test Project.

    All build windows except the App Builder primary window will be closed, and the primary window will be inactive except for the Build button and the Help menu. Only windows in the project with an initial state set to Visible will be displayed.

  3. Click a button or choose a menu item that has a testable connection.

    The following connections should work in test mode as they will work in the compiled application:

    If you connect a button to a custom dialog, for instance, specifying the button as the source object, Activated as the When action, the custom dialog as the target object, and Show as the Action Type, the custom dialog will be displayed when you click the button.

    Connections to Call Function and Execute Code will be noted by messages to standard out.

    Connections to Application Framework, ToolTalk, and message dialogs are not supported in test mode.

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