Transaction Scripting Reference

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This article contains a reference of all namespaces, classes, modules and methods that are available for creating transaction tests.

For Selenium WebDriver documentation, visit this page

Hover over a keyword or method name in a script to see additional information, in both the ThousandEyes Recorder and the ThousandEyes platform on the test creation page.

Example Scripts

For quicker orientation, there is a comprehensive collection of script examples provided by the transaction scripting examples repository in the ThousandEyes GitHub account.

Getting Test Configuration Settings

Use test to work with the ThousandEyes transaction test configuration, such as getting the target test URL (for example https://google.com/) or getting the test timeout setting.

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	test
Import Syntax	import { test } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	const settings = test.getSettings();
Method	getSettings()
Description	Returns an object with the current settings of the test.
Parameters	None
Returns	(object) with the following parameters: interval (number), timeout (number), url (string) and proxy (object).

Sample Script 1: Obtain Test URL

import { By, Key, until } from 'selenium-webdriver';
import { driver, markers, credentials, downloads, transaction, authentication, test } from 'thousandeyes';

runScript();

async function runScript() {

    const settings = test.getSettings();

    // Load page
    await driver.get(settings.url);
    await driver.takeScreenshot();

    // Search
    markers.start('SearchForWebdriver');
    await driver.findElement(By.name('q')).sendKeys('webdriver', Key.RETURN);
    await driver.takeScreenshot();
    markers.stop('SearchForWebdriver');

    // Wait for full page load
    await driver.wait(until.titleIs('webdriver - Google Search'), 1000);
    await driver.takeScreenshot();
};

Sample Script 2: Reduce Test Timeout Value

This snippet shows how to get the test timeout setting and set the implicit timeout in the transaction to half that value. On the ThousandEyes platform, this test timeout setting is found on the Advanced Settings tab for the transaction test you’re working with, on the Network & App Synthetics > Test Settings screen.

Why would you want to do this? The implicit timeout is the time that each transaction step will wait for a designated page element to appear before timing out. By default, the ThousandEyes Recorder sets the implicit step timeout value to 7 seconds. This per-step value may need to be increased for tests that take longer to complete.

Instead of statically increasing the implicit timeout value in the script, you can configure it to be a proportion (for example 50%) of the total test timeout value. This will ensure the implicit timeout value is always set to a reasonable value, regardless of the test timeout setting.

import { By, Key } from 'selenium-webdriver';
import { driver, test } from 'thousandeyes';

runScript();

async function runScript() {

    await configureDriver();

    const settings = test.getSettings();

    // Load page
    await driver.get(settings.url);

}

async function configureDriver() {
    const settings = test.getSettings()

    await driver.manage().setTimeouts({
        implicit: settings.timeout/2 * 1000
    });
}

Controlling the Browser

ThousandEyes provides a wrapper of the Selenium WebDriver library for JavaScript. It contains methods for controlling the browser that is used to execute the test.

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	driver
Import Syntax	import { driver } from 'thousandeyes';
Used Like	await driver.get('https://google.com');
Supported methods	await driver.get('https://google.com');
	actions( options )
	executeAsyncScript( script, ...args )
	executeScript( script, ...args )
	findElement( locator )
	findElements( locator )
	get( url )
	getAllWindowHandles()
	getCurrentUrl()
	getPageSource()
	getTitle()
	getWindowHandle()
	manage()
	navigate()
	sleep( ms )
	switchTo()
	wait( condition, timeout, message )
Reference	https://selenium.dev/selenium/docs/api/javascript/module/selenium-webdriver/index_exports_WebDriver.html

Interacting with Page Elements

A set of methods for interacting with elements. Once the element is located and retrieved (by using the findElement() function or similar), it can be managed using the following methods.

Namespace	selenium-webdriver
Module	WebElement
Find an element	const element = await driver.findElement(By.css('.someClass'))
Supported methods	clear()
	click()
	getAttribute( attributeName )
	getCssValue( cssStyleProperty )
	getId()
	getText()
	sendKeys( ...args )
	submit()
Reference	https://selenium.dev/selenium/docs/api/javascript/module/selenium-webdriver/index_exports_WebElement.html

Waiting for Events

Defines common conditions for use with WebDriver wait.

Namespace	selenium-webdriver
Module	until
Import Syntax	import { until } from 'selenium-webdriver';
Used Like	await driver.wait(until.alertIsPresent(), 10 * 1000, 'Alert did not appear within 10 seconds!');
Supported methods	ableToSwitchToFrame( frame )
	alertIsPresent()
	elementIsDisabled( element )
	elementIsEnabled( element )
	elementIsNotSelected( element )
	elementIsNotVisible( element )
	elementIsSelected( element )
	elementIsVisible( element )
	elementLocated( locator )
	elementTextContains( element, substr )
	elementTextIs( element, text )
	elementTextMatches( element, regex )
	elementsLocated( locator )
	stalenessOf( element )
	titleContains( substr )
	titleIs( title )
	titleMatches( regex )
	urlContains( substrUrl )
	urlIs( url )
	urlMatches( regex )
	elementTextMatches( element, regex )
	elementsLocated( locator )
	stalenessOf( element )
	titleContains( substr )
	titleIs( title )
	titleMatches( regex )
	urlContains( substrUrl )
	urlIs( url )
	urlMatches( regex )
Reference	https://selenium.dev/selenium/docs/api/javascript/module/selenium-webdriver/lib/until.html

Generating Keyboard Events

Representations of pressable keys that aren't text.

Namespace	selenium-webdriver
Module	Key
Import Syntax	import { Key } from 'selenium-webdriver';
Used Like	await driver.findElement(By.css('.form-input')).sendKeys(Key.RETURN);
Supported methods	Key.chord( ...keys )
Values	See the reference below
Reference	https://selenium.dev/selenium/docs/api/javascript/module/selenium-webdriver/index_exports_Key.html

Taking Screenshots

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	driver
Method	takeScreenshot()
Used Like	await driver.takeScreenshot();
Description	Takes a screenshot of the current page and stores it in memory. These screenshots are collected at the end of the test. A maximum of three screenshots is allowed; if this limit is exceeded, new screenshots replace the older ones. Also, by default, a screenshot is taken automatically if a transaction test has an error.
Parameters	None
Returns	None

Handling Credentials

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	credentials
Import Syntax	import { credentials } from 'thousandeyes';
Used Like	credentials.get('MyPasswordName');
Method	get( credentialName )
Description	Gets the stored credential value matching the supplied name. Only works if you have already associated the credential with the current test (Test settings page).
Parameters	credentialName (string) The name of the credential to fetch
Returns	(string) The password or sensitive value associated with the supplied credential name

File Uploads

You can’t upload a pre-existing file, only a generated one. You can specify the file size and choose text or binary format.

Upload a Specified File

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	uploads
Import Syntax	import { uploads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await uploads.generateFile('lion-for-marbas.jpeg', fileContent: any, encoding?: string);
Method	generateFile( filename, fileContents )
Description	Write a file to the file system with the given filename, and return a path to the generated file that can be referenced when populating a file upload field.
Parameters	fileName (string) The name of the file to be uploaded.
	fileContents (any) File contents encoded as string.

Generate a Random Text File

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	uploads
Import Syntax	import { uploads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await uploads.generateRandomTextFile(2000, 'myFilename.txt');
Method	generateRandomTextFile( sizeInBytes, fileName )
Description	Create a file of the given size with the given filename, returning a path to the generated file. The generated file will be filled with randomly-generated alphanumeric characters.
Parameters	sizeInBytes (number) desired byte size of the generated file.
	fileName (string) The name of the file to be generated.

Generate a Random Binary File

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	uploads
Import Syntax	import { uploads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await uploads.generateRandomBinaryFile(2000, 'myFileName.bin');
Method	generateRandomBinaryFile( sizeInBytes, fileName )
Description	Create a file of the given size with the given filename, returning a path to the generated file. The generated file will be filled with randomly-generated bytes.
Parameters	sizeInBytes (number) desired byte size of the generated file.
	fileName (string) The name of the file to be generated.

File Downloads

For file downloads, you can get the file path, path length, hash, or extract text from a downloaded PDF.

Wait for a File to Download

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	downloads
Import Syntax	import { downloads } from 'thousandeyes';
Used Like	await downloads.waitForDownload('myFilename.txt', 10 * 1000);
Method	waitForDownload( fileName, timeout )
Description	Waits for a download matching the supplied filename to appear and then to finish. If a file matching the supplied name has previously been downloaded within the current script, this function will complete immediately. If no file matching the supplied name has been or is currently downloading, it will wait for the supplied timeout amount of time for the file to appear and finish downloading. Downloaded files are saved in a temporary folder on the agent. All files from previous tests are deleted from the temporary folder before a transaction test is run.
Parameters	fileName (string) The name of the file to wait for
	timeout (number) The max number of milliseconds to wait for download completion. Defaults to 60 seconds

Show File Path

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	downloads
Import Syntax	import { downloads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await downloads.getContents ('myFilePath');
Method	getContents ( path )
Description	Return the contents of the specified downloaded file's path.
Parameters	path (string)

Get File Path Length

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	downloads
Import Syntax	import { downloads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await downloads.getSize('myFilePath');
Method	getSize( path )
Description	Return the size of the specified downloaded file's path.
Parameters	path (string)

Get File Hash

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	downloads
Import Syntax	import { downloads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await downloads.getMD5 ('myFilePath'); or await downloads.getSHA256('myFilePath';)
Method	getMD5 ( path ) or getSHA256 ( path )
Description	Return the hash of the specified downloaded file's contents.
Parameters	path (string)
Returns

Extract Text from a Downloaded PDF

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	downloads
Import Syntax	import { downloads } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	await downloads.getPdfTextContents('myFilePath');
Method	getPdfTextContents ( path )
Description	Extract all text from a downloaded PDF file. You can use this to verify that the contents of a downloaded PDF file matches your expectations.
Parameters	path (string)

Measuring Transaction Time(s)

ThousandEyes transactions support two types of measuring time:

• Markers

• Overall transaction time

Markers

Markers are custom time delimiters, enabling precise time measurements of smaller sections of the transaction. A maximum of 200 markers can be defined in a transaction script. The Waterfall tab displays the first ten markers, with a Show more link if more than ten markers are defined.

Start a marker:

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	markers
Method	start( markerName )
Description	Starts a marker with the supplied name. This marker can later be stopped by calling the stop function with the same name.
Parameters	markerName (string) The name of the marker
Returns	None. Will throw an error if attempting to start a previously started marker.

Stop a marker:

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	markers
Method	stop( markerName )
Description	Stops the marker matching the supplied name.
Parameters	markerName (string) The name of the marker
Returns	None. Will throw an error if attempting to stop a marker that hasn't been started yet or one that was already stopped.

Set a marker:

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	markers
Method	set( markerName )
Description	Creates a marker that spans from transaction start time to the time this method is called. Calling set implicitly closes the marker, so there is no need to later close it.
Parameters	markerName (string) The name of the marker
Returns	None.

Overall Transaction Time

Running a transaction test implicitly causes the overall transaction time measurement, spanning from the moment the transaction test run starts and to the end of the transaction. However, if customization of overall transaction time's start and stop moments is required, the following methods can be used to such effect. |

Set the overall transaction time start moment:

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	transaction
Method	start()
Description	Sets the start time of the transaction. If not called, the transaction start time will default to the script start time.
Parameters	None
Returns	None

Set the overall transaction time end moment:

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	transaction
Method	stop()
Description	Sets the end time of the transaction. If not called, the transaction start time will default to the script end time.
Parameters	None
Returns	None

Element Locators

Provided is a set of mechanisms dedicated to locating elements on the page.

Namespace	selenium-webdriver
Class	By
Import Syntax	import { By } from 'selenium-webdriver';
Used Like	await driver.findElement(By.css('#myId'));
Supported static methods	By.className( name )
	By.css( selector )
	By.id( selector )
	By.js( script, ...var_args )
	By.linkText( text )
	By.name( name )
	By.partialLinkText( text )
	By.xpath( xpath )
Reference	https://selenium.dev/selenium/docs/api/javascript/module/selenium-webdriver/lib/by_exports_By.html

Assertions

The assert module provides a set of assertion functions for verifying invariants.

NOTE: Only strict mode is supported.

Namespace	assert
Module	assert
Import Syntax	import assert from 'assert';
Used Like	assert(url === 'https://wikipedia.org', 'Assertion failed: not on wikipedia!')
Supported methods	assert( value[, message] )
	deepEqual( actual, expected[, message] )
	doesNotReject( asyncFn[, error][, message] )
	doesNotThrow( fn[, error][, message] )
	equal( actual, expected[, message] )
	fail( [message] )
	ifError( value )
	notDeepEqual( actual, expected[, message] )
	notEqual( actual, expected[, message] )
	ok( value[, message] )
	rejects( asyncFn[, error][, message] )
	throws( fn[, error][, message] )
Reference	https://nodejs.org/api/assert.html

Authentication Module

Use the authentication module to get a time-based one-time password (TOTP) for 2-factor authentication, as in this scripting example: usingTOTPTwoFactorAuth.js.

Namespace	thousandeyes
Module	authentication
Import Syntax	import { authentication } from 'thousandeyes'
Used Like	var totp = authentication.getTimeBasedOneTimePassword(secretToken);
Method	getTimeBasedOneTimePassword( secretToken )
Description	Generates a 6-digit temporary authentication code to be used in conjunction with a password on sites that support 2 factor authentication with time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs).
Parameters	secretToken (string) Secret token provided by Identity administrator.
Returns	(string) One-time password.

Further Information

For further information about transaction testing, refer to the collection of documentation pages under Transaction Tests.

If you have any questions, contact ThousandEyes Support as described on Getting Support from ThousandEyes.