Test Step Properties

In the Standalone version, select a test step and the pane to the right will instantly show the properties for this very step.

In Visual Studio, click View > Properties Window or press the F4 key and to make the Properties pane visible in the lower right. By default all test step properties are listed alphabetically. Click the Categorized icon to add headings and categorize the list.

The type of step highlighted dictates the available properties. Highlight any property for a description of what it does and how it affects your test:

Behavior

Property	Description	When To Use
AltKey	Whether to hold the Alt key while clicking.	To execute an Alt + Click.
AnnotationText	The text to use for annotation.	With a Custom Annotation step.
BaseUrl	The BaseURL to use when a global base is missing.
CaptureType	The type of window to capture.	With a Browser/Desktop Capture step.
ClickPoint / Offset	ClickUnitType - the unit of point to use: percentage or pixel. OffSetReference - the reference point of screen to use for the click. X - the x-axis offset from reference point. Y - the y-axis offset from reference point.	To click the target element based on specific offset coordinates instead of at absolute center.
ClosesBrowser	ndicates to the automation that this action will force the browser to close. Typical for HTML pop-ups.	With a Click step that closes an HTML pop-up.
ControlKey	Whether to hold the Ctrl key while clicking.	To execute a Ctrl + Click.
Desktop Command Type	The mouse action type.
DisplayLocation	The location to display the annotation relative to the browser window.	With a Custom Annotation step.
DisplayTime	The length of time in milliseconds to display the annotation.	With a Custom Annotation step.
Encrypt	When set, will encrypt text typed into input control. Once set to true, cannot be changed back to false. 'Text' property cannot be modified and current step cannot be converted to code.	With a Set text step on a password field.
EventType	The Javascript event type to invoke.
FileNamePrefix	The file name prefix to use to save the capture on disk.	To edit the file name for a browser or desktop Capture image.
FireKeyEvents	Whether to fire KeyDown and KeyUp events during simulated typing.	If target input element requires these events to be fired.
Focus	Scroll element into view before performing an action on it.	For action steps that require the element be scrolled into view before being acted upon.
HandleButton	The button to click to handle this dialog.	To change the button clicked in the dialog.
HandleTimeout	The timeout in milliseconds for the dialog to be handled once it is detected.	Increase if dialog is not fully handled within time set.
InitializationTime	The fixed time to wait in milliseconds before the handling of the dialog starts.	Increase if dialog needs longer to initialize.
IsPassword	Whether the text field is a password.	To mask the password in the step description.
KeyHoldTime	The length of time in milliseconds to hold each key down when SimulateRealTyping is true.	To slow down or speed up typing.
Modifier Keys	Any modifier keys held while clicking.	If the click step requires a modifier key to be held.
MouseButton	The clicked mouse button.	With a Mouse Action Desktop Command step.
NavigateUrl	The URL for the Navigate step.	To edit the target URL.
OverrideFile	Whether to override the image file if it exists.	To create new or override existing browser or desktop Capture images.
Recorded Text Content	Text to use when SimulateRealTyping is false.	To edit input text.
ScrollToVisibleType	Scroll element to visible type.	To set a Scroll step to window top, center or bottom.
SearchByImageFirst	Search by image before searching by element's find expression.	ParentSetting will inherit Project or Test List settings. True and False overrides Project and Test List settings.
ShiftKey	Whether to hold the Shift key while clicking.	To execute a Shift + Click.
SimulateRealClick	Whether to perform the click using the mouse rather than directly invoking a click on the DOM element.	If the click target requires a real click to trigger an event or validation.
SimulateRealTyping	Whether to simulate real text typing one character at a time.	If input field requires real typing to trigger an event or validation.
SimulateRealUser	Whether to simulate real user actions.	For Silverlight/WPF action steps.
Text	Text entered into input control.	To edit the input text.
TimeBetweenKeyPresses	The pause in milliseconds between key presses to use when SimulateRealUser is set.	To increase or decrease the typing speed.
Typed Text	Text that will be played back when SimulateRealUser is true.	To edit the typed text.
Typing Delay	The pause between key presses when SimulateRealUser is set.	To increase or decrease the typing speed.
Use Offset	Whether to click at a specific point within the target element or the center of it.	With a Click step.
WaitTime	Time to wait in milliseconds.	With an Execution Delay step.

Comment

Property	Property	When To Use
Comment	The text comment to display as a single test step in the test log.	To insert a comment into the test log next to the step.

Data Driven

Property	Property	When To Use
(Bindings)	Bind data driven properties against a data source. Click the drop-down to see properties that support data binding.	To data bind the step to a specific column from the data source.

Dialog Indentification

Property	Description	When To Use
ChildWindowTextContent	A partial text that might be found on the dialog.	If two dialogs have similar titles, further distinguish them by adding this property.
DialogTitle	The dialog title to look for to identify the dialog.	To edit the identifying dialog title.
MatchPartialTitle	Whether to use partial text matching to match the dialog title.	To match an exact or partial dialog title.

Download

Property	Description	When To Use
DownloadPath	The download location to set for the download dialog.	To change where a file is saved by the Download dialog handler step.

Drag Settings

Property	Description	When To Use
Offset	ClickUnitType - the unit of point to use: percentage or pixel. OffSetReference - the reference point of screen to use for the click. X - the x-axis offset from reference point. Y - the y-axis offset from reference point.	To start the drag from an offset of the source element, as opposed to absolute center.

Drop Settings

Property	Description	When To Use
DragDropWindowData	Used when entire window is considered the drop target.	To edit the window coordinates where the source element is dropped when using window target.
DropOffset	The offset to use for the drop target.	To drop the source element to offset coordinates of the target element.
DropTargetType	The type of drop target to use for the drag drop.	To drop the source element to a window or element target. Element targets tend to be more reliable.

Elements

Property	Description	When To Use
Drag Element	Key of the element to use for the drag.	To change the source element to drag.
Drop Element	Key of the element to use for the drop.	To change the target element to drop onto.
PrimaryTarget	The primary automation element that this step is targeting.	To change the element the step is based on.
SecondaryTarget	The primary automation element that this step is targeting. Used only for steps that require two targets, like a drag and drop.	Only in drag and drop scenarios.
Virtualizing Container	The object containing this element, if any.	(Silverlight only)
Virtualizing Container Offset	The offset to scroll the virtualizing container to before searching for the target element of this step.	(Silverlight only)

Execution

Property	Description	When To Use
AjaxTimeout	The timeout to wait for pending AJAX requests.	If the test step relies on an AJAX postback to complete before proceeding.
EnsureElementsClickable	Whether to ensure the target element of this action is visible and clickable before performing the action.
Pause	Whether to pause the step during execution. Only respected when running tests from the Test Explorer.	To pause test execution at a certain point to manually debug.
ScrollToVisibleType	When 'SimulateRealClick' or 'SimulateRealTyping' is set to 'True', you can specify the scroll direction in order to get the target element into view.	Choose whether to scroll the element to top, center or bottom of the page.
UseStepWaitOnElementsTimeout	Whether to use step's WaitOnElementsTimeout instead of the global setting.	To specifically increase one step's element locating timeout.
WaitForNoMotion	Wait for the element to stop moving before executing the action.
WaitOnElements	Whether to wait on step's elements to exist before executing it.	The default is True (recommended). False will ignore the Global and per step settings and will execute the step without waiting for the element (not recommended).
WaitOnElementsTimeout	Number of milliseconds to wait for element to exist if WaitOnElements is true.	To specifically increase one step's element locating timeout.

Extraction

Property	Description	When To Use
DataBindVariableName	The name with which this extraction is published.	To change the Extraction variable used for later data binding.

jQuery

Property	Description	When To Use
TriggerjQueryEvent	During step execution, attempt to trigger proper jQuery event.	Step is expected to trigger a jQuery event on the page.

Handle Button

Property	Description	When To Use
ButtonId	The button ID to use when HandleButtonMethod = ButtonId.	To edit the button ID used to handle a Generic dialog.
ButtonPartialText	The partial button text to use when HandleButtonMethod = ButtonPartialText.	To edit the partial button text used to handle a Generic dialog.
HandleButtonMethod	Identification method of the handle method. NoneCloseDialog simply attempts to knock down the dialog using the Close button.	To change the handle method for a Generic dialog.

Logon

Property	Description	When To Use
Password	The password to use to log on.	To edit the password in a Logon dialog handler step.
UserName	The user name to use to log on.	To edit the user name in a Logon dialog handler step.

Manual Properties

Property	Description	When To Use
ExecutionTimeout	Timeout in milliseconds to wait for the manual execution, else step will timeout and log a failure.	To change the time in minutes a Manual step will wait for input.
ManualDescription	Description displayed in Execute Manual Step dialog.	To edit the message displayed in the Manual step dialog.

Misc

Property	Description	When To Use
DialogType	The type of dialog handled by the step.	(Read only)
InvokeSelectionChanged	Whether to invoke the OnChange javascript event.	If the step requires the OnChange event.
IsDoubleClick	Whether a click step is a single or double click.	To toggle between single or double click.
IsPartial	Whether to perform a partial or exact match on the URL.	With a Wait For Url step.
LogMessageOnFailure	Message to log as part of log content if step fails.	To insert a custom message in the test log if the step fails.
RequiresSilverlight	Whether this step requires Silverlight to be enabled.
RunsAgainst	The browsers this step can run against.	If a step should only be run for a specific browser type.
RunsAgainstVersion	The browser version that this step can run against.	If a step should only be run for a specific browser version.
RunsAgainstVersionCompare	The compare type of the browser version that this step can run against.	To change the browser version comparison from Equals to LessThan, for example.
StepType	Step descriptor type.	(Read only)
TestName	Name of the test to execute for Test as Step.	(Read only)
TestPath	Test path to use for Test as Step.
TestUniqueId	Unique ID for Test as Step.
Url	The URL to wait for.	With a Wait For Url step.
WaitTimeout	The timeout to use for waiting.	With a Wait For Url step.

Upload

Property	Description	When To Use
FileUploadPath	The file upload path on disk.	To change the upload path.

Verification

Property	Description	When To Use
AttributeName	The attribute name to verify.	To change the target attribute to verify.
AttributeValue	The attribute value to verify.	To change the attribute's value to verify.
CompareType	The compare type of the text verification.	To change from an exact to a partial match, for example.
EnsureStateIsCurrent	Whether to explicitly refresh the target element on which the verification is performed.	To eliminate the need to explicitly refresh the DOM tree in a coded step before the verification.
ExpectedString	The expected string to compare against.	To change the string to verify.
PropertyName	The name of the property being verified.	To change the property to verify.
TagSegmentType	The segment of the target element to compare.	To change which attribute the Verification is based on.
Value	Represents the expected value of the property.	To change the value to verify.

Wait

Property	Description	When To Use
CheckInterval	The check interval in milliseconds when acting as a Wait.	To cause the Wait to check its condition more or less frequently.
IsWaitOnly	Whether this descriptor can only be a wait.	(Read only)
SupportsWait	Whether this verification supports wait.	(Read only)
Timeout	The wait time when acting as a wait.	To increase or decrease the wait time.