Preparing Test Files for ActiveData Testing

Silk Test Workbench can use the following file types for ActiveData testing:

Microsoft Excel® Spreadsheet (.xls) files.

Note: If Microsoft Excel® is not installed, you can use .xls files in read-only mode.
Microsoft Excel® Spreadsheet (.xlsx) files.

Note: To use a .xlsx file with Silk Test Workbench, install Microsoft Excel® 2007 or later. If Microsoft Excel® 2007 or later is not installed, you can install 2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity Components to use .xlsx files in read-only mode.
Plain text files (.txt)
Comma separated value (.csv) files

Comma separated value and plain text files can only contain one set of data, but Excel spreadsheet files can contain multiple sheets. Each sheet contains its own table of values and is treated as a separate entity in ActiveData testing.

When creating a new test data asset using a comma separated value or plain text file, only the file needs to be selected. When creating a new test data asset using an Excel spreadsheet file, the sheet to use must also be chosen.

Tips for Preparing Files for ActiveData Testing

When possible, data in data files should be grouped into the same data categories as they exist in the application. For example, if the data file contains First and Last Names that will be used as ActiveData, the application being tested should have separate fields for a First Name and a Last Name. If the application has separate fields for a First and Last Name, but the data file has the first and last name combined into one data field, there is no one-to-one correspondence between the test data and what is required to test the application. Using the combined data from the ActiveData file in testing a first name or last name field in the test application may produce undesirable results.
Files used for ActiveData testing must be created before you use them in a visual test or script.
For object name test data, the name entries in the data file should not contain parentheses or quotes.
For example, if performing the same test on multiple edit boxes on one form, and only the index property is used to make each edit box unique, the name for each EditBox might be represented as follows:
```
TextField("[1]")
TextField("[2]")
TextField("[3]")
TextField("[4]")
```
Each row of object name test data in the ActiveData file could contain a separate index to represent the edit boxes on the form. However, the data in each row of the ActiveData file should not contain the parentheses or the quotes:
```
Index=1
Index=2
Index=3
Index=4
```
The first row of an ActiveData file can either be the first row of data, or a column heading. When setting up an ActiveData test, the row type for the first row of the ActiveData file must be properly set in the ActiveData asset.
If a user opens an ActiveData asset as read-only, then only read permission is given. If an ActiveData asset is opened in read-write mode, both read and write permissions are given, even if the asset is never written to. This is done to ensure proper playback if a test is modified to write to an ActiveData file at a later time. An ActiveData asset opened with read-write permission has an exclusive file lock, preventing other programs from opening the ActiveData file associated with the asset.