Record a Citrix test with the Citrix XenApp client

You can record a Citrix session in the Citrix XenApp client.

The recording wizard automatically starts the XenApp client and configures it for recording. When you have finished recording the session, the wizard generates a Citrix performance test.

The behavior of the recording wizard is controlled by recorder preferences.

To inspect the current settings, click...

Window | Preferences | Test | Citrix Recording

Before you start to record, verify that the Rational Agent Controller is running on the local computer.

Tests are stored in performance test projects (Java projects that include a source folder).

Record a Citrix test

1. Click...
   File | New | Test from Recording | Citrix Recording

2. Click Next.

3. On the Citrix Recording page, select a project.

4. In Test file name, type a name for the test, ...

   The name that you type is the base name for the recording, test, and other required files. You see these files in the standard Navigator or the Java Package Explorer with their distinguishing extensions, but you see only the simple (test) name in the Test Navigator.

5. On the Citrix Connection Settings page, specify how to connect to the Citrix server...

   • If Citrix administrator has provided you with an ICA file...

     1. Select With ICA file to use its settings to connect to the server and click Browse to locate and select the ICA file on computer.

     2. Click Next to continue.

     3. Manually specify the Citrix server to use for the session...

        1. Select On server to connect directly to the server.

        2. Specify the name or IP address of the server or click Browse to locate a server or server farm on a local network.

        3. To change the Citrix farm parameters, click Farm Settings.

        4. To record a Windows desktop session, leave Initial program blank.

   • If Citrix administrator has published applications on the network...

     1. Select On published application, and click Browse to choose the application from the list of published applications on the server or server farm.

     2. To change the Citrix farm parameters, click Farm Settings.

        In this case, the server farm performs the load balancing and selects the server automatically.

6. If you want the logon sequence to be part of the session parameters, select Logon with user-specified credentials.

   If this option is disabled, the user logon sequence is recorded as part of the user interactions.

7. Click Next to continue.

8. On the Citrix Session Preferences page...
   • Provide a description for the test
   • Change the video settings and advanced options for the XenApp client

   Click Next to continue.

   Because Citrix performance tests are based on low level interactions with the server, including mouse and window coordinates, the Citrix desktop must be large enough to support the application under test.

9. To start the recording, click Finish.

   The Citrix Recording window opens, displaying the XenApp session and a set of recorder controls.

10. In the Citrix Recording window, perform the tasks to test.

    1. To add a user comment to the recorded test, click the Insert user comment () push button.

       Because Citrix tests can be long and difficult to read, meaningful comments can help you locate important elements.

    2. To add an image synchronization to the recorded test, click the Insert image synchronization () push button, select an area of the screen that will be used for synchronization, and then click the Insert image synchronization button again.

       Image synchronizations enable the test to keep track of the contents of a screen area during the replay instead of focusing only on window events. You can use them to maintain synchronization of a test in applications that do not create or modify many windows, but update the contents of a window regularly. The contents of an image can be evaluated either as a bitmap hashcode or as a text value obtained by optical character recognition. You can also add verification points to image synchronizations in the test editor.

    3. To add a screen capture to the recorded test, click the Capture screen () push button.

       Screen captures make tests easier to read and help you visualize the recorded test.

       To change settings, click Screen capture preferences (), and then select one of these options:

       No automatic screen capture	Test recorder does not record screen captures automatically. You can still record screen captures manually. Default.
       Capture screen each	Automatically record a periodic screen capture and specify the time between captures.
       Capture screen on window creation	Record a screen capture each time a window object is created in Citrix.
       Exclude tooltips	When Capture screen on window creation is selected, enable this option to prevent creating a screen capture each time a tooltip event is displayed during the recording. If this option is disabled, screen captures are recorded when tooltips are displayed.

11. When you have completed the sequence of actions to be tested, close the session, and stop the recorder by clicking the Stop recording ().

    A progress window opens while the test is generated. On completion, the Recorder Control view displays the message Test generation completed, the Test Navigator lists test, and the test opens in the test editor.

    You can end the recording by closing the Citrix Recording window or by closing the Windows session. However, this will not produce a session logoff event in the generated test, which might cause problems during test runs.

Related

Citrix performance testing guidelines

Record a test with the Citrix Web Interface

Insert a new recording into a Citrix test

Change Citrix recording preferences

Change Citrix test generation preferences