no-platform.md

Platform-independent tests

You can test or automate anything that a user can interact with in a computer using Automaton. This is the simplest possible usage, but also the most limited:

Automaton.getUser().moveTo( 0, 0 ).moveBy( 50, 100 ).click()
         .moveBy( 30, 0 ).rightClick().moveBy( 30, 50 )
         .click().dragBy( 50, 100, Speed.SLOW )
         .pause( 1000 ).type( "Automaton" ).type( KeyEvent.VK_ENTER );

All other drivers sub-class the Automaton, so they will all inherit its methods.

Currently, the only way to interact with platform-independent UIs is by using the screen coordinates of elements, as shown above. However, it is possible that in the future more advanced means will be added to allow users to test/automate any UI.

Typing unicode characters

A problem some users may face is that, because Automaton actually simulates keyboard events when typing, it is very difficult to support typing unicode characters correctly.

So if you try to enter an URL in a text field, for example, it may not work depending on your keyboard layout:

import static java.awt.event.KeyEvent.*

Automaton.user.type( 'http://localhost:8080/examples' ).type( VK_ENTER )

The above should work on English keyboards, but it is not likely to work with any other layouts.

The preferred method to enter special characters is to use one of the UI-specific driver methods, such as enterText.

Another work-around is to use the Java class KeyEvent, which Automaton supports:

import static java.awt.event.KeyEvent.*

Automaton.user.type('http').pressSimultaneously( VK_SHIFT, VK_COLON )
				.type( '//localhost' ).pressSimultaneously( VK_SHIFT, VK_COLON )
				.type( '8099' ).pause( 100 )

assert jta.text == 'http://localhost:8099'

Notice that the above code uses the pressSimultaneously method, which allows you to enter any combination of keys together, just like you would in a real keyboard.

So, to enter the word coração with a Brazilian keyboard layout (at least if you're on an actual English keyboard, like me), you could try this:

Automaton.user.type('cora').type( VK_COLON )
	.pressSimultaneously( VK_QUOTE, VK_A ).type( 'o' )
assert jta.text == 'coração'