Locators

Understanding and Using Appium Inspector

The Appium Inspector is a powerful GUI tool that helps testers identify UI elements of mobile applications for test automation. It works by inspecting the application’s UI elements and providing their attributes, which are crucial for writing robust test scripts. The tool is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.

Key Features of Appium Inspector

Platform Compatibility: Supports Android, iOS, and hybrid applications.
Element Attributes: Displays detailed properties of UI elements, including IDs, text, class, and XPath.
Interactive: Allows users to interact with the app via touch gestures, clicks, and other actions during inspection.
Cross-Platform: Works with native, hybrid, and web apps on multiple devices and emulators.

Installation of Appium Inspector

Follow these steps to install the Appium Inspector:

Install Node.js: Ensure Node.js is installed on your machine. Download it from Node.js official website.
Install Appium: Install Appium globally using npm:
```
npm install -g appium
```
Install Appium Desktop: Download and install the Appium Desktop from the official Appium website. It includes the Inspector tool.
Install Appium Inspector Standalone: For advanced capabilities, install the standalone Appium Inspector tool:
- Download the appropriate version for your OS from the Appium Inspector GitHub releases.
- Install the downloaded package and launch the Inspector.

Setting Up Appium Inspector

Once installed, follow these steps to set up Appium Inspector:

Start the Appium Server: Open Appium Desktop and start the server.
Launch Appium Inspector: Open the Inspector tool from Appium Desktop or the standalone version.
Run Appium Server: Execute appium command in cmmand prompt.

Configure Desired Capabilities: Fill in the desired capabilities to connect to your app. Example:

                      {
                        "platformName": "Android",
                        "deviceName": "emulator-5554",
                        "automationName": "UIAutomator2",
                        "app": "/path/to/app.apk"
                      }

Start Session: Click Start Session to connect to the app and load its UI structure in the Inspector.

Using Appium Inspector to Identify UI Elements

Appium Inspector provides a detailed view of the app's UI elements. Here's how to use it:

Inspect Elements: Navigate through the UI hierarchy displayed in the Inspector to locate elements.
View Element Properties: Select an element to view its attributes, such as:
- ID: Unique identifier for the element.
- Class: Element's class type (e.g., Button, TextView).
- XPath: Path to the element in the UI hierarchy.
- Text: Text displayed on the element.
Generate Selectors: Use the provided attributes to create selectors like ID, XPath, or class name for automation scripts.
Perform Actions: Interact with the elements by simulating taps, clicks, or typing actions to validate behavior.

Tips for Identifying Different Types of Elements

Unique Identifiers: Use element IDs wherever possible for faster and reliable identification.
XPath: Use XPath as a fallback when IDs or other attributes are not available, but keep it as simple as possible to avoid flakiness.
Class Name: Use the class name for identifying elements with a specific type or role.
Content Description: Use the content description for accessibility-related elements.
Index-Based Locators: Avoid using index-based locators as they are prone to changes and may break tests.

Advantages of Using Appium Inspector

Provides a visual interface for inspecting app elements.
Helps generate reliable locators for automation scripts.
Compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.
Supports interaction with the app during inspection.

Appium Inspector is an indispensable tool for test automation engineers, simplifying the process of identifying and interacting with UI elements in mobile applications.

Understanding Appium Locators for Android Elements

When automating Android applications using Appium, locators are essential to interact with UI elements. Below is a detailed explanation of various Appium locator strategies used to identify elements:

1. `id` Locator

The id locator is one of the most commonly used locators in Android automation. It identifies elements using the unique resource-id attribute of the element in the app's XML layout.

Example: locator = "com.example.app:id/button_submit"

2. `className` Locator

The className locator identifies elements based on their class type. This is useful for selecting elements like android.widget.Button, android.widget.TextView, etc.

Example: locator = "android.widget.EditText"

3. `accessibilityId` Locator

The accessibilityId locator targets elements using their content description. This is particularly helpful for elements meant to be accessible.

Example: locator = "Submit Button"

4. `xpath` Locator

The xpath locator is a versatile but slower option that uses XML paths to identify elements. You can construct XPaths based on attributes, hierarchy, or text content.

Example: Locate by attribute: locator = "//android.widget.TextView[@text='Submit']"
Example: Locate by hierarchy: locator = "//android.widget.LinearLayout/android.widget.Button"

5. `androidUIAutomator` Locator

This locator uses Android's UI Automator framework. It allows for complex queries to locate elements based on text, description, or properties.

Example: Locate by text: locator = "new UiSelector().text('Submit')"
Example: Locate by resource-id: locator = "new UiSelector().resourceId('com.example.app:id/button_submit')"

6. `tagName` Locator

The tagName locator is similar to the className locator but identifies elements by their HTML or XML tag name.

Example: locator = "TextView"

7. `name` Locator

Although deprecated in some versions of Appium, the name locator identifies elements using the name attribute, which is often the same as the accessibility ID.

Example: locator = "Submit"

8. Custom Attributes

In some cases, developers add custom attributes to elements, which can be utilized in XPath expressions or UI Automator queries.

Example: Custom XPath: locator = "//android.widget.Button[@custom-attribute='value']"

Each locator strategy has its own use case, and the choice depends on the app's structure and performance requirements. It's a best practice to use the most specific and efficient locator to minimize test execution time and avoid flaky tests.

Launching the Sauce Labs Demo App in Appium Using Desired Capabilities

To automate the testing of the Sauce Labs Demo App (Android.SauceLabs.Mobile.Sample.app.2.7.1.apk) using Appium, you need to define the desired capabilities. These capabilities provide the Appium server with the necessary details about the device, platform, and application under test. Below is an updated guide specifically for this app.

1. Desired Capabilities for Android

The following desired capabilities can be used to launch the Android.SauceLabs.Mobile.Sample.app.2.7.1.apk from your Downloads folder:


            {
              "platformName": "Android",
              "platformVersion": "12.0",
              "deviceName": "Pixel_4_Emulator",
              "app": "/path/to/Downloads/Android.SauceLabs.Mobile.Sample.app.2.7.1.apk",
              "appPackage": "com.saucelabs.mydemoapp.android",
              "appActivity": "com.saucelabs.mydemoapp.android.MainActivity",
              "automationName": "UiAutomator2"
            }

platformName: Specifies the platform, e.g., "Android".
platformVersion: Version of the Android OS on the device/emulator.
deviceName: Name of the physical or emulator device.
app: Full path to the Android.SauceLabs.Mobile.Sample.app.2.7.1.apk file in your Downloads folder.
appPackage: The package name of the Sauce Labs Demo App.
appActivity: The main activity of the app to be launched.
automationName: Specifies the automation engine (default for Android is "UiAutomator2").

2. Steps to Launch the App

Ensure that the Appium server is running.
Install the Sauce Labs Demo App (Android.SauceLabs.Mobile.Sample.app.2.7.1.apk) on your device/emulator, or let Appium handle the installation through the provided path.
Use a client library, such as Python, Java, or JavaScript, to define and pass the desired capabilities to the Appium driver.
Example in Python using Appium's Python client:


            from appium import webdriver
            
            desired_caps = {
                "platformName": "Android",
                "platformVersion": "12.0",
                "deviceName": "Pixel_4_Emulator",
                "app": "/path/to/Downloads/Android.SauceLabs.Mobile.Sample.app.2.7.1.apk",
                "appPackage": "com.saucelabs.mydemoapp.android",
                "appActivity": "com.saucelabs.mydemoapp.android.MainActivity",
                "automationName": "UiAutomator2"
            }
            
            driver = webdriver.Remote("http://localhost:4723/wd/hub", desired_caps)

Wait for the app to launch on the emulator/real device.

With these steps, you can successfully launch the Sauce Labs Demo App and start automating its UI interactions using Appium locators.