UFT can be extended with additional custom reserved objects. This is a feature that can be exploited to develop objects that are instantiated at the UFT's launch time, making the developer's work much more efficient and the code more concise. In this section, we will describe how to implement GlobalDictionary , which is to be used for data sharing among different Actions.
Proceed with the following steps:
- In Windows, navigate to Start | Run. Type
regedit.exeand press Enter. - In Registry Editor, search for the folder
ReservedObjects. It should appear atHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMercury InteractiveQuickTest ProfessionalMicTestReservedObjects. - Add a new key and name it
GlobalDictionary. - Add the following values to the key:
ProgIDof type REG_SZ (string value). Assign it the value ofScripting.Dictionary.UINameof type REG_SZ (string value). Assign it the value ofGlobalDic.VisibleModeof type REG_DWORD (32-bit value). Assign it the value of2 (Hexadecimal: 0x00000002).
- The Registry Editor window should look as follows:
- Open UFT, and from the File menu, navigate to New | Test, or use the Ctrl + N shortcut.
- In
Action, typeGlobalDic.:
As you can see, UFT now recognizes GlobalDic in the same fashion as other reserved objects (for example, SystemUtil). The GlobalDictionary parameter (GlobalDic is the UIName we defined in the registry) is already loaded and available, and we also have autocomplete for the syntax of the object methods and properties.
UFT takes the definitions of the reserved objects to be loaded from the Windows registry at the ReservedObjects key (as mentioned previously). We defined the progID (the unique identifier for the COM object) as Scripting.Dictionary, which is the UIName to be recognized in the UFT editor, and assigned 2 to VisibleMode (meaning that it should be visible). When UFT is launched, it loads our custom object, together with the other default objects, and it stays in memory until UFT is closed.