The RepositoriesCollection object provides methods to manage the Shared Object Repositories (SOR) associated with the actions of the test. The following screenshot shows the methods and properties of the RepositoriesCollection object:
As you might suspect, we can see a recurrent pattern again; the object is very similar to a Dictionary with methods such as Add, Remove, RemoveAll, and the properties Count and Item. All methods and properties operate in the context of the current action accordingly:
- The
AddandRemovemethods actually add and remove an SOR to and from theRepositoriesCollectionobject, respectively - The
RemoveAllmethod removes all SORs associated with the current action - The
MoveToPosmethod changes the priority order of an SOR (that is, its index in the collection) - The
Findmethod returns the index of a repository within the collection
From the File menu, navigate to New | Test, or use the Ctrl + N shortcut. Open the Notepad application and add objects to an SOR (not the local OR) by using the Object Repository Manager. Save the SOR in a folder of your choice.
In the Action object of the test, write the following code (replace the path with your own):
RepositoriesCollection.Add "C:TempRepository1.tsr" ExitTest
Before running the test, the solution explorer will look like the following screenshot, showing only the Local OR in the repositories collection:
Insert a breakpoint on the line with the ExitTest statement (select it and press F9) and then run the test. The run session will pause on that line. Now, watch the Solution Explorer window. It should look similar to this:
Notice the lead node with Repository.tsr and also the SOR we wanted to load.
Now, press F10 or F5, and watch the Solution Explorer window as the test ends. It is restored back to its initial state without the dynamically loaded SOR.
The RepositoriesCollection object is a kind of Dictionary that can load SORs dynamically and thus, associate them with the current action. The important point to make here refers to when such a feature would be useful, as opposed to the static association of SORs, which is a more common practice. The answer to this question is simple. If the requirements from the automation team/developer include supporting multiple versions of an application, then the RepositoriesCollection object would be very useful. For example, we may use an SOR for each version and load it dynamically at the start of the test according to the application version (which can be taken from an Environment variable or another source).