What's the use of GUI Map Editor? How do you load GUI Map Editor?

First of all, for the identification of any object, all the information related to it is learnt by the winrunner software and stored in a map called GUI map. 

GUI Map

- The GUI map is an extremely important asset to the winrunner for the identification of the objects. 

- During the running of the tests the location and identification of the objects is done via this GUI map only. 

- The GUI is constituted of the descriptions of the objects that are to be identified. 

- These descriptions of the objects are read by the winrunner and the objects corresponding to the same description are matched up.

- You can even have a comprehensive view of the objects that constitute your software system or application.

- The final GUI map is actually composed of many more small GUI map files. 

In this article we are going to learn about the use of the GUI map 

editor and how it can be loaded.

GUI Map Editor

- The contents of a GUI map can be easily viewed with the help of GUI map editor. 

- You can view either the contents of the whole GUI map or the contents of those small individual GUI map files. 

- The grouping the GUI objects takes place according to the window in which they reside in the software system or application. 

- With the help of GUI map editor you can edit your GUI map at any time manually.

How do you load GUI Map Editor?

- For loading the GUI map editor you just need to go to the tools menu and select GUI map editor option. 

- The GUI map editor offers you two types of views both of which enable you to glance the contents of the either of those mentioned below:

1. The individual GUI map files or
2. The entire GUI map

- You can even load the two GUI map files simultaneously in GUI map editor.

- For viewing the contents of two individual GUI map files simultaneously, you just need to expand the GUI map editor. 

- With such a feature you are able to easily move or copy the descriptions of the objects between the files. 

- The window objects column in the GUI map editor displays all the windows and objects that are present in that particular GUI map. 

- The objects which appear in the windows are indented. 

- The GUI map editor also comes with the option of viewing the physical description of the object or window that has been selected by the user. 

- For viewing the contents of the individual GUI map files you need to go to the view menu and select the option “GUI files”. 

- The GUI file drop box lists all the GUI map files that are open at that time.

- In the GUI map editor, the display of the objects is of tree type under the icon and name of the window in which they reside or appear. 

- Double clicking the window icon gives you the view of the objects appearing in it.

- For a concurrent view of all the objects in the tree, the objects tree can be expanded by choosing the “expand objects tree” option from the view menu.

- For again going back to the windows only view, you can select the “collapse objects tree” option from the view menu.

- The display of the physical description of the contents of a single GUI map file is automatic but to view the physical description for the entire GUI map you need to select the show physical description check box. 

- However, you should be careful with the point that if the logical name of an object has been modified in the GUI map, then it has been modified in the test script as well so that there is no problem for the winrunner to locate that object.