GUITest(3)

NAME
X11::GUITest - Provides GUI testing/interaction routines.

VERSION
0.28

Updates are made available at the following sites:

  http://sourceforge.net/projects/x11guitest
  http://www.cpan.org

Please consult 'docs/Changes' for the list of changes between module revisions.

DESCRIPTION
This Perl package is intended to facilitate the testing of GUI applications by means of user emulation. It can be used to test/interact with GUI applications; which have been built upon the X library or toolkits (i.e., GTK+, Xt, Qt, Motif, etc.) that "wrap" the X library's functionality.

A basic recorder (x11guirecord) is also available, and can be found in the source code repository.

DEPENDENCIES
An X server with the XTest extensions enabled. This seems to be the norm. If it is not enabled, it usually can be by modifying the X server configuration (i.e., XF86Config).

The standard DISPLAY environment variable is utilized to determine the host, display, and screen to work with. By default it is usually set to ":0.0" for the localhost. However, by altering this variable one can interact with applications under a remote host's X server. To change this from a terminal window, one can utilize the following basic syntax: export DISPLAY=<hostname-or-ipaddress>:<display>.<screen> Please note that under most circumstances, xhost will need to be executed properly on the remote host as well.

There is a known incompatibility between the XTest and Xinerama extensions, which causes the XTestFakeMotionEvent() function to misbehave. When the Xinerama (X server) extension is turned on, this (Perl) extension has been modified to allow one to invoke an alternative function. See Makefile.PL for details.

INSTALLATION
  perl Makefile.PL
  make
  make test
  make install

  # If the build has errors, you may need to install the following dependencies:
  #    libxt-dev, libxtst-dev

  # If you'd like to install the recorder, use these steps:
  cd recorder
  ./autogen.sh
  ./configure
  make
  make install
  x11guirecord --help

SYNOPSIS
For additional examples, please look under the 'eg/' sub-directory from the installation folder.

  use X11::GUITest qw/
    StartApp
    WaitWindowViewable
    SendKeys
  /;

  # Start gedit application
  StartApp('gedit');

  # Wait for application window to come up and become viewable.
  my ($GEditWinId) = WaitWindowViewable('gedit');
  if (!$GEditWinId) {
    die("Couldn't find gedit window in time!");
  }

  # Send text to it
  SendKeys("Hello, how are you?\n");

  # Close Application (Alt-f, q).
  SendKeys('%(f)q');

  # Handle gedit's Question window if it comes up when closing.  Wait
  # at most 5 seconds for it.
  if (WaitWindowViewable('Question', undef, 5)) {
    # DoN't Save (Alt-n)
    SendKeys('%(n)');
  }

FUNCTIONS
Parameters enclosed within [] are optional.

If there are multiple optional parameters available for a function and you would like to specify the last one, for example, you can utilize undef for those parameters you don't specify.

REGEX in the documentation below denotes an item that is treated as a regular expression. For example, the regex "^OK$" would look for an exact match for the word OK.

FindWindowLike TITLEREGEX [, WINDOWIDSTARTUNDER]
    Finds the window Ids of the windows matching the specified title regex. Optionally one can specify the window to start under; which would allow one to constrain the search to child windows of that window.

    An array of window Ids is returned for the matches found. An empty array is returned if no matches were found.

      my @WindowIds = FindWindowLike('gedit');
      # Only worry about first window found
      my ($WindowId) = FindWindowLike('gedit');

WaitWindowLike TITLEREGEX [, WINDOWIDSTARTUNDER] [, MAXWAITINSECONDS]
    Waits for a window to come up that matches the specified title regex. Optionally one can specify the window to start under; which would allow one to constrain the search to child windows of that window.

    One can optionally specify an alternative wait amount in seconds. A window will keep being looked for that matches the specified title regex until this amount of time has been reached. The default amount is defined in the DEF_WAIT constant available through the :CONST export tag.

    If a window is going to be manipulated by input, WaitWindowViewable is the more robust solution to utilize.

    An array of window Ids is returned for the matches found. An empty array is returned if no matches were found.

      my @WindowIds = WaitWindowLike('gedit');
      # Only worry about first window found
      my ($WindowId) = WaitWindowLike('gedit');

      WaitWindowLike('gedit') or die("gedit window not found!");

WaitWindowViewable TITLEREGEX [, WINDOWIDSTARTUNDER] [, MAXWAITINSECONDS]
    Similar to WaitWindow, but only recognizes windows that are viewable. When GUI applications are started, their window isn't necessarily viewable yet, let alone available for input, so this function is very useful.

    Likewise, this function will only return an array of the matching window Ids for those windows that are viewable. An empty array is returned if no matches were found.

WaitWindowClose WINDOWID [, MAXWAITINSECONDS]
    Waits for the specified window to close.

    One can optionally specify an alternative wait amount in seconds. The window will keep being checked to see if it has closed until this amount of time has been reached. The default amount is defined in the DEF_WAIT constant available through the :CONST export tag.

    zero is returned if window is not gone, non-zero if it is gone.

WaitSeconds SECONDS
    Pauses execution for the specified amount of seconds.

      WaitSeconds(0.5); # Wait 1/2 second
      WaitSeconds(3); # Wait 3 seconds

ClickWindow WINDOWID [, X Offset] [, Y Offset] [, Button]
    Clicks on the specified window with the mouse.

    Optionally one can specify the X offset and Y offset. By default, the top left corner of the window is clicked on, with these two parameters one can specify a different position to be clicked on.

    One can also specify an alternative button. The default button is M_LEFT, but M_MIDDLE and M_RIGHT may be specified too. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success

GetWindowsFromPid
    Returns a list of window ids discovered for the specified process id (pid).

    undef is returned on error.

GetWindowFromPoint X, Y [, SCREEN]
    Returns the window that is at the specified point. If no screen is given, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display.

    zero is returned if there are no matches (i.e., off screen).

IsChild PARENTWINDOWID, WINDOWID
    Determines if the specified window is a child of the specified parent.

    zero is returned for false, non-zero for true.

QuoteStringForSendKeys STRING
    Quotes {} characters in the specified string that would be interpreted as having special meaning if sent to SendKeys directly. This function would be useful if you had a text file in which you wanted to use each line of the file as input to the SendKeys function, but didn't want any special interpretation of the characters in the file.

    Returns the quoted string, undef is returned on error.

      # Quote  ~, %, etc.  as  {~}, {%}, etc for literal use in SendKeys.
      SendKeys( QuoteStringForSendKeys('Hello: ~%^(){}+#') );
      SendKeys( QSfSK('#+#') );

    The international AltGr key - modifier character (&) is not escaped by this function. Escape this character manually ("{&}"), if used/needed.

StartApp COMMANDLINE
    Uses the shell to execute a program. This function returns as soon as the program is called. Useful for starting GUI /applications and then going on to work with them.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success

      StartApp('gedit');

RunApp COMMANDLINE
    Uses the shell to execute a program until its completion.

    Return value will be application specific, however -1 is returned to indicate a failure in starting the program.

      RunApp('/work/myapp');

ClickMouseButton BUTTON
    Clicks the specified mouse button. Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT, M_DOWN, M_UP. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

DefaultScreen
    Returns the screen number specified in the X display value used to open the display.

    Leverages the Xlib macro of the same name.

ScreenCount
    Returns the number of screens in the X display specified when opening it.

    Leverages the Xlib macro of the same name.

SetEventSendDelay DELAYINMILLISECONDS
    Sets the milliseconds of delay between events being sent to the X display. It is usually not a good idea to set this to 0.

    Please note that this delay will also affect SendKeys.

    Returns the old delay amount in milliseconds.

GetEventSendDelay
    Returns the current event sending delay amount in milliseconds.

SetKeySendDelay DELAYINMILLISECONDS
    Sets the milliseconds of delay between keystrokes.

    Returns the old delay amount in milliseconds.

GetKeySendDelay
    Returns the current keystroke sending delay amount in milliseconds.

GetWindowName WINDOWID
    Returns the window name for the specified window Id. undef is returned if name could not be obtained.

      # Return the name of the window that has the input focus.
      my $WinName = GetWindowName(GetInputFocus());

GetWindowPid WINDOWID
    Returns the process id (pid) associated with the specified window. 0 is returned if the pid is not available.

      # Return the pid of the window that has the input focus.
      my $pid = GetWindowPid(GetInputFocus());

SetWindowName WINDOWID, NAME
    Sets the window name for the specified window Id.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetRootWindow [SCREEN]
    Returns the Id of the root window of the screen. This is the top/root level window that all other windows are under. If no screen is given, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display.

GetChildWindows WINDOWID
    Returns an array of the child windows for the specified window Id. If it detects that the window hierarchy is in transition, it will wait half a second and try again.

MoveMouseAbs X, Y [, SCREEN]
    Moves the mouse cursor to the specified absolute position in the optionally given screen. If no screen is given, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display.

    Zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetMousePos
    Returns an array containing the position and the screen (number) of the mouse cursor.

      my ($x, $y, $scr_num) = GetMousePos();

PressMouseButton BUTTON
    Presses the specified mouse button. Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT, M_DOWN, M_UP. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

ReleaseMouseButton BUTTON
    Releases the specified mouse button. Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT, M_DOWN, M_UP. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

SendKeys KEYS
    Sends keystrokes to the window that has the input focus.

    The keystrokes to send are those specified in KEYS parameter. Some characters have special meaning, they are:

            Modifier Keys:
            ^       CTRL
            %       ALT
            +       SHIFT
            #       META
            &       ALTGR

            Other Keys:
            ~       ENTER
            \n      ENTER
            \t      TAB
            ( and ) MODIFIER GROUPING
            { and } QUOTE / ESCAPE CHARACTERS

    Simply, one can send a text string like so:

            SendKeys('Hello, how are you today?');

    Parenthesis allow a modifier to work on one or more characters. For example:

            SendKeys('%(f)q'); # Alt-f, then press q
            SendKeys('%(fa)^(m)'); # Alt-f, Alt-a, Ctrl-m
            SendKeys('+(abc)'); # Uppercase ABC using shift modifier
            SendKeys('^(+(l))'); # Ctrl-Shift-l
            SendKeys('+'); # Press shift

    Braces are used to quote special characters, for utilizing aliased key names, or for special functionality. Multiple characters can be specified in a brace by space delimiting the entries. Characters can be repeated using a number that is space delimited after the preceding key.

    Quote Special Characters

            SendKeys('{{}'); # {
            SendKeys('{+}'); # +
            SendKeys('{#}'); # #

            You can also use QuoteStringForSendKeys (QSfSK) to perform quoting.

    Aliased Key Names

            SendKeys('{BAC}'); # Backspace
            SendKeys('{F1 F2 F3}'); # F1, F2, F3
            SendKeys('{TAB 3}'); # Press TAB 3 times
            SendKeys('{SPC 3 a b c}'); # Space 3 times, a, b, c

    Special Functionality

            # Pause execution for 500 milliseconds
            SendKeys('{PAUSE 500}');

    Combinations

            SendKeys('abc+(abc){TAB PAUSE 500}'); # a, b, c, A, B, C, Tab, Pause 500
            SendKeys('+({a b c})'); # A, B, C

    The following abbreviated key names are currently recognized within a brace set. If you don't see the desired key, you can still use the unabbreviated name for the key. If you are unsure of this name, utilize the xev (X event view) tool, press the key you want and look at the tools output for the name of that key. Names that are in the list below can be utilized regardless of case. Ones that aren't in this list are going to be case sensitive and also not abbreviated. For example, using 'xev' you will find that the name of the backspace key is BackSpace, so you could use {BackSpace} in place of {bac} if you really wanted to.

            Name    Action
            -------------------
            BAC     BackSpace
            BS      BackSpace
            BKS     BackSpace
            BRE     Break
            CAN     Cancel
            CAP     Caps_Lock
            DEL     Delete
            DOWN    Down
            END     End
            ENT     Return
            ESC     Escape
            F1      F1
            ...     ...
            F12     F12
            HEL     Help
            HOM     Home
            INS     Insert
            LAL     Alt_L
            LMA     Meta_L
            LCT     Control_L
            LEF     Left
            LSH     Shift_L
            LSK     Super_L
            MNU     Menu
            NUM     Num_Lock
            PGD     Page_Down
            PGU     Page_Up
            PRT     Print
            RAL     Alt_R
            RMA     Meta_R
            RCT     Control_R
            RIG     Right
            RSH     Shift_R
            RSK     Super_R
            SCR     Scroll_Lock
            SPA     Space
            SPC     Space
            TAB     Tab
            UP      Up

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success. For configurations (Xvfb) that don't support Alt_Left, Meta_Left is automatically used in its place.

PressKey KEY
    Presses the specified key.

    One can utilize the abbreviated key names from the table listed above as outlined in the following example:

      # Alt-n
      PressKey('LAL'); # Left Alt
      PressKey('n');
      ReleaseKey('n');
      ReleaseKey('LAL');

      # Uppercase a
      PressKey('LSH'); # Left Shift
      PressKey('a');
      ReleaseKey('a');
      ReleaseKey('LSH');

    The ReleaseKey calls in the above example are there to set both key states back.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

ReleaseKey KEY
    Releases the specified key. Normally follows a PressKey call.

    One can utilize the abbreviated key names from the table listed above.

      ReleaseKey('n');

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

PressReleaseKey KEY
    Presses and releases the specified key.

    One can utilize the abbreviated key names from the table listed above.

      PressReleaseKey('n');

    This function is affected by the key send delay.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

IsKeyPressed KEY
    Determines if the specified key is currently being pressed.

    You can specify such things as 'bac' or the unabbreviated form 'BackSpace' as covered in the SendKeys information. Brace forms such as '{bac}' are unsupported. A '{' is taken literally and letters are case sensitive.

      if (IsKeyPressed('esc')) {  # Is Escape pressed?
      if (IsKeyPressed('a')) { # Is a pressed?
      if (IsKeyPressed('A')) { # Is A pressed?

    Returns non-zero for true, zero for false.

IsMouseButtonPressed BUTTON
    Determines if the specified mouse button is currently being pressed.

    Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

      if (IsMouseButtonPressed(M_LEFT)) { # Is left button pressed?

    Returns non-zero for true, zero for false.

IsWindow WINDOWID
    zero is returned if the specified window Id is not for something that can be recognized as a window. non-zero is returned if it looks like a window.

IsWindowViewable WINDOWID
    zero is returned if the specified window Id is for a window that isn't viewable. non-zero is returned if the window is viewable.

IsWindowCursor WINDOWID CURSOR
    Determines if the specified window has the specified cursor.

    zero is returned for false, non-zero for true.

    The following cursors are available through the :CONST export tag.

        Name
        -------------------
            XC_NUM_GLYPHS
            XC_X_CURSOR
            XC_ARROW
            XC_BASED_ARROW_DOWN
            XC_BASED_ARROW_UP
            XC_BOAT
            XC_BOGOSITY
            XC_BOTTOM_LEFT_CORNER
            XC_BOTTOM_RIGHT_CORNER
            XC_BOTTOM_SIDE
            XC_BOTTOM_TEE
            XC_BOX_SPIRAL
            XC_CENTER_PTR
            XC_CIRCLE
            XC_CLOCK
            XC_COFFEE_MUG
            XC_CROSS
            XC_CROSS_REVERSE
            XC_CROSSHAIR
            XC_DIAMOND_CROSS
            XC_DOT
            XC_DOTBOX
            XC_DOUBLE_ARROW
            XC_DRAFT_LARGE
            XC_DRAFT_SMALL
            XC_DRAPED_BOX
            XC_EXCHANGE
            XC_FLEUR
            XC_GOBBLER
            XC_GUMBY
            XC_HAND1
            XC_HAND2
            XC_HEART
            XC_ICON
            XC_IRON_CROSS
            XC_LEFT_PTR
            XC_LEFT_SIDE
            XC_LEFT_TEE
            XC_LEFTBUTTON
            XC_LL_ANGLE
            XC_LR_ANGLE
            XC_MAN
            XC_MIDDLEBUTTON
            XC_MOUSE
            XC_PENCIL
            XC_PIRATE
            XC_PLUS
            XC_QUESTION_ARROW
            XC_RIGHT_PTR
            XC_RIGHT_SIDE
            XC_RIGHT_TEE
            XC_RIGHTBUTTON
            XC_RTL_LOGO
            XC_SAILBOAT
            XC_SB_DOWN_ARROW
            XC_SB_H_DOUBLE_ARROW
            XC_SB_LEFT_ARROW
            XC_SB_RIGHT_ARROW
            XC_SB_UP_ARROW
            XC_SB_V_DOUBLE_ARROW
            XC_SHUTTLE
            XC_SIZING
            XC_SPIDER
            XC_SPRAYCAN
            XC_STAR
            XC_TARGET
            XC_TCROSS
            XC_TOP_LEFT_ARROW
            XC_TOP_LEFT_CORNER
            XC_TOP_RIGHT_CORNER
            XC_TOP_SIDE
            XC_TOP_TEE
            XC_TREK
            XC_UL_ANGLE
            XC_UMBRELLA
            XC_UR_ANGLE
            XC_WATCH
            XC_XTERM

MoveWindow WINDOWID, X, Y
    Moves the window to the specified location.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

ResizeWindow WINDOWID, WIDTH, HEIGHT
    Resizes the window to the specified size.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

IconifyWindow WINDOWID
    Minimizes (Iconifies) the specified window.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

UnIconifyWindow WINDOWID
    Unminimizes (UnIconifies) the specified window.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

RaiseWindow WINDOWID
    Raises the specified window to the top of the stack, so that no other windows cover it.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

LowerWindow WINDOWID
    Lowers the specified window to the bottom of the stack, so other existing windows will cover it.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetInputFocus
    Returns the window that currently has the input focus.

SetInputFocus WINDOWID
    Sets the specified window to be the one that has the input focus.

    zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetWindowPos WINDOWID
    Returns an array containing the position information for the specified window. It also returns size information (including border width) and the number of the screen where the window resides.

      my ($x, $y, $width, $height, $borderWidth, $screen) =
            GetWindowPos(GetRootWindow());

GetParentWindow WINDOWID
    Returns the parent of the specified window.

    zero is returned if parent couldn't be determined (i.e., root window).

GetScreenDepth [SCREEN]
    Returns the color depth for the screen. If no screen is specified, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display. If the screen (number) is invalid, -1 will be returned.

    Value is represented as bits, i.e. 16.

      my $depth = GetScreenDepth();

GetScreenRes [SCREEN]
    Returns the screen resolution. If no screen is specified, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display. If the screen (number) is invalid, the returned list will be empty.

      my ($x, $y) = GetScreenRes();

OTHER DOCUMENTATION
Not installed.

COPYRIGHT
Copyright(c) 2003-2014 Dennis K. Paulsen, All Rights Reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

AUTHOR
Dennis K. Paulsen <ctrondlp@cpan.org> (Iowa USA)

CONTRIBUTORS
Paulo E. Castro <pauloedgarcastro tata gmail.com>

CREDITS
Thanks to everyone; including those specifically mentioned below for patches, suggestions, etc.:

  David Dick
  Alexey Tourbin
  Richard Clamp
  Gustav Larsson
  Nelson D. Caro