Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

re: Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

Ashwin Needamangala [MSFT] — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 00:15:27 GMT

lingvomir, thanks for your comment. We'll need to do more troubleshooting to determine why your app is being terminated before test completion. It sounds like you were able to find a suitable workaround. However, it'll be good to get the root cause of the problem you experienced. If you can please post your question to social.msdn.microsoft.com/.../threads, that will be a more appropriate forum to continue this conversation and get to the root cause of the issue you are experiencing.

Thanks again for reading this post and for your comments.

re: Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

lingvomir — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:58:38 GMT

The Win8AppLaunch.exe does not work in our build server. We are running TFS build service in interactive mode, using MSBuild to call Win8AppLaunch.exe and start the app. After around 20 sec the app is terminated before all the tests are finished. The error in the application event log is:

The program wwahost.exe version 6.2.9200.16384 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Action Center control panel.

If I am logged into the build machine and watch the screen, everything works and the app is not terminated. Obviously this is not a solution.

Our workaround is - we run the app through compiling/deploying from Visual Studio 2012 (devenv slnfile.sln /RunExit Release) again from MSBuild and everything works fine.

re: Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

Vrushali — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 05:15:55 GMT

Can you please implement the same in C#?

re: Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

maria luisa martinez alvarez — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:37:38 GMT

muchas gracias por el servicio esperamos que no falle

re: Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

win8 feedback — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:41:56 GMT

I've been using windows 8 since developer preview and I was quite enthusiastic about it.

Still some things and issues haven't still been improved even in RTM, though I had reported them previously. Some new issues have appeared as well.

In this post I'd like to summarize a few ways to improve windows 8 in future releases. I already posted it to technet,but I wanted to make sure it is heard.

1. Default desktop has only recycle bin, maybe additional icons should be enabled by default? People completely new to windows 8 might get shocked and disoriented. Remember that "Change desktop icons" dialog located at personalize section of control panel? I thought that you have to make desktop icon settings more obvious, instead of being hidden there. Maybe adding it to desktop context menu? Right next to screen resolution and personalize itself.

Also why we do not have ability to show libraries folder on desktop (not shortcut)? Desktop folder in file explorer has 6 items including libraries. But we can only set 5 of them to be visible on actual desktop. Libraries can be enabled by registry hack already, but why not adding it in actual settings dialog? Seems strange to me.

2. We can pin any folder or website to start screen. But that also adds them to All Apps list. Now imagine I have 10 folders and 20 websites pinned to start screen organized in some groups. But I also end up having them in All Apps list, which is disorienting!

The solution is easy: instead of adding pinned folders and websites to alphabetic list of metro apps, why don't you made a "pinned websites" and "pinned folders" to be displayed at the very end of the app list. After the desktop app folders. Makes sense.

One more thing: right-clicking My computer pinned at start screen brings things like manage, disconnect network drive etc. But right-clicking recycle bin does not work that way. We need an ability to empty recycle bin without going to desktop.

3. Windows 8 RTM brought us the ability to access favourites from Immersive Internet Explorer. However, after deleting or editing the default bing link in favourites folder, this ability is suddenly gone on my PC.. Why?

4. Interface for safely removing devices should be improved and should be available from settings charm. We don't have to go to desktop to safely remove a USB flash. Make a bar with devices to be removed, the same way as you did Wi-Fi bar.

5. Right-clicking control panel icon on dekstop does not present an option to pin it to start. It can be done only through all app list. Situation for PC settings app is worse: it cannot be pinned to start. Why? It could be in developer preview.

6. UAC needs to be improved a lot. The design of the UAC dialog window should be the same as the smartscreen one. This way it can appear anywhere without switching to desktop. And thus, we can reset and refresh the PC from PC settings app even if UAC is set to always notify. The current implementation of UAC is ridiculous: changing UAC settings to never notify or always notify breaks the metro experience.

7. Contacts folder in explorer has no ribbon, as well as some folders in Control panel. While this may be fine for folders in Control panel, the Contacts folder needs to be fixed. Also, there is still an option to enable classic menus in Folder Options. But of course those menus are nowhere to be seen in File explorer, except for Control panel and that Contacts folder.

8. In PC settings app, namely in devices section, please add a link to Control Panel's Devices and Printers section. Because sometimes when managing devices in PC settings I had to go to Control Panel to do advanced stuff, but there was no quick way to do that.

9. Some notification baloons of the taskbar are rectangular, some are still old round ones. Make them consistent please.

10. My icon cache is getting reset after using modern apps and rebooting. Please fix this issue.

Overall, windows 8 is a good job. But definitely take a look at those issues I posted. Hopefully you fix them at SP1 or windows 9..

re: Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps

sena — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:54:29 GMT

i think windows 8 app screen part have a problem.

tiles(app icons) are very mixed !?

this is one solution.

www.niloblog.com/.../gqc770rjvnzyy1kgth4.png

app area for each app.for example dictionary program have 3 icon( main program icon, link to help , link to uninistall , ...)

all these tiles in one area ( horizontal or vertical mode , inside together )