ANT: Generating ANT Build File
After the ANT and Java JDK have been installed and their ANT environment variables are set up correctly, a build.xml file can be generated for your scheduling requirements.
This build.xml file defines the scope and requirements of the scheduling task, including what tests should be run, the test environment to be used, the report recipients, and other details.
You can generate a build.xml file automatically using Automation’s Run Under ANT option.
Run Under ANT in Automation
Start by opening Automation. If Automation is already running and has not been restarted since you updated your Environment Variables, please close and restart it now.
In the Navigator view, locate the test case or folder you wish to schedule.
Right-click on the test case or test folder and select Run Under ANT.
The following ANT Dialog window will appear.
This window provides all the options available around test scheduling. Note that these options have already defaulted to the most common configuration.
Note: This page does not run through every option available in Run Under ANT. Refer to the Run Under ANT Options page for more information on a specific option. Or, to learn more about the parameters in your Build File, refer to ANT Task Parameters.
In particular, note the ‘Start Ant execution’ checkbox at the bottom of the window. If ticked, Test Case execution will be initiated through ANT as soon as the ‘Run’ button is clicked. If ‘Start Ant execution’ is not ticked, the Build File will be created without executing the Test Cases. This is useful if you want to make the Build File to be run on a different machine.
We recommend unticking Start Ant execution for now since we will test the Build File manually after it is created.
Setting Up a Report Email
We recommend that your scheduling sends a report email to stakeholders after completing the scheduled run.
Click the Email tab on the ANT Dialog window to set up an email report.
Once you have selected your preferred options, click the Email Configuration button.
Enter the details of the email account you want to use to send the report email:
Click the Test Connection button to verify the email account details. Note that clicking this button will send a test email from the account to the same tab to confirm access.
If successful, an email will be sent and received from the email account:
This success message will display:
Click OK to remove this message and then OK again to confirm the email connection details.
Creating the Build File
After you have set your preferred options, click the ‘Run’ button from any tab of the ANT Dialog window.
This will create the Build File in the location you defined:
If the Start Ant Execution checkbox is ticked on the Details tab, this will also begin Ant execution automatically. If you unticked Start Ant execution, follow the steps below to run the Build File manually locally.
To learn more about the parameters in your Build File, refer to ANT Task Parameters.
Running the Build File Locally
Now you can test the Build File by running it locally. The following steps describe how to do this using the command line. (You can do this automatically when creating the Build File by ticking the ‘Start Ant Execution’ checkbox.)
To run the Build File, use the command ant -f build.xml runtests to run the Build.xml file from the directory where it is stored. Follow the steps below if you are not sure how to do this.
On Windows:
Navigate to the folder that contains the new Build File.
Highlight the full file path by clicking in the top panel.
Then type in cmd and hit return.
This will open cmd in the directory of the Build File.
Type ant into cmd.
Note: This simple ant instruction will work fine if only one target is in the Build File. You could use this command if your Build File were generated using the default settings supplied in Run Under Ant. However, if you have modified the Build File so that there are multiple targets, instead of entering ‘ant,’ you should enter an ant -f build.xml runtests, where runtests is the name of the target you want to specify:
Hit return to run the command above. If you get the following ‘not recognized’ error, check your ANT_HOME and Path variables:
Wait for the command to complete.
Viewing Test Results
On completion, the interface will look something like this:
If you specified an email as part of the Build Task, you should also have received an email at the addresses you specified:
A detailed execution report will also be created in the Results directory specified in the Build File (this defaults to /ANT/Results).
This contains an index.html file that can be opened in any web browser:
