Windows 8 App Testing

1. Q. How to start windows 8 app testing for your application?

Answer: I would like to tell that, those who going to start testing on windows 8 app please consider following things before testing.

• Create Microsoft account [hotmail, live, outlook etc.]
• Make ready your device [X86 and X64 bit]
• Ready your application smoke test cases

Steps to Install the windows 8 app in your device:

1. Login your Microsoft account in your device/simulator
2. Copy the package folder to your local machine
3. Right click on package [ps1 File extension]
4. Run with PowerShell

Once install the windows 8 package you can run the application.


Major when you may face while testing the application specially if the application is network based application.

• Sort of IP address in your organization, Like lake of IP address.  In this case you may face problem to connect the server[Means some application is like Client and server].
• Some times when we are not able to connect to the server then we may think the device problem but we have to check about the network as well as updates of windows.
• One time i was facing problem while rotating the screen, then i found that there was issue with windows updates.
• Once you will update your tablet, hope you can resolve the issue.

Windows 8 app to test the following basic modes.

This is very important that the testing mode of your application.  The following mode you need to test for your application.

•  Full view mode [Landscape, i.e. by default of almost all the tablet]
• Fill view mode [70% of screen will capture your application]
• Snap view mode[30% of screen will capture your application]
• Landscape mode
• Portrait mode

Note: Please do not forget to test your application in different-different screen resolution.  This very much important to test this with all the modes.

Mode of Metro Style  [This is Microsoft Blog for further reference]  This is just for user information i have used.

Full View Mode: Full view mode is the default mode of the application of any tablet, i.e. nothing but the landscape view.  Your application will take 100% of screen.

Fill View Mode: In this mode your application will take the 70% of your tablet screen.  Now the question is how to use this.
For this you have to open the 2 application in your tablet.  Move the other application to the snap view and your testing application move to Fill View(Drag the application).  It means you can run the 2 application at once.

Snap View and Fill View

Snap View: Refer the above image.  In the snap view the application look and fill will change.  So please do not worry about that.  Now the look and feel will depend on your UI team and client requirement.

Note: Sometimes its depend on your requirement, might your client didn't gave the requirement to test on different mode.  So you can also suggest to test the application in different mode.

How to validate that your windows 8 app is certified by Microsoft?

It is very simple to do that if i am right on this post.  Need to the following steps:

1. Download the windows 8 app certification kit exe in your local system
2. Install the Kit which you have downloaded
3. Install your windows 8 application  which you are going to certifiy
4. Now run Windows App Cert Kit from All Programs
5. Say Yes on user account control (permission on windows)
6. Now click on Validate Windows Store App option
7. Click on your application checkbox present there
8. Click on next button
9. Wait until it will not ask you for the saving xml file
10. Save the xml file for certification

Note: The windows app certification kit should pass with 1 warnings, Then we can say that it is certified.

[24th June 2013] Today i am going to explain testing with simulator on windows 8

The simulator is the virtual device of windows 8 tablet, There you can test the your application. 

Please keep it mind that the simulator will not give you the 100% coverage of you application.  Later on i am going to explain the few limitation on simulator.
There are some good advantage of testing your application on simulator like, You can test your application in different-different resolution.

 

Well you can find the simulator from the following location:

Path: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Simulator\11.0  [This is for x86 bit operating system.]

 Path for x64: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Simulator\11.0

1. Now right click on Microsoft.Windows.Simulator.ext
2. Click on Run as administrator
3. Now launch the application which you are going to test
4. Do the functional testing

There are some limitation while testing on simulator:

• Pinch Zoom is difficult to do test in the simulator
• Many time you can get the expected result in simulator but same scenario you may not achieve in the actual device.
• Few of the functionality will not work on simulator like; shaking, textbox pop-up keyboard.

Touch Mode and Non Touch Mode:
Please do not forget to test your windows8 application in Touch and Non-Touch mode.  The reason is user can use the windows application in both the mode.
There will be some interface issue to handle the application in both the mode,  Please do think as its application bug.
Always perform the same operation on both the mode.  It could be little difference in the case of functionality.

Getting Developer License:
Some times when we are trying to Install the PS1 file in our device then it will ask you to get the developer license if it is expired.
In that case we need to Login the Microsoft account (Live, Hotmail, Outlook), Then we may face the some error to get the license.
The reason behind it is following:

• It may be the Proxy Related issue
• It may be the Windows 8 flavor OS, If OS is release preview or Customer preview version.  We may get the error while getting the developer license.
• So, Please always check the scenario when you will get this kind of issue while installing your application.

[26th July 2013] Facts about the Microsoft App Store:

Suppose when we are developing the app in the Windows 8 and we are going to localize the app in different languages like [Japanese, Chinese, German etc.].  How Microsoft will certify that your app is ready to deploy in the windows app store.

From testing point of view, Each and everything strings should be translated.  If any of the strings are not translated then there are maximum chance that Microsoft will reject your app.  So while testing the localization of your app please verify weather all the strings, screenshots are localized or not.

I face this issue when i was working on my app and i was very new to this. Later on i come to know about these issue and i'm sharing with you guys.

Another important point about uploading Windows8 app to MS-App store is, you have to keep your app folder as Picture Library.  It is all about.
Where as Windows 8.1 MS has removed the My Document Library.

Windows 8 Vs Windows 8.1 [New Features Comparison]

Recently Microsoft has introduced the Windows 8.1 blue preview.  There are many features included in the new version of Windows 8.1 as you can see below in the table.  There are free upgrade available from windows 8 to 8.1.  You don't have to pay for it.  
In the Windows 8.1, Microsoft has included the performance issue as well as many other things.

Windows 8 Vs 8.1

Note: Please feel free to post the comment and join me to encourage me. Please let me know the contents or need to update anything.  In the near future also i will be providing you my experience of work.