Release notes

3.0.x

3.0.3

New action API cookie with sub actions to extract information from a API cookie like its value, or its meta-data!
Added extra logging for when input parameters are set, when using parameterized page actions, api requests or database queries.
Fixed an issue where stopping a test after a failed step, would not trigger. Also renamed this preference setting to a more global name, as it involves more than just browser tests.
Fixed an issue where the file chooser on input parameters would not show up
Fixed an issue where renaming pages, databases or data sheets from their respective file overview, would not update their models, when opening their models in a tab-view.
Minor performance improvements

3.0.2

Made improvements on deleting Pages that are not referenced anywhere
Fixed an issue where pressing the alt-button, caused performance issues on Windows machines. The edit-view in the test script editor is now mapped to control + e
Fixed an issue where it would be not possible to remove folders from the page-objects overview
Fixed an issue where the playbook runner would style too big, which made it impossible to use the stop button
Fixed an issue where importing a CSV file with decimal floating points, into the data-driven table, would split on the floating point (1,5 would become 5)
Fixed some performance related issues
Minor dependency patch updates

3.0.1

fixed an issue where, in some specific situation, data-driven variables where not replaced by actual values, but instead became empty.
Add BIC container generator function in variables with ${bureauOfInternationalContainerCode()}

3.0.0

Revamped the front-end UI
- A new and intuitive design for the test script
- An advanced test step debugger, to get full control over debug sessions
- An overview of request-response pairs per test session
- Tabs in JOSF to have more than one test case, page-action, api request, etc… open at the same time
Use of system proxy settings
Underwater updates to dependent automation libraries
A verified and signed Windows installer
Improvements to GIT commit speeds

2.17.x

2.17.2

HTTPS Protocol in API Definitions: Now, if a URL is defined, the protocol is extracted from the URL.
GIT Hang-up Issue Resolved: Fixed an issue where deleting items such as a Testcase caused GIT to hang, showing ‘Changed 0 files’.
Unsaved Changes Warning: Enhanced user experience by adding a warning message when navigating away from a datasheet with unsaved changes.
Datasheet Repeater Playback: Addressed the issue where the datasheet repeater only played once without recording results. The root cause was linked to page actions.
Dynamic Image/Animation Endpoint: Added functionality for fetching images from an endpoint for dynamic images and animations, including settings configuration.
Tooltip Text Correction: Corrected an issue where a letter was missing in the tooltip for the datasheet.

2.17.1

Enable tracking for repeating groups that have a data sheet. Your test reporting now includes all repeated iterations when using a data sheet as a repeating condition.
In the API request editor, you can now select what type of data the body is, including the new from-data style.
When implementing undefined step arguments containing a <variable>, JOSF will in-place convert these to ${variables}
Updated back-end dependencies for some under-the-hood improvements
Fixed an issue where API requests, including spaces, where not sent correctly
Fixed an issue where very large variable-values where not parsed correctly
Fixed an issue where the variable-autocomplete did not save the value in some cases

2.17.0

Data base modelling
- Add your MariaDB, Oracle, PostgreSQL, IBM DB2, MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server configuration to JOSF
- Create parameterized queries and execute them from test cases
- Validate or extract data from your query results
API to test case;
- Upon importing an API definition, you can choose to immediately create testcases, based on each type of response code
- Create new tests from the API request view
API requests now accept input parameters and show these test cases, just like page actions do
Advanced playlist filter queries
CLI command configurator
Every input field now contains a autocomplete for available variables
Bugfixes;
- Fixed an issue where a given JSONPath did not give the same result in the front- and back-end
- Fixed an issue where duplicating older page actions (before 2.15) was not working
- Under the hood performance improvements

2.16

2.16.5

Added a project preference to download drivers automatically.
Minor bug fixes

2.16.4

Fixed an issue where the proxy settings could interfere with the systems proxy settings.

2.16.3

Fixed an issue where the Chrome drivers did not download, for versions of Chrome higher than v115.
Note that the Download driver buttons will not be functional – these will be removed in a future version.
Also note that the proxy setting for “Use proxy for downloading webdrivers” is not functional anymore, and is merged with the “Use proxy during web browser tests” option.

2.16.2

Fixed an issue where the setPartialTextBuffer action was unable to find the variable name to place the data in
Fixed an issue where the Wait – timed pause would open a browser
Fixed an issue that occurred when using not-set variables as values in data-driven runs. It used to to replace unknown variables with an empty value, but this should not be the case for variables used in data-driven runs
Fixed an issue where the password prompt for project protection would show incorrect, when it is a valid password
Fixed an issue where the secrets storage file would not be committed in git-enabled projects.
This fix requires you to re-enable project protection and optionally remove the current security/__STORAGE file, which is replaced by the security/__STORAGE.jks file

2.16.1

Fixed an issue where the Wait – Timed pause action opens a web browser
Fixed an issue where the Keyboard – Type text – Clear field option would not clear fields in specific situations

2.16

Quick drawer
- Drag and drop all actions, page actions, API calls and data sheets to build the tests
Simplified and improved actions
- Where first there were 90+ actions for maximum flexibility, now only 9 remain with the same customization options
Secrets
- Enable protection to your project and store encrypted secrets safely

2.15

Data driven reports
- Select specific data driven runs from your test editor
- Review each data driven run individually after completion
File repository and manager
- Upload and use files in JOSF
- Use the file data type to select a specific file in your tests
Page object explorer
- Create and review page actions from your test scripts
Rerunning failed tests
- Rerun any (failed) test script from the playbook run view
Typed input parameters for page actions
- Create building block that help your JOSF user base by guiding them with different types of input parameters:
  - Passwords to hide sensitive data from test scripts
  - Use choice to enable or disable a specific set of test steps
  - Create suggestions to develop test cases and data faster
  - Use code to provide a large text area in the test step
  - Make use of files and file locations with the file type
View variables
- View, edit or favorite your current variables in the test session
Power off feature
- A new power off button to self-shutdown JOSF
View logging
- View any logging that JOSF does from your preferences. Helpful when debugging or requesting support from a JOSF Engineer
Drag and drop improvements
- Be able to drag and drop in and out of (inner)groups or opened page actions from within the test case editor

2.15.1

Solved an issue that could occur where in specific situations descriptive groups would not run correctly.
Solved an issue where if downloadDrivers was set to false, it still connected to the browser version repository.
Performance improvements regarding large playbook runs

2.15.2

Added the NTLM authentication method to API requests

2.14

One click synchronization
- Connect your local project with those of your team mates
- integrate seamlessly with GIT
- Supports all major GIT platforms
Jump to test case
- Easily jump to test cases and feature scenario’s from ran playbooks
Duplicate page actions and objects
Improved selection (autocompletion dropdowns) for API calls
View usages of page actions and API calls
Some bugfixes

2.14.1 – 2.14-4

Improvements in the syncronisation process when using a proxy
Performance improvements

2.14-5 – 2.14.8

Added new playbook run chart: Performance chart
A chart that displays the execution times of each ran step with the possiblity to filter on API responses only.
Added the max loop count to the compare repeater
Fixes page actions’ ran steps in test cases that contain duplicate page actions

2.13

Multi projects
- Create multiple projects in JOSF
- Add existing projects or create new ones to keep your projects separated
- Your current JOSF project will be added automatically
- The CLI runner accepts an optional project option, to switch between projects.
Groups in groups
- You are now able to add all types of groups as a step
- Create groups in page actions, test cases or in step definitions
- All group types are supported
User experience improvements
- Improved designs to help create test cases more efficient
- Folder structure for step definitions and API Modelling
Other improvements:
- Upload your license key file from JOSF
- Toggle test steps or groups of steps on or off
- When no object is given, the current onscreen active object is used to perform the action on
- Copy/paste steps and groups from one place to another, even over separate testcases, page actions or scenarios
- Keep test context open during test case or feature scenario creation

2.12

new feature: Configuration of proxy settings.
new feature: Add certificates to JOSF to make use of certified HTTPS connections, when your machine does not contain the certificate by default.
new feature: Skip SSL connection validation.
new test step: Add data sheet. An extension of the data driven storages. Add a data sheet as a test step and select what row of data needs to be converted to variables. This selection can be exact by row name, random selected or by adding a filter to a column.
improvement: Download web driver updates from the browser settings instantly. JOSF keeps doing this automatically on JOSF startup, but when your browsers update, you now don’t need to restart JOSF to get the latest web driver updates aswell.
small UI improvements.

2.12.1

Fixed an issue where the browser was unable to start, when using the proxy

2.12.2

Fixed a performance issue when importing large csv files for the data driven storage table

2.12.4

Added pre-emptive authentication to the basis authentication in API Requests
Added individual proxy options

2.12.5

Fixed an issue where the feature runner does not handle the skip breakpoint toggle correctly

2.12.6

Fixed an issue where quotes in buffers could prevent the test step from executing

2.11

new feature: Add a maximum loop count to your repeating groups. Also works with ${variable} syntax.
improved action: the Verify node value has the tilde (~) operator which validate that the node contains the given value
- Given a node value is hello world, the Verify node value with data ~world will pass as well as ~hello.
improvement: For the keyboard users, we’ve implemented some handy features to get around quickly.
improvement: JOSF is now packaged with a compatible Java version (windows only).
improvement: during JOSF installation, you can change your installation destination.
fix: you can now use buffers in functions like, ${dateTime(HH:mm, +${minutes}m)}, given ${minutes} has a value of 3 for example.
various minor bug fixes

2.10

new feature: New conditional group option; the comparator.
- this comparator accepts a first and second value and a set of preset comparators will conditionally execute the group.
improvement: Actual ran test steps stored in the playbook run.
- when using page actions, the actual ran test steps are now stored in the run, instead of a reference to the action
new function: ${dateTime()}
- The dateTime function aims to combine the ${today()} and ${now()} function. Check the docs!
some performance improvements

2.9

new feature: new test step group view
- directly run an entire group
- convert your group into a new page action
- fulfill buffers on group/step execution
- drag/drop steps over different groups
new feature: inline page-action editting:
- when you use page actions in your tests, you can now directly edit these on-the-fly.
new feature: inline API request/responses
- when you run your API requests from a test, you can directly view the sent request and response inline.
new feature: fulfledged feature editor, with;
- syntax highlighting
- gherkin formatting (handy for your tables: right click->format)
- autocomplete for defined step definitions
- directly add/edit step definitions
- Gherkin hints and errors
improvement: file viewer for testcases and page object models
improvement: duplicate test cases
improvement: sticky save button
improvement: when objects are not found, include the used locator in the error message
improvement: store formatted versions of objects so that comparing in your VCS works better
overall performance improvements

2.8

new feature: The dashboard is here!
- With the first three charts in place, you have more control over the status of your application under test!
- The results over time graph lets you zoom in to a per day result.
- The results of the last 5 run playbook runs, give a detailed overview of the status per run.
- And then you have the option of adding your own favorite playbooks, to keep a keen eye on those as well!
new function: custom date formats
The ${today()} function accepts 0, 1 or 2 paramaters now.
The new format accepts a date format as the first paramater, with a second for adding/subtracting dates.
${today(YYYY-MM-dd, 0)} will parse 2021-03-25, given the date is 2021-03-25. The extra 0 adds no days to the current date, but is required
improvement: Selenium web driver binaries update themselves. Now, when updating your browser, JOSF updates the required drivers automatically!
improvement: A new clean look for navigation
- We’ve shifted around the navigation, so that you have a clear overview of where you are and what you can do with JOSF.
- Also added an expand/collapse to the menu, so that you have the most usefull view for your situation.
improvement: A new clean look for the feature overview
- We’ve made some adjustments to how the feature overview looks.
- Now it feels more like the file browser it is.
improvement: the storage for the driver list has moved to the settings folder under testcases.
- This especially is handy for those who want to use JOSF in CICD software, where only the testcases folder is under source control.
Some bugs squashed
- The breadcrumb now also works in the feature explorer
- When debugging, your action play button for web actions is disabled to prevent unintended double actions.
- The ambigious step screen now has a close button
- When running a JOSF CLI command with the environment toggle, it didn’t complete the testrun properly.

2.7

new feature; Data driven test cases and Scenario Outline/templates
- Make your test cases and feature files more efficient with the new data driven function
- Feature files now support the Scenario Outline syntax to execute the same scenario with different examples
- Test cases now support the use of Data Driven storages. Tables that include a test run name and your variables
- Import and export to Excel or CSV, to easily share and edit the data
- Autocompletes known variables on the data field in test cases
new feature; Get system variable ${getEnvVar(KEY)}
- Especially for security purposes, you can now collect the system’s environment variables instead of setting security sensitive data in JOSF
- Given the key USERNAME is set as an environment variable, ${getEnvVar(USERNAME)} will get this from the system
- This could be used in pipeline software
new feature; Data generator functions
- ${randomText()}; Can have 0, 1 or 2 parameters;
  - 0 parameters: gets random text with random length: ${randomText()}
  - 1 parameter: sets the length of the text: ${randomText(7)} – gets a random text of 7 characters
  - 2 parameters: sets the length of the text and sets it to upper or lower text: ${randomText(7, uppercase)}, ${randomText(7, lowercase)} – gets a random text of 7 characters with uppercase or lowercase text. note uppercase can be interchanged with upper or u for short. lowercase can be interchanged with lower or l for short.
- ${randomNumber()}; Can have 0 or 2 parameters
  - 0 parameters: gets a random number
  - 2 paraters: define upper and lower boundaries: ${randomNumber(-20, 30)} – gets a random number between these boundaries
- ${random()}: Can have 0, 1 or 2 parameters
  - 0 parameters: gets a random combination of text and numbers
  - 1 parameter: gets a random combination of text and numbers with a limited amount of characters
  - 2 parameters: gets a random combination of text and numbers, and sets to upper or lower case (same as ${randomText()} function)
new feature; JOSF CLI reporting
- JUnit reports are generated after a playbook run
- When the playbook run contains failed tests/scenario’s, JOSF CLI exists with -1. This means that pipeline software will break on failed tests
- A quick overview of test results will show from the JOSF CLI
improvement; import of WSDL API definitions
improvement; set action use without an object, will not open a browser anymore; handy for setting data during API tests
further improvements;
- Creating a new Feature file generates a template to better understand it’s syntax
- Leave page with unsaved changes directly saves (if chosen to) if you want to leave, instead of just reminding you to save
- Importing an unkown API definition (not swagger or WSDL) will show an error now
- Numerous UX/UI improvements

2.6

new action pack; API actions; we’ve added an action-pack that allows the validation of API responses.
new function; Cloud web driver providers
- We’ve enabled the use of cloud web driver providers.
- If you’d like to test on different platforms/devices, that’s now possible and easily configurable.
- We’ve added SauceLabs as a possible provider
improvement; adding local web drivers (browsers) through easy configuration
improvement; Debugging test cases
- You can set a break point for a specific test step in your test cases.
- This will pause the test execution, and let’s you step over the test steps one by one
improvement; Multiple object strategies for Page Objects
- You can add more than one strategy to your page objects
- JOSF will combine all of these into one strategy so you can easily find objects
- You can also tell JOSF to find not the first, but second, third, etc object it found with a specific strategy (called index)
new object strategy; partialID.
- When using the object strategy partialID=world, it will find objects with the @id attribute containing the word world

2.5

[PRO] new function; API testing. Include or import your API documentation and start testing them with JOSF PRO
- import API documentation from Swagger or OpenAPI definition files (URLs and raw)
- document your team’s API’s with the help of requests
- use your request directly in your test cases or step definitions
- combine API and Browser testing with the same ease-of-use you are used to in JOSF
new function; Environments. Create different environments to quickly switch from one environment to another
- store and use environment variables for direct use in your tests
- minimize maintenance
new function; Pages & Objects; Create reusable components in JOSF
- create frequently used objects and actions and refer to them directly in your tests for reuse
- customize page actions with input parameters
- minimize maintenance and manage objects and actions from one place
improvement; Page Scanner; We’ve improved the page scanner, so that you can use more filters (like search on text) and made it easier to define what element you are looking for
improvement; JOSF CLI. You can use your environment in your CLI. Open the documentation in JOSF to see how it works
improvement; JOSF CLI. JOSF CLI now waits for the playbook run to be completed.
improvement; meta data for test cases
further tweaks and visual improvements to make the JOSF experience even better

2.4

[PRO] new function; CLI; Run your playbooks from the CLI runner. locally or from your CI/CD pipeline solution
new function; Playbook! Create collections of runnable test cases and features and run them all in sequence.
new function; Tags. Tag your test cases, features and scenarios for ease of access and re-use them in a playbook.
bugfix; some features failed to open in edit mode. Got that fixed!
bugfix; trashed malformed step definitions threw an error. Now they don’t.
bugfix; opening new step definitions with step arguments wouldn’t open. Now they do.

2.3

new function; Data tables as step arguments for gherkin features. Your step definitions can now contain six different types of data tables. (check out our tutorial).
new function; Iterate over data table rows with the new data table repeater.
new function; drap-and-drop. Why wasn’t it already here… anyway, you can now change the order of groups and test steps by dragging them around!
new function; duplicating test steps. That’s handy!
new function; groups for step definitions.

2.2

new group type: Conditional; Use this group to execute some steps in specific conditions!
new function; JOSF Settings. You can now edit:
- the JOSF api url;
- the default browser;
- the default base url;
bugfix; in some cases, debugging your tests, didn’t went as smooth as we meant;
- pausing while in descriptive groups, exited the test run
- when pausing and stopping a test executing, the next run continues from that point.
When JOSF is unable to startup, you will be notified of the reason, e.g. the current port is already in use.
Also, when upgrading JOSF, instead of performing any manual actions, the installation script will do that for you!

2.1

JOSF 2.1 comes packaged with lots of new stuff. On top of that, we’ve smashed some nasty bugs!

new action; newWindow: opens new tabs within the current browser session
new action; setPartialTextBuffer: it’s possible to set a part of a text into a buffer.
new function; groups! You can group a set of test steps, to keep your test cases neat and tidy.
bugfix; using buffers in test objects wasn’t working. Now it does.

2.0

JOSF 2.0 is a completely new JOSF Application, which features;

New ways creating your test cases!
Advanced debugging, while developing your test case!
A new lightweight front-end Angular App as the default interface

We’ve replaced the Drupal front-end with an Angular app, which allowed us to deliver a light-weight JOSF experience! Our main priority remains; Test automation for everyone! That’s why we’ve been working hard on giving you the tools to create test cases, quickly!

New debugging tools will give you the power to quickly find and automate those difficult web elements. Also, the light weight interface will allow you to navigate fluently through JOSF!

There is more to look forward! The following features will be included in future releases of JOSF.

Writing gherkin Features (you know, just like Cucumber and SpecFlow!)
Making use of the powerful Page Object Modal Design Pattern for your test cases.
Chaining different types of tests and executing them using the new Play book feature.

Note that test cases created in versions before JOSF 2.0 are not yet transferrable to the latest version of JOSF. If you need to update and migrate your current test set, please let us know by contacting us!

1.4

Added the highlight action. Useful for debugging!
Added the verifyWindowTitles action
Bugfix; when an empty test is run, JOSF no longer produces an error message!
Bugfix; when the JOSF API is unresponsive, a useful error message is shown
Some under the hood changes to make our work as JOSF developers more easy!

1.3

Bumped version of Selenium Server from 3.4.0 to 3.11.0
Selenium IDE new import method for SIDE files (check out our tutorial).
Tweaked on actions
select
sendKeys
Deprecated: authenticateAlert
The use of dynamic dates and timestamps as test data (check out our tutorial)

1.2

This release pack a couple of extra actions and we’ve fixed some bugs!

Actions

windowResize, windowMaximize
dragdrop, dragdropAndWait, dragAndDrop, dragAndDropAndWait, dragAndDropToObject, dragAndDropToObjectAndWait
createCookie
uncheck, uncheckAndWait
refresh, refreshAndWait

Bug fixes

open action updated: listens to data in the test object & test data fields, simply because Selenium IDE places the data in the object field.
When importing invalid Selenium IDE scripts, error handling is improved by telling the erroneous line number

Other things we did

Replaced the former name (testautomaat) with JOSF in most of the interfaces.

1.1

This release comes with a couple of extra features:

You can now add your own test action classes to your running JOSF instance. Want to make your own actions? Contact us!
Multiple buffers (variables) per test data row is now supported
Buffers in test objects are now supported

1.0

initial release