Adding a Visual Match to a Test Step

Updated by Jessica Holman

Visual Match allows you to override and fine-tune your click target in automated test steps. When enabled, you can draw a new bounding box around the element you’d like Sofy to select during test playback.

Visual Match is best used in the following cases:

  • When the XML path for the element is difficult to detect, such as
    • when an element is hidden under a popup or
    • when the elements on the screen are not uniquely defined based on best practices.
  • For WebView components and visual components such as barcodes

Note: We do not recommend using Visual Match for the following scenarios:

  • Running the same automated test on devices that have largely different screen sizes. For example, the test was recorded on a mobile device and played on a tablet.
  • The custom bounds are drawn around an area that might contain noise. For example, if your app has a white background and the element you’ve selected has a lot of white space, the system might mark those white spaces as redundant, resulting in a false positive or incorrect match.
  • When there might be multiple elements on the screen which are visually identical, like many checkboxes on one screen

Adding a Visual Match to a Test Step

  1. Log in to your Sofy account.
  2. Go to Automation from the left navigation bar.
    Callout over the Automation left navigation bar.
  3. Select a test case.
  4. Find and select the step you want to add a Visual Match override to, then select Edit from the popup.
  5. Select the Visual Match tab.
  6. Click the toggle to enable Visual Match.
  7. Check the Create Custom Bound box.
  8. In the image to the left, click and drag your mouse over the desired area to create a green custom-bound box. The box coordinates will appear in the Custom Bounds field.
    Note: Ensure that you’re as precise as possible when drawing the custom-bound box.
  9. If you need to redo the custom bound box:
    1. Click and drag your mouse again to remove the original box and create a new one.
      OR
    2. Click Remove next to the Custom Bounds field, then draw your box again in the image.
  10. Once you’re done, click Save Step Changes.
  11. Select Save Test in the top right-hand corner to finish saving your changes.

Note: You can’t use both a Manual Override and a Visual Match override in the same step.

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