Using the JD Edwards Autopilot User Interface

This chapter provides an overview of Oracle's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Autopilot user interface and discusses how to:

• Open the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

• Use panes in the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

• Use bars in the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

• Manipulate the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

• Manipulate the JD Edwards Autopilot toolbar.

Understanding the JD Edwards Autopilot User Interface

You use panes and bars in the JD Edwards Autopilot window to write commands that create a script. The window consists of two panes: the command pane and the Script pane. The command pane is the area where you make selections that create commands. As you make the selections to create a script, JD Edwards Autopilot displays the script as command lines in the Script pane, where you can move, delete, and edit commands. The window also contains four bars–the title bar, menu bar, toolbar, and status bar–which you use to create and identify the script.

The JD Edwards Autopilot window is resizeable, which means that you can change its shape, size, and location on the desktop for ease of use. If you are working with more than one script, you can arrange child windows within the parent window by clicking Options on the menu bar. Additionally, the toolbar is dockable, so you can move to any position within the window or move it to the desktop.

Opening the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

This section provides an overview of opening the JD Edwards Autopilot window and discusses how to open the JD Edwards Autopilot window for scripting.

Understanding Opening the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

When you start JD Edwards Autopilot, a splash screen appears, followed by the JD Edwards Autopilot window. Using this window, you create scripts to test JD Edwards EnterpriseOne applications and carry out repetitive tasks. The JD Edwards Autopilot window initially is blank

Opening a JD Edwards Autopilot Window for Scripting

To open a JD Edwards Autopilot window for scripting:

1. From the desktop or the appropriate directory, launch JD Edwards Autopilot.

2. Select File from the JD Edwards Autopilot menu bar.

3. Click New.

   The JD Edwards Autopilot window appears with some of the toolbar buttons activated.

   The toolbar, which is located directly beneath the menu bar, contains buttons that represent the various commands, such as Application, that you can run in JD Edwards Autopilot. When you pass the mouse pointer over one of these buttons, or over one of the names in the drop-down menu under Command in the menu bar, a description of the command appears in the status bar, which is located at the bottom of the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

   When you place the mouse pointer over the splitter bar, you can change the size of the command or Script pane by dragging the bar up or down. When you initiate a scripting session, the command pane is blank. You make the command pane active by initiating a command, such as Application. You can view the names of the commands by selecting Command in the menu bar.

Using Panes in the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

This section provides an overview of panes and discusses how to:

• Use the command pane.

• Use the Script pane.

Understanding Panes

The two major components of the JD Edwards Autopilot window are the command pane and the Script pane.

The command pane is the top pane of the window and is divided into lists, from which you make choices that create commands that JD Edwards Autopilot runs in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne. The command pane also contains the Insert button, which you click to insert a command to the script.

The command pane enables you to make the selections that define a particular script of commands that JD Edwards Autopilot runs in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne. The commands that you insert appear sequentially as command lines in the Script pane. During or after script creation, you can move, edit, or delete the command lines that you have inserted to the script.

The Script pane appears in the bottom pane of the window. It displays a running log and detailed description of the commands that you insert in the script. From the Script pane, you can move the insertion cursor (which appears as a red arrow) to any spot in the script in which you want to insert a new command. You can also reorder the script using the mouse to drag and drop command lines, and you can edit command lines by using the mouse to highlight them.

This table describes each of the panes and the specific components that you use to accomplish script-writing tasks:

Using the Command Pane

The command pane is the area where you begin writing commands to create a JD Edwards Autopilot script. You begin the command-writing process by selecting a command in the Command menu on the menu bar or by clicking buttons in the toolbar. When you select commands, distinct list areas appear in the command pane.

Note. Neither the Insert button nor lists appear until you select a command. You make selections from (or add entries to) the command pane lists. When you click the Insert button, a command line appears in the script.

If you are scripting a power form, the subforms that are associated with it display in the Form/Subform Hierarchy window on the Command pane. Click a subform to create script commands that you will use to test the functionality of the subform.

The command pane might also contain options. For example, when you select the Application option in the Command menu, the command pane contains options for Use Default Form and Processing Options Only. When you select the Select Grid Line option in the Command menu, the command pane contains options that enable you to script single-clicking or double-clicking a grid row in a form.

The two main components of the command pane are the command pane lists and the Insert button.

Command Pane Lists

Lists are distinct areas in the command pane, physically separated from one another and individually captioned. You make selections in (or add entries to) these lists in order to write the commands that you insert in a script. A command pane list can be either populated or unpopulated. You make selections from populated lists and input data into unpopulated lists. In either case, however, you use the lists to write script commands.

Populated lists in the command pane contain the items that you select to create a script command. For example, when you select the Application option in the Command menu (or click the Launch Application button in the toolbar), JD Edwards Autopilot displays applications and descriptions of each application in an Applications list in the command pane.

JD Edwards Autopilot populates a second list, the Menu list, when you click the Launch Application button. It displays menu text, or descriptions, of forms and interactive versions that are attached to the menu selections. Versions indicate that processing options exist for the application. The list also displays the Fast Path to the form.

As you write the script, the lists in the command pane reflect selections that you make in the menu bar or on the toolbar. Other populated lists include:

• Names of header controls, grid columns, forms, forms that appear next when you add a form or interconnect to another application, buttons, previously declared variables, previously declared validations, combo box items, and options (such as radio buttons and check boxes) in forms

• Names of processing options for applications

• Sources of input to forms, such as literal values, user defined code (UDC) visual assists, valid values lists, variables, form interconnect visual assists, header controls, or grid columns

• Sources of row numbers in a form, such as literal values, valid values lists, or variables

• Values to be input to forms, which can be derived from an existing valid values list, variable, header control, or grid column

• Sources from which a repeat count value in the script can be defined

Unpopulated lists appear with a caption, but they are empty. You create or modify the script command by typing text, numbers, special characters, spaces, or a combination of these.

You can enter this in unpopulated lists:

• Literal values to be input in header controls, grid columns, or a Query By Example (QBE) line

• The name of a variable or validation that you are declaring

• The repeat count for a node in the script, which controls how many times the node, or tree control of commands, plays when you run a script

• The length of a wait period during script playback

• Comments to be inserted in the script

• A DOS command-line message to the system

• A name for a screen shot

• A tree path that identifies a unique path to a node in a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne form

Insert Button

If you make selections and add entries to lists in the command pane and then click the Insert button, JD Edwards Autopilot inserts a command line in the Script pane. Each inserted command becomes a part of the script that JD Edwards Autopilot runs in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne. The insertion cursor, which appears as an arrow in the Script pane, follows the last command that you insert.

When you select an application and version from the command pane and click the Insert button, you automatically launch JD Edwards EnterpriseOne if you have activated the playback while scripting feature (identified by the initials PB) in the toolbar.

Clicking the Insert button for the first time starts the script. As you write the script by inserting new commands, JD Edwards Autopilot continues to display all scripted commands, in the order of their insertion, in the Script pane.

If the playback while scripting command is activated, as you make selections from the command pane in JD Edwards Autopilot and click the Insert button, the tool runs the scripted commands in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne.

Using the Script Pane

As you write a script, you can observe its progress because JD Edwards Autopilot records each command that you insert in the Script pane, which displays each command.

The Script pane consists of two components: command lines and the insertion cursor. The command lines reflect the selections that you make in the command pane. A command line does not appear in the Script pane until you have clicked the Insert button. Command lines indicate the context in which a command runs and the action that is taken in the context. Context commands specify where script actions occur, and action commands specify which actions occur in the script.

Command line can contain these components:

• A symbol that designates the command as a script node.

• A symbol that identifies the specific type of context or action command that you insert in the script, such as an Application command or a Press Toolbar Button command.

• A description of the general context or action in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne–for example, Application.

• A description of the particular context or action in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne–for example, {P0411 - A/P Standard Voucher Entry}.

• The source of the input into a form and its value.

  A value of 1, for example, means that you have inserted the literal value 1 in a header control, grid column, or QBE line.

Context commands and action commands make up the command lines in the Script pane. A context command establishes the environment in which you write other commands. For example, to click a button in a form, you first establish the context, which is the form.

This table summarizes the context commands that you write using JD Edwards Autopilot and the results of those commands:

With a context established, you can write action commands. One function of action commands is to define the actions that you take within the context that you specify. If the context is a form, an action that you can take within that form is clicking a toolbar button. Therefore, the Press Toolbar Button command is an action command.

You can write other action commands independent of a specific context. For example, you can declare a variable (give it a name) and set and store a value for it before you launch an application. Likewise, you can declare a validation and associate it with a table and columns in the table independently of establishing a context. You take these actions to accomplish something in a context. For example, you store the value of a variable to use it in a header control, grid column, combo box, or tree path.

This table summarizes the action commands that you write using JD Edwards Autopilot and the results of those commands:

See Also

Understanding Context Scripting

Scripting Actions

Working with the Script Pane

Modifying Scripts

Using Bars in the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

This section provides an overview of the bars in the JD Edwards Autopilot window and discusses how to:

• Use the title bar.

• Use the menu bar.

• Use the toolbar.

• Use the status bar.

Understanding the Bars in the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

In addition to the command and Script panes, the JD Edwards Autopilot window includes four bars that enable you to create a script. Bars in the JD Edwards Autopilot window identify the script, contain options and buttons for scripting commands, and identify the functions of buttons contained in the window.

Using the Title Bar

The title bar is the horizontal bar that appears at the top of the JD Edwards Autopilot window and identifies the name or title of the script that you are writing in the tool. The text enclosed in the brackets in the title bar is the name of the script.

Using the Menu Bar

The menu bar appears beneath the title bar. It is composed of options that contain drop-down menus from which you can make selections that enable you to write the script and to set up how JD Edwards Autopilot runs.

File Menu

Many of the selections in the drop-down File menu represent essential Windows functions. You can create a new script, open an existing one, close a script, save it, or print it. These options are JD Edwards Autopilot features:

Edit Menu

Two functions are available when you need to modify existing scripts. These options enable you to copy and paste command lines or branches of scripts rather than deleting a command line or branch and then having to rewrite it:

View Menu

You use the View menu to set up the appearance of the toolbar and status bar in the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

Command Menu

The drop-down menu that appears when you select Command in the menu bar contains the commands that you can write to a script. These commands match the commands represented by the toolbar buttons that you can click to write commands to the script.

The Command menu also includes two options that are not represented by toolbar buttons. The If <var> = = <var> command represents the command to write a conditional statement.

Play Menu

The drop-down menu that appears when you select Play in the menu bar contains the names of the JD Edwards Autopilot playback functions. These functions are also represented by toolbar buttons.

Clicking Playback toggles the Playback button on the toolbar. When the Playback button is activated, JD Edwards Autopilot plays the commands that you write in the script as soon as you insert them.

Tools Menu

Using the Tools menu enables you to fine-tune the way in which a script runs, to view the results of test scripts that you have run, and to generate data that you can use in scripts. This table summarizes the options available from the Tools menu:

Generate Valid Values List

You can create a text file that contains one or more values by selecting the Generate Valid Values List option in the Tools menu. A window appears that enables you to select data and to save it in a file. You can then use this file as a source of input for a script. When you select the Generate Valid Values List option, you use the Select Data File Type form to create a valid values list either by querying the database or by manually entering values of your own.

Create a Script from Capture Option

You can use the Create a Script from Capture option to create a script from the event stream. The Create a Script from Capture option can greatly increase scripting productivity and shorten the time it takes to learn how to use JD Edwards Autopilot. The option creates a framework of a JD Edwards Autopilot script. It does not create a script that you can run without modification.

Include Local Script Option

You can write a script and include it with another script that tests a related function. To do so, you select the Include Local Script option from the Tools drop-down menu. This option enables you to select a script that you have saved to the local directory and to include it with another script that you select.

Include Reposited Script Option

While a script is open, you can include a script that has been added to the script repository. To do so, you select the Include Reposited Script option from the Tools drop-down menu. This option enables you to browse the scripts that have been checked in to the repository, and you can select one or more of these scripts to include with a script that you select.

Results Option

After you have played back a script, you can save the results of the test. JD Edwards Autopilot collects test results that you save and displays a summary of the test results in a Playback Results form. To access the Playback Results form, select Results from the drop-down menu of the Tools option on the menu bar.

Unwanted Windows Option

You use the Unwanted Windows option to close windows that appear as part of the system flow but are not needed for the script's execution. Unwanted windows might include windows and message boxes such as Communications Failure, Confirm Delete, or Scheduled Packages.

You can enter, edit, and delete any windows or message boxes from a list that you create. You specify the action that occurs when the window appears. You can specify, for example, that JD Edwards Autopilot clicks OK on the Confirm Delete message box and continue playing the script.

Select JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Client

You can run your scripts as a Windows or HTML client by selecting an option from the Select JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Client form. If you select the HTML option, you must select Options from the Tools menu and specify a server on the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne HTML tab.

Options for Configuring JD Edwards Autopilot

Select Options to display a window with these seven tabs, which contain controls and options to set up JD Edwards Autopilot for testing:

• Directories

• Speed

• Playback

• Sign On

• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne HTML

• Script Generation

• Configure

The Directories tab enables you to specify where you start JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and where you store local scripts, screen shots, and so on.

You can set the path for each directory by clicking the button next to each control. When you click the button, the Choose Directory window appears. You use this window to specify the path to each directory and the network drive on which that directory resides.

The Format option enables you to select a particular screen shot extension, such as .tif. If you do not want the option of adding scripts to the repository, you can disable it by selecting the Disable Repository option.

On the Speed tab, you can set how quickly JD Edwards Autopilot types in a header control or grid cell in a form.

On the Sign On tab, JD Edwards Autopilot displays the user ID, password, role, and the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne environment to which you sign in. If you are signed in to a different environment than the one that appears in the Environment control, JD Edwards Autopilot displays a window indicating that you must change the sign-in environment to match the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne environment.

On the EnterpriseOne HTML tab, you can enter the universal resource locator for a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne web server, against which you can run a JD Edwards Autopilot script.

On the Configure tab, you can do this:

• Set how often the script is auto-saved.

• Select JD Edwards EnterpriseOne specifications, such as whether hidden edit and grid controls appear, and whether the system rebuilds file specifications each time that you run an application or only when JD Edwards Autopilot does not find the specifications.

• Set the threshold at which JD Edwards EnterpriseOne idles.

• Click the Rebuild F9860.ATX button to refresh JD Edwards Autopilot's list of application and report names.

The options on the Playback tab are divided into two sections. The top section of options enables you to configure script playback. This table summarizes the purposes of the playback configure options:

The bottom section of options enables you to set up capture of script playback data. The chronological sequence of events that occurs during script playback is called an event stream. Using the options on the Playback tab, you specify how much of the event stream JD Edwards Autopilot captures.

You can import the event stream to the JD Edwards Virtual Autopilot Script Editor in Oracle's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Virtual Autopilot tool, where you can create a virtual script. You can run the virtual script on a single workstation to simulate many users. This enables you to test the scalability of your system.

Important! JD Edwards Virtual Autopilot requires a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Windows client. You can use JD Edwards Virtual Autopilot with JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools 8.97 and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Applications 8.10 and prior. You cannot use JD Edwards Virtual Autopilot with JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Applications 8.11 and later releases, as these releases are on a web client only.

This table summarizes the options on the Playback tab that enable you set up the capture of script playback data:

Window Menu

The Window menu provides several ways to change the size and arrangement of JD Edwards Autopilot windows. For example, you can select to tile or cascade the windows if you have several open at once. In addition, the Window menu displays the script or scripts that are currently open.

Help Menu

Selecting the About Autopilot option on the Help menu displays a copyright notice.

See Also

Using a Valid Values List

Using the Toolbar

The toolbar is composed of buttons that you click to perform these actions:

• Script context and action commands

• Run script playback

You find the context and action commands represented by toolbar buttons in the Command menu on the menu bar. You find the script playback commands represented by toolbar buttons in the Play menu on the menu bar.

See Also

Understanding Context Scripting

Scripting Actions

Playing Back the Script

Using the Status Bar

To activate the JD Edwards Autopilot status bar, select it under the View menu. The status bar displays at the bottom of the JD Edwards Autopilot window and provides information about the JD Edwards Autopilot session. For example, after you have begun a session and are preparing to enter a new command, the status bar displays Ready to indicate that JD Edwards Autopilot is ready to accept a new command. When you pass the mouse pointer over a toolbar button, the status bar displays a description of the function.

Likewise, when you pass the mouse pointer over any item that appears in a drop-down menu of the menu bar, the status bar displays a description of the function of the item.

The status bar also indicates if you need to wait before proceeding. For example, when you open a script for the first time in a session, the status bar instructs you to wait while JD Edwards Autopilot loads the script specifications and reads the specifications for an application that it has not yet found.

See Also

Scripting Actions

Understanding the Script Repository

Understanding Script Reporting

Manipulating the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

This section provides an overview of the JD Edwards Autopilot window and discusses how to:

• Change the size of the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

• Arrange multiple JD Edwards Autopilot scripts.

• Size panes in the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

Understanding the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

You can easily change the arrangement and size of the JD Edwards Autopilot window and the panes within it. You can focus completely on one pane by manipulating the size of the window. On the other hand, if you are working with multiple scripts, you can keep each of them open and arrange them so that you can conveniently move between them as you work.

You can also resize the JD Edwards Autopilot window and its panes when you are creating a script and playing it back. Adjusting the size of the window enables you to see both the JD Edwards Autopilot window and the forms that are active in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne.

If you close JD Edwards Autopilot and then open it again, the size of the JD Edwards Autopilot window, the arrangement of the panes, and the position of the toolbar appear as they did when you closed the session.

Changing the Size of the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

You can easily change the size of the JD Edwards Autopilot window by using the mouse. Moving the mouse pointer within the window produces double-headed arrows. You then can resize the window by dragging the borders.

Arranging Multiple JD Edwards Autopilot Windows

JD Edwards Autopilot enables you to create and save multiple scripts during a single session or several sessions. You can open several scripts at once, resizing and rearranging them as necessary.

You use the Window menu to change the size and arrangement of JD Edwards Autopilot windows when you work with multiple scripts. You can arrange the scripts so that you can view them simultaneously and easily move from one script to another.

If you work with multiple JD Edwards Autopilot scripts during a session, you can arrange the scripts in either cascade or tile fashion, using the Window menu. The Cascade command arranges the scripts in overlay fashion.

The top JD Edwards Autopilot window is active. Click another window to make it active. To resize a window, place the mouse pointer on a vertical or horizontal edge, press the mouse button, and drag the window in the direction that you desire.

The Tile command divides the area of the JD Edwards Autopilot window so that the existing JD Edwards Autopilot windows appear simultaneously, adjacent to one another.

To arrange multiple JD Edwards Autopilot windows:

1. Select either Cascade or Tile from the Window menu.

2. Use the mouse pointer to change the size of the parent JD Edwards Autopilot window or of any of the child windows.

Sizing Panes in the JD Edwards Autopilot Window

You can change the size of panes in the JD Edwards Autopilot window easily using the Split option, which appears in the Window menu. The Split option moves the mouse pointer to the splitter bar, which divides the command pane from the Script pane. To resize the panes at any time, you can manually place the mouse pointer over the splitter bar.

To size panes in the JD Edwards Autopilot window:

1. Select the Split option from the Window menu.

   An arrow appears at the splitter bar, which divides the top pane from the bottom pane.

2. Drag the mouse up or down, expanding or reducing the size of the panes, and click.

Manipulating the JD Edwards Autopilot Toolbar

This section provides an overview of manipulating the JD Edwards Autopilot toolbar and discusses how to:

• Relocate the toolbar.

• Resize the toolbar.

• Float the toolbar.

Understanding Manipulating the JD Edwards Autopilot Toolbar

You use the toolbar frequently during a JD Edwards Autopilot session because you use many of its buttons to write context and action commands. To make your work easier, you can also move the toolbar and change its size and shape.

For instance, to create more vertical space for the command pane, you can move the toolbar from near the top horizontal edge of the JD Edwards Autopilot window to either the right or left vertical edge. You can also float the toolbar, moving it entirely out of the JD Edwards Autopilot window and onto the desktop. Finally, after you have moved the toolbar from one position to another, you can return it to its original position by double-clicking the bar.

Relocating the Toolbar

You can move the toolbar using the grabber, which is represented by a vertical bar. Two toolbars actually exist. One contains the buttons that represent action and context commands that you use to write your scripts. The other contains buttons that you use to play back scripts. Each bar contains a grabber, so you can move one, the other, or both.

To relocate the toolbar:

1. In the JD Edwards Autopilot window, place the mouse pointer over the grabber, which is represented by a vertical bar in the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

2. Holding down the mouse button, drag the toolbar, which you can now place either vertically along the right or left edge or horizontally along the bottom of the JD Edwards Autopilot window.

You can divide the two sections of the toolbar and place one along a vertical edge and one along a horizontal edge of the JD Edwards Autopilot window, or you can place them together.

Resizing the Toolbar

You can change the size and shape of the toolbar. You can do so easily by using clicking and dragging.

To resize the toolbar:

1. In the JD Edwards Autopilot window, place the mouse pointer at the edge of the window.

2. When a double-headed horizontal arrow appears, press the mouse button.

3. Drag the mouse up, down, or across.

   As you resize the JD Edwards Autopilot window, the toolbar resizes along with it.

Floating the Toolbar

You can drag the toolbar completely outside the JD Edwards Autopilot window and use it on the desktop. To do so, use the mouse to grab the bar and drag it to the position that you desire, or you can double-click the bar. When the toolbar is floating, you can use the mouse to resize it.

To float the toolbar by dragging:

1. In the JD Edwards Autopilot window, place the mouse pointer over the grabber in the toolbar, which is represented by a vertical bar.

2. Press the mouse button.

3. Drag the toolbar to any position desired.

   An outline of the toolbar appears as you drag it.

4. When the outline of the toolbar appears in the shape that you want, release the mouse button.

To float the toolbar by double-clicking:

1. Place the mouse pointer anywhere within the toolbar.

2. Double-click.

3. To return the toolbar to its original position, place the cursor in the bar that runs along its top and double-click again.

To resize and reshape the toolbar from the floating position:

1. In the JD Edwards Autopilot window or on the desktop, with the toolbar in a floating position, place the mouse pointer over one of its corners or edges.

2. When the double-headed vertical, horizontal, or diagonal arrow appears, click the mouse.

3. While holding down the mouse button, drag the arrow away from the bar until a resized, reshaped, outline of the bar appears.

4. Release the mouse button.

   The toolbar in its new configuration appears.

5. Double-click the top of the toolbar to return it to its original configuration.