Virtual Control
In automated testing, Virtual Control is a flexible way to operate the interface. It allows test scripts to abstract any area on the interface into an "operable object", even if the area is not a recognizable standard control, it can still perform operations such as clicking, text recognition, or image comparison like common controls.
In practical applications, many interface elements (such as custom-drawn buttons, icons, special menus, or dynamically rendered content) do not have traditional control properties and cannot be located by conventional recognition technologies. In this case, you only need to create a virtual control for the target area to directly perform automated operations on that area. For example, test scripts can:
- Perform precise clicking: Simulate mouse clicks or double-clicks on specific graphical elements;
- Perform Text Recognition (OCR): Recognize text content within the area and perform operations based on recognition results;
- Perform image comparison: Capture a screenshot of the area corresponding to the virtual control, compare it with the reference image, and verify whether the interface matches expectations;
- Improve maintainability: Use virtual controls instead of fixed coordinate clicks to make scripts more adaptable. When the window size changes, virtual controls can also automatically adjust their positions through alignment to avoid script failures caused by interface changes.
In this way, virtual controls transform "areas on the screen" into directly interactable logical objects, enabling test scripts to complete various operations without relying on standard control structures. This not only improves the flexibility of automated testing but also makes scripts more stable and easier to maintain when facing diverse interfaces.