How do I automate UI tests using the UI Automation 3 (UIA3) framework?

General Discussions
, ,
1

I am trying to use UIA3 for automating desktop application testing on Windows. I’m facing issues interacting with certain UI elements like buttons and text fields, some elements are not being recognized, or the automation fails intermittently. I need guidance on best practices for identifying elements, handling dynamic UI changes, and reliably performing actions like click, input text, and verify element properties using UIA3.

2

Alright, when you’re starting with UIA3, the first thing you want to do is launch your application and hook the automation to it. Here’s a simple example:

using FlaUI.UIA3;
using FlaUI.Core;
using FlaUI.Core.AutomationElements;

var app = Application.Launch("YourApp.exe");
using var automation = new UIA3Automation();
var window = app.GetMainWindow(automation);

When interacting with UI elements, it’s crucial to use stable identifiers. For example, prefer FindFirstDescendant(cf => cf.ByAutomationId("yourId")) over ByName() since automation IDs are usually more reliable and less prone to change. If you don’t have an ID, a combination of properties like ByClassName, ByControlType, and ByName can work well.

Here’s how you would click a button reliably:

var button = window.FindFirstDescendant(cf => cf.ByAutomationId("btnSubmit")).AsButton();
button?.Invoke();

By using strong selectors like AutomationId, you’re reducing flakiness and making your tests more stable.

3

Right, as @shashank_watak mentioned, IDs are great, but sometimes UI elements might not be ready immediately. That’s when adding a little waiting or retry logic helps to avoid failures caused by slow rendering or dynamic changes in the UI.

var retry = Retry.WhileNull(
    () => window.FindFirstDescendant(cf => cf.ByAutomationId("txtUsername"))?.AsTextBox(),
    TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5)
);
var textBox = retry.Result;
textBox.Enter("myuser");

This example waits for up to 5 seconds for the element to appear. You can also use FlaUI’s WaitUntilClickable() method for buttons or any other clickable elements. This ensures that your UI test doesn’t fail due to timing issues.

4

Exactly, adding a waiting strategy is key. But another important thing is checking the actual state of your elements before interacting with them. This can prevent intermittent failures where a button is disabled, or a text box hasn’t been populated yet.

var button = window.FindFirstDescendant(cf => cf.ByAutomationId("btnSubmit")).AsButton();
if (button.IsEnabled)
{
    button.Invoke();
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Button is disabled, skipping click.");
}

You can also check properties like text or values in text boxes:

var textBox = window.FindFirstDescendant(cf => cf.ByAutomationId("txtUsername")).AsTextBox();
Assert.AreEqual("default", textBox.Text);

This helps avoid those annoying issues where a test fails unexpectedly because of timing or dynamic UI updates. Always remember, using UIA3 effectively means incorporating these checks to handle dynamic elements more robustly.