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OpenText UFT One

April 2025

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What is our primary use case?

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For how long have I used the solution?

How are customer service and technical support?

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What other advice do I have?

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If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Last year I had the honor to attend the Micro Focus ADM Conference in Dallas, Texas. Participating with other users in a round table discussion, we spoke of what we loved most, and least, about the UFT automation tool feature set.

The results of this meeting can be seen in UFT 14.51. Micro Focus continues to show they are listening to their user base. They are committed to making changes large and small that makes UFT more user-friendly and efficient. Here is a quick dive into product changes, some undocumented, in 14.51.

Parallel Test Execution adds isolated execution

With a ParallelRunner utility, scripts can be executed on up to four different browsers simultaneously. Execution can be performed from a command prompt:

or by referencing a JSON formatted file.

Parallel execution was introduced in UFT14.50, but there was one drawback: It was difficult to handle events that caused conflicts when executed simultaneously. For example, if multiple tests attempt to perform an LDAP validation with identical credentials, UFT 14.51 resolves this with isolated execution using the ParallelUtil object. This tells other concurrent tests to pause so that the current code segments can execute without any overlapping interference.

You can see a demo of UFT 14.51 Parallel Execution in this short video.

'Open in Repository' speeds Object Repository access

A small change is in the context-sensitive right-click menu makes day to day work in scripts and the repository much easier. In prior versions, users could only jump to the Object Properties… dialog - which has no edit functionality- and then click on View in Repository in order to edit an object.

Now with the addition of the Open in Repository option, a path without the extra mouse click is provided. Users can now jump directly from the code to edit a problem object in the repository. This continues to reduce the "Clickitis" of UFT.

'Go to Definition' jumps to the function between linked libraries.

In prior versions the Go to Definition option only allowed users to jump from the Main Script to a library, or to a function within in the same library. The only way to jump to a function declared in another library was to search the entire project. Now users can jump to function definitions between external libraries.

Spy has a new Hover Mode

Users have long awaited the Object Spy to detect objects that appeared only when the mouse is floated over. This is a switch found at the top of the tool interface, and a message appears indicating the new mode is operational when activated. 
As a reminder, the Spy tool has undergone a lot of improvements in recent releases. It can display the properties of two objects at the same time for comparison. And it's no longer modal, so the user can now move the main IDE window freely, and even edit code, while the Spy tool remains open.

You can see these features in this short video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DHL1qSLCRE

Count and percentages of Pass, Fail and Warnings

The tally of Fail and Warnings in the Results Viewer now report a count and percentage of reported Pass results. 

Users can quickly identify tests with a large count failure from those with single faults from a high-level standpoint. This greatly addresses the prioritization of maintenance when multiple tests in a test suite have failed. 

Persistent Watch List with Undocumented Methods Revealed

Set variable or object property in the Watch list and save the test. Restart UFT, reload the test and view the Watch window. All tracked variables and objects will return without retyping.

The Watch window holds another surprise. Many, if not all, undocumented methods are now displayed including .Highlight, .HighlightAllMatchingChildren, .Init and .MakeObjVisible.
An additional issue has been resolved where only a partial alphabetical list of object properties was retrieved due to a timeout.  

More support for StormRunner Functional with new AOM Methods and Properties  

StormRunner Functional uses Amazon Web Services to create virtual test labs for testing Web and Mobile devices:

Operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Ubuntu

Browsers: IE, Chrome, Firefox

Browser versions: Latest version, Beta, Prior Versions

Six Different Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080 to 800 x 600

One of the major advantages of StormRunner Functional is that it spins up virtual environments only for the run time duration. Add the ability to run tests concurrently and this makes testing in the cloud significantly faster. 

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

UFT is a licensed product, but it has some advantages that make it a viable choice over other open source options.

The first cost advantage becomes evident when Micro Focus tools are combined with StormRunner Functional to run tests in the cloud. SRF runs under Amazon Web Services, spinning up test environments on an as-needed basis. This allows Micro Focus to offer customers a flat rate charge, instead of a pay-by-the-minute plan. This offering can be very attractive to budget-conscious users who have had the surprise experience of paying for machine instances that were inadvertently left idle for days or weeks in the cloud.

UFT has another advantage with the choice of VbScript as its programming language. It's easy to learn and quick to write test scripts. Where Java and Selenium require a much higher level of code density, complexity and multiple third-party support tools by comparison. The ROI of using an open source tool can be lost when the time and manpower needed to get up and running quickly is lost to a high learning curve and the lack of an on-demand customer support line.

Lastly, successful automation projects expand from an initial proof of concept application to other applications under other technologies. So another advantage to consider is the number new and legacy web technologies, including terminal emulators and Windows thick clients supported by UFT.

This makes UFT the “everything and the kitchen sink” of automation tools, with an easy to learn language, a solid history, and extensive support resources.

Initial Setup

Setup remains straight forward taking about 30 minutes to complete, including one system restart. The tool installs the bare minimum of add-ins. To add more takes less than 10 minutes.

Room for Improvement

With this release, the list of good features dominates over those on the desired list. But there are a few changes I'd still like to see.

• A user is forced back to the main script during debugging. 90% of code development and issues occur in function libraries. So having the tool jump back to the main script from it's last line of execution is problematic making debugging overly tedious. Fortunately, this is the only remaining source of "Click-itus" in the product.

• No RegEx support of integer properties. From an advanced user perspective, if the tool allowed for the RegEx "[1-9]\d+" in the Height and Width properties, a collection of visible objects could be returned. This would eliminate the additional code to search the outerhtml properties of all returned objects for textual cues like "DISPLAYED".

Other Solutions Considered

I have worked QTP/UFT and Selenium/Serenity engagements; however, I do compare functionality of other tools in my spare time, including Micro Focus LeanFT, TestProject.IO, SmartBear TestComplete, MABL and AutoBloks from the creators of Test Design Studio at Patterson Consulting .

Other Advice

Be sure to have new automation engineers trained beyond basic YouTube videos. Avoid on the job training. This will prevent rookie mistakes, producing more robust scripts and less maintenance. Micro Focus tool training is available from both Orasi and RTTS.

Use of Solution

I have worked with QTP/UFT for 16 years.

My projects over the years have included the tool along with the use of ALM (aka Quality Center or Test Director), Business Process Testing (BPT), and TAO for SAP.

Conclusion

Micro Focus' Unified Functional Testing tool is returning as a major contender in the test automation field. This release continues to show a real commitment to adding more ease of use and providing more functionality to users.

Disclosure

I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

UFT 14.02 resolves issues, reduces "click-itis", shows Micro Focus gets it!

The new parent company of UFT, Micro Focus, is showing their user base that they get it.

They really get it! Changes in this point release alone remind me of the days when QTP was under Mercury Interactive's vision.

Here is a quick dive into many product changes, well beyond what is mentioned in the What’s New section of UFT’s User Guide.
 

Easier download

At times it felt like HP had a hard time getting out of it's own way to get new users to download and try UFT with a 60 day trial license.  Micro Focus has begun to streamline that process. Here is the link to get exactly what you want. No muss, no fuss.

https://software.microfocus.com/en-us/download/uft

Yes, it records and plays back on Chrome and Firefox too. 

Like Internet Explorer, each browser has a UFT Hook extension that must be enabled before object recognition will work.

It can now record and playback on Chrome with Polymer's Shadow DOM as well.

More Tech Stack Support

UFT 14.02 extends support to WebAgGrid objects and Firefox v.57.  

Return of the Run and Spy buttons

My last review praised a new ability in UFT 14.01 allowing the Spy utility being left open while writing code, but lamented the loss of the Run and Spy buttons when a Function Library window had the focus. These buttons are now restored to their original state, substantially reducing "Click-itus" in the product.   There are other design changes that really eases day to day use:

• Double-clicking a function in the Toolbox takes the user to the source code, rather than adding code to a random cursor location.

• Floating mouse-over popups now appear below the code, making it easier to select objects to send it to the Watch window.

• Sending values to the Watch window works on the first try, even if the Watch window is not active.

• There are fixes with Auto-code generation functionality.

• The Spy window split bar is unlocked, giving the user more view space to the property values by default.

Test Combinations Generator (TCG) gets a significant new option: Pull from UI

The TCG tool was introduced in UFT 14.00 to help users with large Data-Driven test design. It is actually two tools in one: First it is an extensive random data generator. Second it can take small groups of data and generate large combination scenarios organized into Happy Path, Error path and Regression groups.

The new Pull from UI feature now allows users to import data from populated WebLists in an application.

With a simple point-and-click, a list of countries above is imported into the TCG tool and then available for use in the Global table.

To understand why sourcing data from a web list is important, one should have an understanding why the Test Combinations Generator is so beneficial to data-driven testing:

• Need a quick list of random user names? But only with the letter "X"? It does it.

• A range of random dates? Available in nine common date formats? Yup it does that too.

• Same for random URLs, IPs and MAC addresses.

• How about a list of randomly generated emails and passwords that meet specific business rules? A little RegEx gets it for you. 

• Combine eMails and Passwords and you have an instant set of unique credentials of simulated new users.

• Need a list of random part numbers in a custom format? Use the Regular Expression data generator to create combinations.

Hidden TCG Benefit: Learn Regular Expressions

A side benefit here about RegEx: The TCG tool comes with several pre-configured RegEx samples that can be modified. This means it can be used to experiment and learn RegEx much the way many of us learned to code: by modifying a working example and analyzing the results.

Test Combinations Generator (TCG) can really mix it up

While all this data can be exported into Excel sheets for multiple uses the Test Combinations Generator does not stop there. It can take a few short columns of data values and create larger scenario data sets. Take 10 first names and 10 surname names and TCG can create 100 family members. Add random dates in an 80 year span and you have a simulated population sample.

When using four or more types of data, the combinations can quickly become exponentially large. TCG tops out at just over 65,000 combinations, which might take months or years to run every combination just once.

So Micro Focus offers Pairwise, as well as Triplewise, combination sets. This achieves the most efficient combination coverage. This means your automation script can look for problems when combining two or three list values, without repeating every possible combination.

Finally, the TCG tool further allows the user to identify Happy Path data, as well as Error Path data.

This means you can further segment your data combinations into a small Smoke data set, a Negative data set, with the remaining being the Regression data set.

These data sets can be selected upfront for easy instant access to data driven testing from the Global data table.

To see more of UFT’s TCG tool in action, check out this video:

User friendly help messages.

Micro Focus seems to have taken a cue from  Alan Cooper's book About Face and Paul Heckel's Elements of Friendly Software Design. Highly descriptive messages pop up indicating exactly what is needed to activate functionality. In addition, the Help file is now peppered with screen captures and even demo movies.

UFT 14.02 PAM access

Another welcome change is online access to the Product Availability Matrix from the Help menu. In prior releases, this document has often been hidden in the Documents folder under the Start menu.  It informs users what environments and configurations recent versions of UFT requires to run efficiently.

Stability Issues

UFT 14.02 remains extremely stable. It's been my tool of choice for nearly two decades because it is solid.

Scalability Issues

Scalability is entirely up to the framework design.

While Record and Playback is available for new users to learn the tool, it will result in fragile, high maintenance test suites. This is true of most automation tools, so a hybrid framework design approach is always highly recommended.

Fortunately, UFT is extremely flexible in design.  Advanced developers can go so far as to design a framework which translates plain English like:      

"Click the Ok Button"

into executable script code:       

Browser(“index:=0”).Page(“index:=0”).WebButton("InnerText:=Ok").click   

This leads to function designs which in many cases can bypass the object repository entirely. Click here to see a sample showing how this can be accomplished.

With the Business Process Testing (BPT) option, non-technical users can easily build test cases inside of ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) from scripted components designed by automation engineers.

Enhancing Object Methods 

Scaling object class methods to add new functionality or extending existing methods is achievable with the Function Definition Generator Wizard. 

This allows automation engineers to fully customize UFT methods, as well as add new functionality. These methods appear in the Intelli-sence dropdown of object classes. Even descriptions appear on the interface to help new team members who are just learning a new framework design.

Previous Solutions

Prior to using VBScript-based UFT/QTP, I used Mercury Interactive's C-based WinRunner up until 2004. Product support was discontinued in 2011.

Initial Setup

Setup remains very straightforward and takes about 45 minutes, including one system restart. The tool installs the bare minimum of add-ins. To add more takes less than 10 minutes.

Room for Improvement

With this point release the list of good features far exceeds those on the desired wish list. 

• When a debug session ends, UFT forces the user back to the main script. 90% of code development and issues occur in function libraries. This is the only remaining source of "Click-itus" in the product.

• RegEx support of property strings, but not integers properties. If the tool allowed [1-9]\d+ in the Height and Width properties, the returned object collections would exclude all non-visible objects.

• The tally of Fail and Warnings in the results viewer lack a count of reported Pass results. From a high-level stand point, a Test with one failure and 99 Pass results looks just as bad as a test with 100 Fail results.

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

For the price of five automation licenses, you simply would not be able to hire five manual testers.

Over two years, a successful automation project can mature to a 24/7 test execution schedule that outweighs the equivalent cost of manual testers. It also tends to expand from a initial proof of concept to multiple applications.

While UFT 14.02 is a commercial product, the sheer volume of internal tools focused on ease of use gives it an edge over other open source products by speeding test development.

Another advantage of UFT is the number new and legacy web technologies, including terminal emulators and Windows thick clients supported by by the tool.

UFT is the “everything and the kitchen sink” of automation tools with an easy to learn language, a solid history, and extensive support resources.

Other Solutions Considered

I only work QTP/UFT engagements; however, I do compare functionality of other tools in my spare time, including Micro Focus LeanFT, Selenium, and SmartBear TestComplete.

Other Advice

• Be sure to have new automation engineers trained beyond basic YouTube videos, and avoid on the job training.  This will prevent rookie mistakes, producing robust scripts and less re-work in the future. Micro Focus provides tool training, as does Orasi and RTTS in New York.  

• Consider expanding your Test Automation Engineer's toolbelt with Test Design Studio from Patterson Consulting. It includes a static code analysis tool, similar to Lint, but tailored to UFT. This allows UFT developers to efficiently analyze entire entire code base for errors in a single sitting, not just at run-time.

See Test Design Studio's Code analysis

Use of Solution

I have worked with QTP/UFT for 14 years continuously.

My projects over the years have included the tool along with the use of ALM (aka Quality Center or Test Director), Business Process Testing (BPT), and TAO for SAP.

Conclusion

Micro Focus' Unified Functional Testing tool is shaping up to return as a major contender in the test automation field. This new release shows a real commitment to ease of use and hints at providing more superior functionality to users in the coming year.

What is most valuable?

How has it helped my organization?

What needs improvement?

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

How is customer service and technical support?

How was the initial setup?

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

What other advice do I have?