Excel Data Access in QTP: Simplified Guide

Unveiling the capabilities of Quick Test Professional (QTP), now known as Micro Focus UFT (Unified Functional Testing), Excel data access in QTP is a vital skill for automation testers. This guide will simplify how to integrate Excel data into your QTP scripts, allowing you to automate tests with dynamic data sets, track test results, and manage configuration settings efficiently.

Why Excel and QTP?

QTP’s integration with Excel is grounded in several key advantages:

• Flexibility: Excel files are easily editable and accessible, making them perfect for managing test data.
• Data Sharing: Excel files can be shared among team members or different testing environments.
• Data Structure: Excel’s tabular format aligns well with data-driven testing methodologies.

Setting Up Your Environment

Before diving into the code, ensure your QTP environment is prepared:

• Install QTP/UFT with the Excel add-ins.
• Have an Excel file ready with the data you want to use.
• Understand the basics of VBA scripting, as QTP uses a variant of this language.

Connecting to Excel

Here’s how you can establish a connection with Excel in QTP:

Dim objExcel, objWorkbook

Set objExcel = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
objExcel.Visible = True  ' To make Excel visible during script execution

Set objWorkbook = objExcel.Workbooks.Open("C:\Path\To\Your\ExcelFile.xlsx")

📌 Note: Ensure the path to the Excel file is correct, and the workbook exists at this location. Also, consider making Excel visible only during development to avoid interference with the GUI.

Reading Data

To read data from Excel, you’ll use the workbook and worksheet objects:

Dim objSheet, lastRow, lastCol

Set objSheet = objWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1")  ' Assuming your data is in Sheet1

' Find the last row with data
lastRow = objSheet.Cells(objSheet.Rows.Count, 1).End(-4162).Row
' Find the last column with data
lastCol = objSheet.Cells(1, objSheet.Columns.Count).End(-4150).Column

For Row = 1 To lastRow
    For Col = 1 To lastCol
        MsgBox objSheet.Cells(Row, Col).Value  ' Display each cell's content
    Next
Next

The above script reads and displays all values from an Excel sheet. Adjust the cell reference and loops as per your data structure.

Writing Data to Excel

Writing data to Excel involves similar steps:

objSheet.Cells(1, 1).Value = "Test Data"
objSheet.Cells(2, 1).Value = "Value1"
objSheet.Cells(2, 2).Value = "Value2"

objWorkbook.Save
objWorkbook.Close

objExcel.Quit

The script writes specific values to the first two rows of the worksheet, then saves the workbook and closes Excel.

Data-Driven Testing

One of the most powerful features is utilizing Excel for data-driven testing:

Dim testData, rowCount

rowCount = objSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

For testData = 2 To rowCount  ' Assuming row 1 is headers
    Browser("Login").Page("Login").WebEdit("username").Set objSheet.Cells(testData, 1).Value
    Browser("Login").Page("Login").WebEdit("password").Set objSheet.Cells(testData, 2).Value
    Browser("Login").Page("Login").WebButton("Login").Click
    
    ' Your test steps here
    Wait(5)
    
    ' Capture results back to Excel if needed
    objSheet.Cells(testData, 3).Value = Browser("Welcome").Page("Dashboard").WebElement("User Name").GetROProperty("innertext")
Next

This example shows how to iterate through data rows, use them to fill in login fields, perform actions, and write back results for verification.

Managing Test Configuration

Excel can also serve as a configuration repository for your tests:

• Store URLs, environment details, timeout values, etc.
• Change values in Excel to adapt tests without altering scripts.

Dim url, timeout

url = objSheet.Cells(1, "B").Value
timeout = objSheet.Cells(1, "C").Value

Browser("Open").Navigate url
Wait(timeout)

Handling Complex Data Structures

Excel can hold complex data like multi-level headers, or data in different formats:

• Use Excel functions to retrieve data based on conditions.
• Employ nested loops for multi-dimensional data.
• Consider using Named Ranges for direct referencing.

The end of our journey into Excel data access in QTP brings us to a key understanding: this integration significantly boosts test automation capabilities. By leveraging Excel, testers can easily manage large datasets, perform data-driven tests, and maintain test configurations with minimal effort. Whether you're working with dynamic user data, test results, or complex configurations, Excel's flexibility is a powerful ally in the test automation landscape.

Can I use QTP with Excel files stored on a network drive?

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Yes, QTP can access Excel files over a network as long as the file path provided is valid and accessible.

How do I handle Excel with multiple sheets?

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When accessing multiple sheets, you can either iterate through them or explicitly select a specific sheet by name or index.

What if my Excel file contains special characters or formulas?

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Special characters can be handled by properly escaping them, while formulas require additional handling to ensure the calculated values are used in your scripts.