Steps to configure a SUT VM

TestResults.io can interact with any test environment that offers a way to capture the UI and simulate user inputs. For most systems this means providing access through VNC or RDP.

To simplify the automation our predefined environment do however have some specific configurations, such as disabling notifications, disabling autocorrect, or controlling the update behavior. There are additional configurations for the browsers, which are required for our EnvironmentModel to correctly interact with the browser.

We recommend that you configure your SUT VM in the same way. Below is a list of settings and configurations that we use on the predefined environments.

Configurations for SUT VM

• Start with a fresh installation of Win10 or Win11

• Install a VNC Server (we recommend TightVNC, register the VNC server as a service)

• Set the VNC authentication password (e.g. same password as Windows password)

• Ensure the required ports for VNC access (typically 5900) are not blocked.

• When you are connected through VNC, set Resolution as desired (we use 1600 x 900 for our predefined environments in the cloud)

• In order to use the EnvironmentModel provided by TestResults.io ensure the display scaling is set to 100%

• Set regional settings depending on needs: (in brackets what our predefined environments use) Timezone (CET); Country (Switzerland); Regional format (English (Switzerland))

• Disable / Hide Notifications (turn off "Get notifications from apps and other senders")

• Disable autocorrect

• For Win11: Enable "Always show scrollbars" in settings

• Open a Cmd window, click the Title bar and select "Properties", make sure "Enable Ctrl key shortcuts" is checked active. The cmd window is used for various interactions with the windows environment like copying files or starting applikations.

Browser settings for testing webpages

• Disable saving Passwords

• Disable autocorrect

• Disable translation

• Edge: Disable "Save and fill custom info"

• Edge: Appearance - Show Home button (is required to correctly identify the browser type)

• Edge: Disable recommendations popups: edge://flags/#edge-show-feature-recommendations

• Firefox: Set a Homepage (e.g. google.com, to make sure home button is displayed)

• Downloads - Always ask what to do / where to save

• Edge: Disable "Open Office files in the browser"

• Firefox: Ensure "Save File" is selected for all file types under Applications (or reset all defaults)
• Clear Cookies and other site data when browser is closed (to avoid differences to execution environment) (Edge: Clear browsing data on close; Chrome: Clear cookies and site data when you close all windows; Firefox: Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed)

If you are testing a desktop application (not required for webpage testing)

• Set User Account Control Settings to Never notify (for windows changes and program starts)

• Turn off Windows Defender Firewall

Additional configurations if you want to use the VM as a custom environment in the portal:

• Update Windows and then disable/pause automatic updates (make sure to regularly update your vhd if you only paused the updates, otherwise the updates will be triggered for every test execution when the VM starts)

• Enable Autologin (can be done with netplwiz from start menu)

• Disable Autoplay (to avoid popups or notification for new network)

• Disable automatic updates for Edge and other applications with background updates