Version 2.1.0 Summer ’20
Executive summary
The latest release of Provar version 2.1.0 is now available in the Provar Success Community.
In general, this release is designed to:
- Ensure compatibility with the Salesforce Summer ’20 release
- Provide additional support for Lightning Web Components (LWC) [Beta]
- Provide a new JavaScript locator [Beta]
- Enhance system and information security
Important considerations
- This is a mandatory release for all Provar users testing on Salesforce Summer ‘20. Refer to the Summer ‘20 sandbox preview instructions for more information.
- This release contains changes for LWC field mappings and network file encryption. To ensure that your Provar tests continue to work correctly, please upgrade all users and environments (e.g. anywhere you have Provar installed) to 2.1.0 as soon as you upgrade to test Summer ‘20.
- Tests and projects created with prior versions of Provar will continue to work as expected with 2.1.0, however we do not recommend downgrading back to 2.0.5 or earlier.
Runtime environment and backwards compatibility
Protecting your information is our top priority. As part of that ongoing commitment to you, we’ve made several enhancements as part of 2.1.0 which are designed to improve the security and encryption of your data.
As a result of these changes, we recommend that you back up your Provar projects and then upgrade all environments in which you execute Provar projects to ensure that your tests continue to work correctly. Existing tests will continue to work with 2.1.0, though projects edited with 2.1.0 will require a 2.1.0 runtime environment to guarantee compatibility with project files and new features.
Learn more about the Salesforce Summer ’20 release
If you’d like to learn more, why not join our upcoming webinar What’s New in Summer ’20? In this webinar on Thursday June 4 we’ll highlight the most impactful Summer ‘20 changes that you’ll need to be aware of, share the best of Provar’s latest features and give you a sneak peak of what’s coming next on the Provar roadmap. Click here to register.
For further information about anything contained in these release notes, please contact us at support@provartesting.com.
Table of contents
Salesforce Summer ’20 release impacts
- Changes to Salesforce standard app navigation
- Changes to Salesforce URLs to exclude pod numbers
- Redirect warnings for external URLs
- Target attributes are now recognized for formula field hyperlinks
Web Components
- Web Component support (Beta)
- Salesforce Lightning Web Component (LWC) XPath support (Beta)
- JavaScript locator support (Beta)
Integrations
- Choose from available data centers while creating a Sauce Labs connection
- PostgreSQL compatibility
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) and Field Service Lightning (FSL)
- CPQ and FSL compatibility
Security enhancements
- Encryption for .network folder, .smtp folder and .smtp.config file
Browsers
- Chrome 83 compatibility
- End of support for Internet Explorer and non-Chromium Microsoft Edge after December 31, 2020
Salesforce Summer ’20 release impacts
Changes to Salesforce standard app navigation
With the release of Summer ’20, Salesforce has changed the DOM elements for standard app navigation. Provar 2.1.0 includes all changes required and can be used on both Spring ‘20 and Summer ‘20 orgs.
What did Salesforce change?
- When users close tabs in the console application the DOM refreshes itself
- Previously the utility bar container was present inside the main content DOM, but now it is present parallel to it in the DOM
- There is a change in the tag names for the app launcher – nav is now div
- An increased number of elements that have more than one CSS style in the class attribute, such as the utility bar
- Search bar placeholder text changes
- CSS hierarchy to accommodate the new List Split View option which may impact tests using page object CSS locators for the navigation bar, object home and record home. For more information on Split View in Standard Navigation, please refer to this Salesforce Summer ’20 release note.
If you have decided to create your own page objects to handle app and tab navigation, you may experience issues with your test cases. If you have mapped elements using default Provar locators you do not need to make any changes. Feel free to contact us for advice.
Changes to Salesforce URLs to exclude pod numbers
With the release of Summer ’20, Salesforce is implementing two critical updates that could affect Provar customer test projects.
These two changes include:
- Removing instance names from Visualforce, Experience Builder, Site.com Studio, and content file URLs (read more)
- Removing instance names from MyDomain URLs for sandboxes (read more)
These changes will apply automatically with Summer ’20 after an org refresh and from July 11th across all sandboxes. Production org impacts have been deferred to Winter ’21 but should be tested now by Provar users.
Who does this impact?
These changes apply to Lightning Experience and Salesforce Classic in Contact Manager, Group, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions.
Why is this important?
These changes could cause tests to not function as expected if URLs have been hardcoded.
How can I learn more?
You can learn more about these changes in the Salesforce release notes here and here.
What is the solution?
In most cases the solution for Provar users is to verify the Connection Settings for each Salesforce Connection and/or Environment Override and to use the correct base domain URLs which do not include instance names.
Redirect warnings for external URLs
With the release of Summer ’20, Salesforce has enhanced security protocols. As a result, you may see additional pop-up messages within Salesforce when users click external URLs that are not whitelisted. These pop-up messages could impact your existing Provar test cases and how you map new tests cases.
Who does this impact?
Lightning Experience users with Salesforce orgs that point to external URLs.
What does the redirect warning look like?
Why is this important?
The introduction of new pop-up messages may cause existing Provar tests to break.
What should I do?
You can either whitelist the external URL (to prevent the error message from occurring) or you can update your existing Provar tests to map and interact with the pop-up messages.
How can I learn more?
You can reference the Salesforce Summer ’20 release notes here.
Target attributes are now recognized for formula field hyperlinks
After the release of Summer ’20, Salesforce is implementing a critical update that changes the behavior of hyperlink formulas. Previously in Lightning Experience, the target attribute was ignored. With this update enabled, links may now open in a new browser window or tab. This is being auto-enabled with Summer ’20.
Who does this impact?
Salesforce Lightning Experience users. (Classic already recognizes the target in a formula field.)
Why is this important?
The introduction of this change may cause existing Provar tests to break.
What should I do?
You may need to revise existing test cases to interact with Salesforce in the new browser window or tab.
How can I learn more?
You can reference the Salesforce support article, Tips for Working with Hyperlink Formula Fields, and this update in the Salesforce release notes.
Web Components
Web Component support (Beta)
Please note that this is a beta version of this feature. We do not recommend using this in production environments yet but would appreciate your feedback. We plan to make additional changes to this feature in subsequent releases until we make this feature Generally Available (GA).
This is intended for early adopters and may fail in untested scenarios. Please reach out to our support team if you have any questions or feedback regarding this functionality to assist with this enhancement.
We’ve released our first set of improvements to Provar’s web component testing support. This update means that Provar has made it easier to test web components within a web app where traditional locators like XPath and CSS (used by other test automation frameworks) are unable to find elements within a web component without using a JavaScript locator.
Who does this impact?
Provar users attempting to test web components within a web app who find that XPath and CSS locators are not able to locate an element. This is because web components are encapsulated by something called the Shadow DOM. The elements within a web component are private which means that traditional XPath and CSS locators are unable to access their elements.
Why are traditional XPath and CSS locators unable to access these elements?
Encapsulating the code from the rest of the web app enables a web component to be rendered, scripted and styled separately from the main web app. This also allows web components to be reused wherever you like on a web page without the fear of code collision. As a result of the Shadow DOM, XPath and CSS locators are unable to pierce the Shadow DOM because it is hidden from these locators and a JavaScript locator is needed to locate elements within the Shadow DOM instead.
How can I use this feature?
This feature simplifies the testing of web components by providing the capability to locate elements within a web component using a standard XPath query. This is achieved by using the Provar Test Builder to create a test step and map an element in a web component using an XPath locator and standard XPath syntax. This enables you to set/read/assert the value of the element and Provar will automatically access the Shadow DOM for you.
For this release, we are supporting the following elements:
| Elements | Interaction |
| Text Input Field | Read/assert, Set |
| Labels | Read/assert |
| Checkbox | Check, Uncheck, toggle |
| Picklist | Set, Set by Index |
| Buttons | Click, Read Assert |
| Hyperlink | Click, Read Assert |
If you’re uncertain how to start covering web component testing, please contact us to discuss your testing strategy and requirements.
Salesforce Lightning Web Component (LWC) XPath support (Beta)
Salesforce enables you to create Lightning Web Components (LWC) and we’ve been working closely with Salesforce to understand the impact of this new development model. We’ve been working hard to deliver a solution which minimizes the impact of testing LWC and we have improvements in the pipeline to continually enhance this support going forwards.
With 2.1.0, using Test Builder and Provar Desktop, we have made it easier to map custom Lightning Web Components (LWC) as a WebElement field within page objects and use the existing test step types and assertions within the Test Palette to create and manage test steps without writing code.
Who does this impact?
Provar customers who would like to include Salesforce custom Lightning Web Components as part of Provar tests using an XPath syntax.
Since Spring ‘20, Salesforce has been using LWC instead of Aura components for a number of implementations. This move may affect how test automation tools are able to test elements because the DOM has changed and the Shadow DOM is being used to provide component level encapsulation. This restricts access for locators and may cause tests to fail.
Why is this important?
This new feature helps you build more robust tests quickly and easily with the current available tools and web drivers.
If you’ve started to build and use LWC in your Salesforce Lightning experience, or your existing tests are failing because your locators are unable to access the encapsulated elements within LWC, Provar is providing support to ensure your tests remain robust by automatically accessing the Shadow DOM for you to reduce the impact on your tests when using the Provar XPath Locator.
How can I use this feature?
Provar simplifies the testing of LWC by providing the capability to locate elements within an LWC, using a standard XPath query which will work with both polyfill and native Shadow DOM implementation. This is achieved using the Provar Test Builder to create a test step and map an element in a web component using an XPath locator and the standard XPath syntax. This enables you to set/read/assert the value of the element. Provar will automatically access the Shadow DOM for you and enable you to test elements which are hidden or require you to use different locators in other test automation frameworks using the same XPath query.
When testing LWC on your Salesforce web pages, we suggest using the Provar XPath locator which has been enhanced for Web Component Support (Beta). We’re also providing JavaScript Locator Support (Beta) to work with the Salesforce LWC implementation over our coming releases.
For this release, we are supporting the following elements
| Elements | Interaction |
| Text Input Field | Read/assert, Set |
| Labels | Read/assert |
| Checkbox | Check, Uncheck, toggle |
| Picklist | Set, Set by Index |
| Lightning-buttons | Click, Read Assert |
| Hyperlink | Click, Read Assert |
| Date field | Set |
| Time field | Set |
Please refer to the complete list of Salesforce components for additional information.
If you’re uncertain how to start using the Provar’s Salesforce LWC support within your testing, please contact us to discuss your testing strategy and requirements.
You can also refer to this complete list of Salesforce components here.
Above: View of mapping custom Lightning Web Components in Provar.
JavaScript locator support (Beta)
Please note that this is a beta version of this feature. We do not recommend using this in production environments. If you map LWC objects in 2.1.0 using the JavaScript locator, you will need to update those test steps with the 2.1.1 release to leverage the new functionality.
You can now use standard JavaScript syntax within the Test Builder to map and read/assert web elements using the JavaScript path as an alternative to using an XPath or CSS locator. This can apply to LWC and Salesforce page objects.
The Test Builder now allows users to set up relatively simple locators. For example:
document.querySelector(‘my-app’).shadowRoot.querySelector(‘recipe-hello’).shadowRoot.querySelector(‘div’)
Who does this impact?
Provar customers using the Test Builder who would like to use JavaScript to create or manage tests within the Test Builder.
Why is this important?
This new feature offers additional flexibility for Provar users in how tests can be created and managed. It also provides a mechanism for switching from other testing frameworks already using JS locators so they can be reused in Provar. We encourage you to remap these using our recommended locators for robustness.
This also provides an additional locator to select elements within a web component as described in our web component support (Beta) feature by generating a Shadow DOM compliant JavaScript locator.
How can I use this feature?
Within the Test Builder, use the drop-down menu above the Field Locator field to select By Javascript in order to edit the JavaScript path using standard Javascript syntax. Provar will automatically suggest a default JavaScript path.
For this release, we are supporting the following elements:
| Elements | Interaction |
| Text Input Field | Read/assert, Set |
| Labels | Read/assert |
| Checkbox | Check, Uncheck, toggle |
| Picklist | Set, Set by Index |
| Buttons | Click, Read Assert |
| Hyperlink | Click, Read Assert |
Above: View of JavaScript syntax within the Field Locator when mapping page objects.
Integrations
Choose from available data centers while creating a Sauce Labs connection
You can now choose from globally accessible data centers while creating a Sauce Labs connection. With this feature we are now supporting Sauce Labs’ newly added Headless Datacenter Headless US-East along with existing data centers (US West & EU Central).
Who does this impact?
Provar customers who are creating a connection to Sauce Labs Desktop. This does not impact Sauce Labs Mobile users.
Why is this important?
This update provides more flexibility for Sauce Labs Desktop users who use multiple data centers for test execution. In future releases we will increase the number of supported data centers to include Linux (Headless) support on Sauce Labs.
How can I use this feature?
To use this new feature, please refer to the Sauce Labs Desktop support article which provides instructions on how to configure Sauce Labs Desktop in Provar. In a nutshell, we’ve added a new Data Center drop-down menu within the Add New Browser Provider screen with options that you can select.
Above: View of the Edit Browser Provider details screen.
PostgreSQL compatibility
Provar now supports the testing of PostgreSQL databases up to and including version 12. Previously, Provar only supported PostgreSQL database testing through version 8.2.
Who does this impact?
Provar customers who would like to test PostgreSQL databases.
Why is this important?
With this update, you can scale up coverage and create more robust tests that now include PostgreSQL database interactions.
How can I use this feature?
To test PostgreSQL databases, please refer to this support article that provides instructions for database testing with Provar.
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) and Field Service Lightning (FSL)
CPQ and FSL compatibility
Provar version 2.1.0 is now compatible with version 226 of Salesforce CPQ and FSL.
Who does this impact?
Provar customers who would like to test version 226 of Salesforce CPQ and or FSL.
Why is this important?
As the leading Salesforce test automation partner, we are dedicated to helping you create robust tests that natively adapt to Salesforce updates.
How can I use this feature?
You can continue to use Provar to test CPQ and FSL elements using normal procedures.
Security enhancements
Encryption for .network folder, .smtp folder and .smtp.config file
To enhance the security of your information, we are encrypting your information when configuring a new network proxy connection and your email credentials using Provar version 2.1.0 onwards. This impacts the .network and .smtp folders in addition to the .smtp.config file.
Tests using network proxy connections and email credentials created prior to Provar version 2.1.0 will continue to function in line with how they were originally created.
Who does this impact?
All Provar users when creating new network proxy and or email connections.
Why is this important?
By encrypting your information, your information stored within Provar is more secure.
It’s also important to note that this security enhancement impacts the backwards compatibility of Provar tests. Existing tests will continue to work with 2.1.0, though projects created with 2.1.0 will require a 2.1.0 runtime environment to guarantee compatibility with project files and new features.
How can I use this feature?
You do not need to make any changes in order to take advantage of this new feature when creating new tests with Provar version 2.1.0.
If you would like to take advantage of this feature for tests created prior to Provar version 2.1.0, you will need to recreate your connections using 2.1.0.
Browsers
Chrome 83 compatibility
As part of our pre-release testing due diligence, we are happy to announce that Chrome 83 and ChromeDriver 83 are compatible with Provar version 2.1.0.
Who does this impact?
Provar customers who are currently using or would like to upgrade to Chrome 83.
Why is this important?
Ensuring that ChromeDriver 83 is compatible with Provar version 2.1.0 eliminates the risk of incompatibility issues which can prevent Provar from working as expected.
How can I use this feature?
If you would like to upgrade to Chrome 83 and use Provar version 2.1.0, you will need to use ChromeDriver 83.
Note: With Provar version 2.1.0, we are offering two different versions of installer files, one includes ChromeDriver 80 and the other includes ChromeDriver 83.
In general, Provar will automatically attempt to download the correct ChromeDriver if it detects a driver exception. If your organization’s security protocols block the automatic download, you can override the ChromeDriver manually. To learn how, you can refer to this support article that explains how to use a ChromeDriver that is different from the one provided by default in your Provar installation.
What are the browser and driver combinations that you recommend using Provar 2.1.0 via Chrome?
| Browser | Driver |
| Chrome v78 | ChromeDriver v78 |
| Chrome v79 | ChromeDriver v78 |
| Chrome 80 | ChromeDriver v80 |
| Chrome v81 | ChromeDriver v80 or v81 |
| Chrome v83 | ChromeDriver v83 |
End of support for Internet Explorer and non-Chromium Microsoft Edge after December 31, 2020
In line with Salesforce, Provar will end support for Internet Explorer (IE) 11 for Lightning Experience, and all non-Chromium Microsoft Edge testing after December 31, 2020.
To support customers utilizing a Microsoft technology stack, we are adding Microsoft Edge (Chromium) as the natural successor. While we work on optimizing Provar for Edge Chromium, please contact us if you would like to join the beta program for Edge Chromium support.
We will stop supporting issues reported in IE 11 (Lightning) and non-Chromium Edge from January 1, 2021 onwards.
Why are we making this change?
Microsoft has already ended support for IE 11 and recommends switching to Edge Chromium for improved performance.
Will I still be able to run IE 11 tests?
You will still be able to run tests using IE 11 for Salesforce Classic. After January 1, 2021 we will not support Provar defects or offer workarounds for cases reported involving IE 11 and Lightning Experience.
We will review this policy in line with future revisions that Salesforce makes to their supported browsers.
Will I still be able to create and run (non-Chromium) Microsoft Edge tests?
You will still be able to run tests using (non-Chromium) Microsoft Edge as normal until December 31, 2020. As of January 1, 2021 onwards, you may still be able to run tests using non-Chromium Edge but we will stop including non-Chromium Edge WebDrivers in future product releases.
We will not support Provar issues related to (non-Chromium) Microsoft Edge execution after December 31, 2020.
When will support for Chromium Edge be available?
We’ve started working on this. While largely similar to Google Chrome there are some differences that need to be resolved prior to release. We expect to release this by Q4 2020. Salesforce does not support Chromium Edge for Salesforce Classic and we will be in line with their browser support when we release this feature. Contact us if you are interested in joining our Chromium Edge beta program.
This will negatively impact my organization. Can I discuss this with someone at Provar?
Please contact us to discuss your need to continue using these browsers. Our team can advise of alternative options, however it should be noted that the experience of using Salesforce on unsupported browsers is unstable and unreliable for test automation and as such would remain unsupported on Provar too.
Further information
You can refer to the Summer ’20 (draft) release notes from Salesforce to view a list of the supported browsers and devices for Classic and Lightning Experience.