Variables

In RVL, variables are useful for storing intermediate results, as well as accessing and passing global values to external JavaScript functions.

Variables may be used in Params, Conditions, and Actions.

Declaring

This line declares a variable without a value. Its value may be assigned later:

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable			MyVar1

Local Variables

By default, declared variables are assumed to be local. Local variables may be used only within the current RVL script and are not visible to other RVL scripts or JavaScript code.

Global Variables

You may have a JavaScript variable defined in the user Functions file (*.user.js), for example:

// Snippet from User.js
var globalVar = "Value";

Then, in RVL, you can declare globalVar as global and access it (read or assign values). Declaring a variable as global is simple:

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable		Global	globalVar

Global variables are useful for sharing data between different RVL scripts or between RVL and JavaScript.

Default Value for Global Variable

The special parameter defaultValue in a global variable definition allows you to set a default value. This is useful when you do not know if the variable was set before the script was called. The value will be assigned only if the variable is currently undefined. Otherwise, the variable keeps its existing value.

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Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable	Global		g_loginName
	Param			defaultValue	string	librarian
	Variable	Global		g_password
	Param			defaultValue	string	librarian
	Variable	Global		g_name
	Param			defaultValue	string	librarian

This helps make sheets that use global variables executable standalone. i.e., you can use Play This Sheet in RVL and be sure that the global variable will have a value.

Common Variables

In addition to local and global variables, RVL also supports common variables.
These are variables declared in Common Sheets or in Common.rvl.xlsx.

Key points:

• Common variables are declared just like local or global variables, but they live in a common sheet (a sheet whose name starts with #).
• They are automatically visible to all sheets in the same workbook.
• When defined in Common.rvl.xlsx, they become available across the entire testing framework.
• The value of a common variable can be updated in one sheet and then reused in another, providing an easy way to share state across test flows.
• If a sheet is played from outside (e.g., via RVL.DoPlayScript), common variables reset to their default values from the common sheet.

Example (in #Vars common sheet):

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable			Age	number	30

If a test sheet sets Age = 38 and then calls another sheet, the new sheet will see Age = 38.
When executed externally, Age resets back to the default value 30.

See Common Sheets and Common.rvl.xlsx for more details.

Assigning

Assignment Expression

This line declares and assigns the value 5 to a variable MyVar2:

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable			MyVar2	number	5

If a variable has been previously declared, an assignment simply changes its value. If a variable has not been declared, an assignment acts as both a declaration and an assignment.

Action Output

If an action returns a value, it can be assigned to a variable via Output.

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable			OsVersion
	Action	Global	GetOsVersion
	Output				variable	OsVersion

Auto Assignment

There are two auto-assigned variables in RVL: LastResult and LastObject. If an action returns a value, it is assigned to LastResult. LastObject is effectively an alias to the last used object in the Object column.

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Action	Global	GetOsVersion
	Action	Tester	Message		variable	LastResult

This snippet prints the OS version to the report.

Using

Any Params value may accept a variable:

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
...	Param			text	variable	MyVar1

Any Params value may accept an expression using variables:

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
...	Param			text	expression	MyVar2 + 4

Any Action may write its return value to a variable using the Output statement:

Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Action	Global	DoTrim	str	string	text to trim
	Output				variable	MyVar1

The Output value may then be used as a parameter value in actions, conditions, assertions, and expressions.

Variable Actions

You can use an expression to change the value of a variable. Here are several common operations for modifying variable values:

1. Increment is an operation where a numeric value is increased by 1 or any other specified value. The variable must have a numeric value. Otherwise, the result is NaN.

   If no parameter is specified for Increment, 1 is assumed:

   Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
   	Variable		Increment	numVar

   Otherwise, the increment is the specified value:

   Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
   	Variable		Increment	numVar	number	value

2. Decrement is similar to increment, but the value is subtracted from the variable.

3. Append adds the value as text to the specified variable. This operation is useful for constructing text messages:

   Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
   	Variable		Append	textVar	string	Final value:
   	Variable		Append	textVar	variable	numVar

   In this example, if textVar was empty and numVar had the value 5, then the final value of textVar is the following text: Final value: 5

Variables as Objects

A variable in Rapise can hold an object from the repository. Such a variable can have actions that can be executed.

When declaring a variable with the objectid ParamType, you indicate to the RVL editor that its type is one of the following:

1. The type of the object from the object repository whose ID matches the objectid.

2. A well-known object type whose name matches the objectid. You can find object names in the documentation for each library. For example, the topic Java Objects lists all known object types for the Java library.

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   Documentation Navigation

   • #
   • User's Guide
   • RVL
   • Libraries
   • Manuals
   • KB
   • Education
   • Release Notes

   Libraries Section

   • ActiveXC1 >
   • ActiveXSft >
   • FarPoint >
   • VSFlexGrid >
   • Java >
     • Java Objects
       • JavaButton
       • JavaCheckBox
       • JavaChoice
       • JavaLabel
       • JavaList
       • JavaObject
       • JavaSwingButton

   (Note: The image also includes a navigation flow marked with a dotted line, connecting the 'Java' section with 'JavaButton', then leading to a list of Java components including 'JavaCheckBox', 'JavaChoice', 'JavaLabel', 'JavaList', 'JavaObject', and 'JavaSwingButton'.)

   Additionally, you can use the type specified in the object's definition properties. For example, most web objects have the type HTMLObject, as shown in the object properties:

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   Test Management Interface

   Test Cases Section

   • Test Cases
   • Author Management
     • ![Full - Author Management](link-to-green-check-icon) Full - Author Management
     • ![Check](link-to-check-icon) Check Author Summary
     • ![Create](link-to-plus-icon) Create a New Author
     • [Objects]
     • [Inflectra | Library Information System]
       • > Add
       • > Age
       • > Name
     • [Library Information System | Author]
     • [Library Information System | Book M]
     • [RVL]
     • ![Edit](link-to-pencil-icon) Edit Existing Author

   Object Tree Tab

   • Object Tree
   • Files

   Properties Panel

   • Properties
     • Class: Selenium
     • Flavor: Button
     • Ignore Object Name: True
     • Library: Selenium
     • Name: Add
     • Role:
     • Text:
     • Type: ![HTML Object](link-to-red-circled-icon) HTMLObject
     • Window:
     • ID:
     • Type: HTMLObject

   (*Note: The image indicates a software interface with a navigation tree at the top and the properties of a selected object at the bottom. The selected object is Add. The properties are for an object of class 'Selenium' and type 'HTMLObject'. *)

The RVL editor knows how to handle such a variable and provides hints to help you choose an action for it:

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Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable			EditAuthor	objectid	HTMLObject
	Action	Navigator	DOMFindByXpath	xpath	string	//td[normalize-space(.)='Charles Dickens']
	Action	EditAuthor	DoClick

Examples

Variables may be declared as Local or Global. A declaration may or may not contain an initial value.

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Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
#	Declare a global variable. If it was assigned earlier, it keeps its value
	Variable		Global	g_bookName
#	Declare a global variable and assign its value
	Variable		Global	g_genre	string	NonFiction
#	Declare a local variable without a value, using the explicit Local keyword
	Variable		Local	Osversion
#	Declare local variables and assign initial values, using the explicit local keyword
	Variable		Local	StringVar	string	some text
	Variable		Local	NumVar	number	35
	Variable		Local	BoolVar	boolean	false
#	Declare a local variable without a value
	Variable			Osversion
#	Declare and assign local variables
	Variable			StringVar	string	some text
	Variable			NumVar	number	35
	Variable			BoolVar	boolean	false

Variables can accept the output from an Action:

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Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
	Variable		Local	OsVersion
	Action	Global	GetOsVersion	Output
	Output				variable	OsVersion

Variables can be used as input for an Action:

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Flow	Type	Object	Action	ParamName	ParamType	ParamValue
#	Use a variable as a parameter
	Action	Tester	Message	message	variable	OsVersion