The ACCELQ PDF Recorder brings the same record-and-validate development experience to PDF documents. It loads a PDF directly inside your workspace, next to the Logic Editor, and you automate it the way you automate a web page: right-click an element to record interactions and verifications, and play statements back on the document for instant validation. Forms get filled, values get verified, formatting gets checked, all without code.
PDF automation matters most where PDFs enter your test flows: filling and validating fillable forms (tax forms, applications, agreements), and verifying documents your application generates, such as invoices, statements, and reports downloaded during a web journey.
What You Can Do with the PDF Recorder
- Record on the document. Right-click an input, checkbox, dropdown, or any element in the PDF, or the page itself, and choose from the PDF command family: entering text (plain or encrypted), clicking, reading element counts and properties, verifying values, and more. You can also type statements directly in the Logic Editor; entering "pdf" in statement creation lists the available commands.
- Verify content and formatting. Beyond values, the "verify PDF element property" command checks text formatting and styling using HTML and CSS property verifications.
- Identify elements reliably. Locator-Free and Smart Locator both apply, exactly as on the web, to handle the dynamic nature of PDF structures. See Locator-Free and Smart Locator.
- Validate as you build. Auto Playback and the full Playback experience work on the open document. See Playback and Validation.
- Automate PDFs inside web flows. Combine web statements and PDF statements in the same logic, and open PDFs straight from the browser's download folder, ideal for documents your application generates during the flow. See Multi-Modal Automation.
- Work in any language. The recorder supports PDFs rendered in international languages, not just English.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subscription | ACCELQ Automate Web |
| ACCELQ Agent | Running locally |
| PDF file | Browsable from your file system to start recording; see below for where the file lives at execution time |
Opening a PDF
In the Recorder panel's icon rail, choose the PDF Recorder and click Browse PDF to select a file from your file system. The document loads in the recorder, with the file path shown in the document bar.
The 'PDF Open' Statement
Your logic needs to know where to find this PDF when the test actually runs, which is likely a different machine and a different moment than your recording session. So, right after you browse a file, ACCELQ prompts you to record a PDF Open statement (skip it if your logic already has one for this file). The statement declares the runtime source of the file:
| Runtime Source | How the File Is Found at Execution |
|---|---|
| Browser download folder | The most recent file, or a given file name. Ideal for PDFs generated and downloaded during the test flow. |
| Folder on Agent machine | An absolute path, or a path relative to the Agent's user_data folder, plus the file name. |
| Resource URL | A URL pointing to the PDF. |
Where a file name is expected, matching operators and patterns are available (equals, and pattern-based options for dynamic names), so generated files with timestamps or IDs are handled cleanly.
The prompt also offers to copy the browsed file to the chosen location as you proceed, so that playback finds it there immediately. If you decline the copy, make sure the file actually exists at that location before playback, or the Open step will fail.
Every PDF statement after a PDF Open operates on that opened file; individual commands never reference the file. To work with several PDFs in one flow, insert a PDF Open statement before each switch: statements always act on the most recently opened file, and opening an already-open file is simply ignored. While recording, open another file any time from the folder icon in the document bar.
Recording on the Document
The PDF Recorder offers OFF and Intent modes; Fluid is not available for PDF.
- OFF. Read and navigate the document freely; nothing is recorded.
- Intent. Right-click an element (or the page) and pick the command. The right-click menu is the standard one: element identification in the header, the ELEMENT and SMART FORMS options, and the Commands and Actions tabs. See Recording Fundamentals.
Element Identification
Locator-Free and Smart Locator work as they do on the web, including the [L/O] tag on each command for per-step strategy choice and the side-by-side Locator Options view.
One PDF-specific behavior worth knowing: PDFs often carry decorative or dynamic text, so when you pick a command, the recorder assesses whether the Locator-Free hint it detected is stable enough. If it has doubts, it flags the Locator-free option with an alert and guidance: prefer pattern operators (such as starts-with) over full text for dynamic hints, and fall back to Smart Locator when no reliable text identity exists. The choice stays yours; the flag just tells you the default deserves a look.
Where to Go Next
- Recording Fundamentals for modes and the right-click menu
- Locator-Free and Smart Locator for the identification strategies in depth
- Playback and Validation for running and troubleshooting your statements
- Multi-Modal Automation for flows that combine web, PDF, and mobile steps
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.