Running automation via Remote Desktop : How To …

[atom]

Hiya

Is there any guidelines for executing a ranorex test on a VM, and watching it execute via remote desktop
I noticed something odd, in that Report.ScreenShot logged totally blank screenshots when the remote desktop window was minimised.

Regards

[Ciege]

Hmm, never seen that... I do 100% of my testing on VM machines with Ranorex and connect to them either via the VM console (if it is a VM on my desktop) or through RDP if it is a VM on a remote machine. All with no issues similar to that.

[Support Team]

Remote Desktop locks the screen when you minimize or close the RDP window, that causes screenshots to be blank/black and automation to fail. Consequently, if you use Remote Desktop, you need to have the RDP window open during automation (not minimized).

Ciege posted a workaround where you have a VM that keeps all the Remote Desktop windows open (and doesn't do automation) and you only connect to that VM from your PC:
feature-request-be-able-to-run-test-with-screen-locked-t1273.html#p4593

An alternative to RDP is using VNC or the VMWare Remote Console:
is-it-necessary-to-connect-a-monitor-t1128.html

Regards,
Alex
Ranorex Support Team

[atom]

ok thanks for update i'll change to VNC

[Gunner1980]

Just as an FYI, if your using Real VNC you will most likely notice it is much slower than remote desktop. I just found this post which tells you how to improve the performance.

http://www.petersblog.org/node/990

I just tried this out and the difference was night and day. I can now run scripts while my VNC connection is totally minimized and it is fast!

[smalldoorman]

I remote desktop to a machine in our Lab and run/record tests from my desk.

While running tests I have minimized the window and done my other work while the AT was going, though this is on a Win7 to a Win7 machine. I could mouse over my start bar and see at a glance how my test was doing and since I'm always testing GUI's, the mouse is always moving and my screen saver never kicks in during the AT.

[atom]

Hmm... maybe win7 remote desktop is nicer!

[mrusso]

I remembered that I read about a possible solution to this issue here:

http://blog.smartbear.com/post/10-10-11/testcomplete-tip-running-tests-in-minimized-remote-desktop-windows/

The general steps are to modify the registry by doing the following:

locate the key:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\

add a DWORD value in this key, naming it "RemoteDesktop_SuppressWhenMinimized", and give it the value 2.

If you're a 64-bit client, add that value to this key:
HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\

I haven't had a chance to try it out personally, though.

assuming it works, here's some code you could throw in a .reg file that automatically adds those keys to your registry.

32-bit:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client]
"RemoteDesktop_SuppressWhenMinimized"=dword:2


64-bit:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client]
"RemoteDesktop_SuppressWhenMinimized"=dword:2


[natasha]

Hi - I had a chance to try out mrusso's fix, and it did the trick. Now, minimizing the remote desktop window no longer disables the screen. Thanks!