Object reference not set to an instance of an object

[houseofcutler]

hi all,

I have been trying to resolve this issue for a while - I thought I had it (Some times the script runs through successfully) but apparently I don't.

I believe the issue is because I am trying to use a contains method with a string value which may at some point be null.

I found an old post about this and have followed the advice but still sometimes get an error.
http://www.ranorex.com/forum/object-ref ... t4384.html

The Item in question is a SMSStatus.TagValue

I have implemented a series of wait loops to try and ensure things can be processed.

1 - wait for item to exist

while (repo.GroupcallMessengerRoot.MessageDetails.Summary.SMSStatusInfo.Exists() == false)
        		
        	{
        		Thread.Sleep(500);
        		if (LoopLimiter <=0) break;
        		//Report.Info("Status",LoopLimiter.ToString());
        			LoopLimiter--;

2 - wait for item to be visible (not strictly necessary but helps me with debugging)

while (!repo.GroupcallMessengerRoot.MessageDetails.Summary.SMSStatus.Visible)
        		
        	{
        		Thread.Sleep(500);
        		if (LoopLimiter <=0) break;
        			LoopLimiter--;

3 - wait for tagValue to not be null

while (repo.GroupcallMessengerRoot.MessageDetails.Summary.SMSStatus.TagValue.Equals(null))
        		{
        		Thread.Sleep(500);
        		if (LoopLimiter <=0) break;
        		//Report.Info("TagValue",LoopLimiter.ToString());
        			LoopLimiter--;

There are also reports along the way so I know it is getting as far as the check for null value before it falls over.

Looking at the screenshot that is taken when it fails I do not see any text displayed in the area where the text form this item should be - That could be an indication that it is indeed null. if so why isn't my 3rd wait loop catching it?

As always any help is greatly appreciated

Thanks

Ben

[krstcs]

You can't use the Equals() method with a null. String.Equals() takes a String object as a parameter, null is not an object (and is, in fact, the absence of an object, or, more specifically, the absence of a reference to an object).

If you want to test for a null object, you can use "...SMSStatus.TagValue == null" or "...SMSStatus.TagValue != null" (not equal). If you want to check for an empty string, you should use Equals("").

[houseofcutler]

Hi krstcs,

Thank you for proving the answer - seems I was being a bit thick. I'm new to C# and still haven't got the hand of what kind of way to deal with different types of things.

Looks to be working now...