Using localhost in browser start and RanoreXPath

[Eike]

Hello!

For testing our web site, we got a global variable $URL that's used to start the browser as well as for domain recognition in RanoreXPaths (/dom[@domain='$URL']//divtag...). This works fine for teh real server domain names, but does not work for early testing on localhost:port. If we're using the URL without prepended "http://", as we usually do, chrome doesn't open the page but stays empty (I veryfied this behaviour from the command line). If we're prepending the protocol definition, the XPaths stop working.

What to do?

Is there a way for RanoreX to open the page given even if it's localhost?
Could I calculate a second global variable from the first one by string concatenation?
(This is to avoid yet another global variable to be filled manually...)

Stay safe / Gesundheit!
Eike

[odklizec]

Hi Eike,

And what happens if you use "http://localhost...."? I think there should be no problem with using http:// even if you are using localhost? Have you tried to open the localhost page this way manually (via standalone web browser)?

[Stub]

Eike, you have just precisely described an issue we've encountered here in the past few days. My web testing experience is minimal to say the least, but we had the exact same issue with the browser opening on a blank page when we attempted to include a ":port" number on a local host. Because of what we're attempting to do right now I just worked around it with a second variable, but I have yet to go back to the issue to try and resolve in a better manner because I too share your concerns with that approach.

So, no solution for you, I've not poked into it too much, but we share a similar experience at least!

[Eike]

And what happens if you use "http://localhost...."? I think there should be no problem with using http:// even if you are using localhost? Have you tried to open the localhost page this way manually (via standalone web browser)?

With http://, the browser starts with the correct page - but the RanoreXPaths using the URL variable stop working.

[Eike]

So, no solution for you, I've not poked into it too much, but we share a similar experience at least!

It's good to hear I didn't miss something obvious to everybody else.

If there's no solution but using a second variable, I think this would be a feature request to Ranorex:
Please enable starting a browser with a localhost:portnumber kind of URL if possible.