The Browser Settings page is located in the Web Performance section of the Preferences dialog (Window->Preferences menu item). The preferred browser is normally chosen in the Recording Configuration Wizard when the first recording is performed. However, this setting can be customized and unsupported browsers configured in the Browser Settings page.
The default browser is indicated by a mark (*) next to the browser name in the list. To select a different browser for recording, select the browser in the list and press the Make Default button. This browser will be configured and launched automatically during the recording process.
To restore the auto detected browser information or to detect a recently installed browser, press the Auto Detect button.
To add a browser that is not automatically supported, select the Add button to the right of the list of configurations. Enter a valid name and executable in the lower right portion of the page. To save the new configuration, select the Apply button.
Note: Automatic configuration of the proxy settings are only provided for the auto-detected browsers. For custom browsers, the proxy configuration must be performed manually prior to recording and the recording ports must be specified on the Web Performance Preference Page. For more information on configuring a custom browser, see the Manual Browser Configuration FAQpage.
To change an existing browser, select the browser in the list. The lower right portion of the page displays the editable information. Make the changes as needed and select the Apply button. At any time before Apply is selected, the original information can be restored by selecting the Restore Defaults button.
The browser's cookies and cache must be cleared prior to initiating recording and restored shortly afterwards. If this is not done, the recording would reflect the state of the browser's cache. For example, cached pages or images might never be requested from the server - which would result in a recording that did not reflect the true content of a web page.
When Internet Explorer or Firefox are automatically detected, Web Performance Load Tester will by default automatically clear the cache and cookies before each recording. Use the Clear Cache and Clear Cookies checkboxes to enable or disable this behavior.
Caution: If you do not record using Internet Explorer or Firefox, or, Load Tester is not set to automatically clear cookies and cache, you must clear the cookies and cache yourself. Failure to do this may reduce the quality of your test results.
Load Tester can automatically configure the Windows systemwide proxy before each recording and restore the previous settings after each recording. This is the easiest way to configure browsers that support it. Use the Use Windows System-wide Proxy Settings checkbox to enabled or disable this feature.
By default Load Tester will end the recording when it detects that the browser process has terminated. In some cases, especially if there are multiple windows open, a browser process will terminate even though the browser continues to operate normally. Use the Continue Recording After Browser Process Terminates checkbox to continue the recording. If you use this option, you will need to manually press the stop button to end each recording.
To delete a configuration, select the configuration in the list and select the Delete button. Note that at least one browser must be selected as the default browser and it may not be deleted.
The Windows Preferences Page allows customization of the mechanism used by Load Tester to control Internet Explorer on Windows machines.
Controls how content is delivered to the Content View. Using the "Interactive" mode, form fields within the Content View may be interactively clicked on for direct configuration of the posted field. Alternatively, the "Proxified" mode serves content to the Content View through an internal proxy server.
Controls how content is delivered to the Report View. Using "Direct" mode, the Report Viewer interacts directly with Internet Explorer. Use the "Servlet" mode to serve report content through an internal HTTP Servlet. Using the servlet mode enables a "Launch" button, allowing the report to be rendered by an external web browser, but help links will be provided from an online website, instead of from the installed help system.
Use of the Advanced APIs will attempt alternative ways of configuring the proxy settings in Internet Explorer. Use of these may allow you to record if you are unable to record normally. At this time, the Advanced APIs are not compatible with Internet Explorer 8.
These settings attempt to configure the proxy settings for the Operating System directly. Enabling or Disabling the direct APIs may be necessary if you are unable to record normally.
The Interactive Content Viewer preferences are used to configure the behavior of the Content View, (for when the Content View Rendering has been set to "Interactive", above).
