Here at Ghost Inspector, we’re continually rolling out new browser versions and automation logic updates. However, this month we’ve got a number of big changes launching at once and I wanted to discuss each in a little more detail. Here’s a rundown of what’s being added or changed — and how it might affect your tests.
Chrome 75
Chrome 75 is being added to our browser options. Nothing fancy here. Just a standard new browser addition. All tests and suites that are using the “Chrome – Latest Version” option will be upgraded automatically. As usual, screenshot comparison baselines will reset when tests are moved to the new browser version.
Firefox 66 & 67
Firefox 66 & 67 are both being added to our browser options. We’ve held off on releasing new Firefox options for some time due to compatibility issues with the underlying automation package that was being used. With this update, we’re moving to a new set of automation tools that allows us to jump to the latest Firefox version.
Due to the change in automation tools for newer versions, we’ve opted to label the older versions of Firefox (60 and below) as “Legacy”. Any tests or suites that are currently set to use “Firefox – Latest Version” will be set to “Firefox 60 (Legacy); when this update is deployed. We’ve opted to do this because a few underlying features are changing. We don’t want any tests to potentially start failing out of the blue due to edge cases occurring in the switch from Firefox 60 to 67. Any test or suite can be manually switched to the new “Firefox – Latest Version” option immediately after this update is deployed.
The following features will be unavailable in new versions of Firefox (but still available via our &“Legacy” offering):
- Network Filters
- Custom HTTP Headers
- Support for
:contains()in step selectors (XPath can be used instead)
Font Rendering Updates
Along with the browser and automation updates above, we’ll also be updating our underlying systems. This is generally a transparent operation. However, in this case, operating system font packages will be updated which will affect font rendering within the browsers and therefore the screenshots. The font rendering changes are generally minimal, but they do create pixel change and factor into the screenshot comparison. This change can cause screenshots to fail — especially if you have your screenshot comparison tolerances set to sensitive levels. If this happens, you’ll need to accept the new screenshots as the baseline. This should be a one-time operation. Note that you can accept new test screenshots in bulk using the checkboxes on the suite screen and the “Bulk Actions” dropdown menu.
Improvements & Enhancements
I’ve saved the best for last! Along with the updates above, we’ll be deploying a number of other general improvements.
- Large speed improvements when interacting with multiple tabs or popup windows
- Improved drag-and-drop support
- Screenshot targets are now supported in Chrome
- Firefox can now accept unsigned/invalid SSL certificates
- Assignments can now be made to
<select>elements by specifying the option’s index asindex=#in the step - All tests will have automatic access to a
{{startUrl}}variable containing the start URL of the test run - Many more on the way!
That’s everything! Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns about these upcoming changes.
