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C#/.Net WebDriver Integration

Introduction​

This guide requires an existing C# NUnit / xUnit setup.
You can alternatively take a look to our example repository.

Sauce Visual provides a library allowing integration with WebDriver.

Sauce Visual plugin provides a library exposing a VisualClient class that provides actions:

  • VisualCheck: Takes a screenshot and sends it to Sauce Visual for comparison.
  • VisualResults: Waits for all diff calculations to complete and returns a summary of results.

Quickstart​

Step 1: Add Sauce Visual dependency​

Add Sauce Visual dependency to your .csproj

Install-Package SauceLabs.Visual

Note: You can find the latest versions available here.

Step 2: Configure Visual Testing integration​

Declare a RemoteWebDriver and a VisualClient instance as class properties

using OpenQA.Selenium.Remote;
using SauceLabs.Visual;

private RemoteWebDriver Driver { get; set; }
private VisualClient VisualClient { get; set; }

Initialize RemoteWebDriver and VisualClient

    [OneTimeSetUp]
    public async Task Setup()
    {
      var sauceUsername = "YOUR_USERNAME";
      var sauceAccessKey = "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY";
      var sauceUrl = "https://ondemand.us-west-1.saucelabs.com:443/wd/hub";

      var browserOptions = new ChromeOptions();
      browserOptions.PlatformName = "Windows 11";
      browserOptions.BrowserVersion = "latest";

      var sauceOptions = new Dictionary<string, string>();
      sauceOptions.Add("username", sauceUsername);
      sauceOptions.Add("accessKey", sauceAccessKey);
      browserOptions.AddAdditionalOption("sauce:options", sauceOptions);

      Driver = new RemoteWebDriver(sauceUrl, browserOptions);

      VisualClient = await VisualClient.Create(Driver, Region.UsWest1, new CreateBuildOptions()
      {
          Name = "My Visual Build",
          Project = "csharp-project",
          Branch = "csharp-branch"
      });
      // Enable Dom Capture
      VisualClient.CaptureDom = true;
    }

To enhance efficiency in managing tests, it's important to provide a specific test name and suite name for each test. This practice allows Sauce Visual to effectively organize snapshots into coherent groups. As a result, it simplifies the review process, saving time and effort in navigating through test results and understanding the context of each snapshot.

Don't forget to quit the WebDriver and Dispose VisualClient.

    [OneTimeTearDown]
    public async Task Teardown()
    {
        Driver?.Quit();
        await VisualClient.Cleanup();
        VisualClient.Dispose();
    }

Step 3: Add visual tests in your tests​

Add a check to one of your tests:


    [Test]
    public async Task SauceDemoHomePage_ShouldRenderLoginCorrectly()
    {
        Driver.Navigate().GoToUrl("https://www.saucedemo.com");
        var wait = new WebDriverWait(Driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(15));
        wait.Until(drv => drv.FindElement(usernameLocator));

        await VisualClient.VisualCheck("Sauce Demo Homepage");
    }

Step 4: Configure your Sauce Labs credentials​

Sauce Visual relies on environment variables for authentications.
Both SAUCE_USERNAME and SAUCE_ACCESS_KEY need to be set prior starting your .Net job.

Username and Access Key can be retrieved from https://app.saucelabs.com/user-settings.

export SAUCE_USERNAME=__YOUR_SAUCE_USER_NAME__
export SAUCE_ACCESS_KEY=__YOUR_SAUCE_ACCESS_KEY__

Step 5: Run the test​

Upon executing your tests for the first time under this step, a visual baseline is automatically created in our system. This baseline serves as the standard for all subsequent WebDriver tests. As new tests are run, they are compared to this original baseline, with any deviations highlighted to signal visual changes. These comparisons are integral for detecting any unintended visual modifications early in your development cycle. All test builds, including the initial baseline and subsequent runs, can be monitored and managed through the Sauce Labs platform at Sauce Visual Builds.

Remember, the baseline is established during the initial run, and any subsequent visual differences detected will be marked for review.

Advanced usage​

Customizing Your Builds (Environment Variables)​

Below are the environment variables available in the Sauce Visual C# plugin. Keep in mind that the variables defined in CreateBuildOptions configuration have precedence over these.

Variable NameDescription
SAUCE_USERNAMErequiredYour Sauce Labs username. You can get this from the header of app.saucelabs.com
SAUCE_ACCESS_KEYrequiredYour Sauce Labs access key. You can get this from the header of app.saucelabs.com
SAUCE_REGIONThe region you'd like to run your Visual tests in. Defaults to us-west-1 if not supplied. Can be one of the following:
'eu-central-1', 'us-west-1' or 'us-east-4'
SAUCE_VISUAL_BUILD_NAMEThe name you would like to appear in the Sauce Visual dashboard.
SAUCE_VISUAL_BRANCHThe branch name you would like to associate this build with. We recommend using your current VCS branch in CI.
SAUCE_VISUAL_DEFAULT_BRANCHThe main branch name you would like to associate this build with. Usually main or master or alternatively the branch name your current branch was derived from. Follow me to learn more
SAUCE_VISUAL_PROJECTThe label / project you would like to associate this build with.
SAUCE_VISUAL_BUILD_IDFor advanced users, a user-supplied SauceLabs Visual build ID. Can be used to create builds in advance using the GraphQL API. This can be used to parallelize tests with multiple browsers, shard, or more.
By default, this is not set and we create / finish a build during setup / teardown.
SAUCE_VISUAL_CUSTOM_IDFor advanced users, a user-supplied custom ID to identify this build. Can be used in CI to identify / check / re-check the status of a single build. Usage suggestions: CI pipeline ID.

Test results summary​

VisualClient.VisualResults() returns a summary of test results in Dictionary<DiffStatus, int> format where DiffStatus is one of the following:

  • DiffStatus.QUEUED: Diffs that are pending for processing. Should be 0 in case the test is completed without any timeouts
  • DiffStatus.EQUAL: Diffs that have no changes detected
  • DiffStatus.UNAPPROVED: Diffs that have detected changes and waiting for action
  • DiffStatus.APPROVED: Diffs that have detected changes and have been approved
  • DiffStatus.REJECTED: Diffs that have detected changes and have been rejected

Sample usage:

var expectedTotalUnapprovedDiffs = 0;

var results = await VisualClient.VisualResults();
Assert.AreEqual(expectedTotalUnapprovedDiffs, results[DiffStatus.Unapproved]);

Build attributes​

When creating the service in VisualClient, extra fields can be set to define the context, thus acting on which baselines new snapshots will be compared to. (More info on baseline matching)

It needs to be defined through a CreateBuildOptions object.

Properties available:

  • string? Name: The name of the build
  • string? Project: The name of the project
  • string? Branch: The name of the branch
  • string? CustomId: A customId to be able to retrieve the current build
  • string? DefaultBranch: The name of the default branch

Example:

  VisualClient = await VisualClient.Create(Driver, Region.UsWest1, sauceUsername, sauceAccessKey,
      new CreateBuildOptions() { Name = "My Visual Build", Project = "csharp-project", Branch = "feature-branch" });

Ignored regions​

Component-based ignored region​

Sauce Visual provides a way to ignore a list of components.

An ignored component can be a specific element from the page.

Those ignored components are specified when requesting a new snapshot.

Example:

var btnAction = Driver.FindElement(By.CssSelector(".app_logo"));

await VisualClient.VisualCheck("C# capture",
    new VisualCheckOptions()
    {
        IgnoreElements = new[] { btnAction }
    });

User-specified ignored region​

Alternatively, ignored regions can be user-specified areas. A region is defined by four elements.

  • x, y: The location of the top-left corner of the ignored region
  • width: The width of the region to ignore
  • height: The height of the region to ignore

Note: all values are pixels

Example:

await VisualClient.VisualCheck("C# capture",
    new VisualCheckOptions()
    {
        IgnoreRegions = new[] { new IgnoreRegion(10, 10, 100, 100) }
    });

Selective Diffing​

Sauce Visual allows selective diffing that permits to ignore changes from a certain kind (more information here).

warning

Selective diffing is only available with Balanced diffing method AND with DOM capture enabled.

Screenshot-wide configuration​

Sauce Visual Binding allows to configure which kinds of changes should be effective on snapshot.

Example:

Ignoring only one kind:

  await VisualClient.VisualCheck("login-page",
      new VisualCheckOptions()
      {
          // Every content change will be ignored
          DiffingOptions = VisualCheckDiffingOptions.DisableOnly(DiffingOption.Content),
      });

Ignoring all kinds except one:

  await VisualClient.VisualCheck("login-page",
      new VisualCheckOptions()
      {
          DiffingMethod = DiffingMethod.Balanced,
          CaptureDom = true,
          // Only style changes will be considered as a diff
          DiffingOptions = VisualCheckDiffingOptions.EnableOnly(DiffingOption.Style),
      });

Area-specific configuration​

Sauce Visual Binding allows to configure which kinds of changes should be effective specific regions of the snapshot.

Example:

  var usernameElement = Driver.FindElement(By.CssSelector("#user-name"));
  var passwordElement = Driver.FindElement(By.CssSelector("#password"));

  await VisualClient.VisualCheck("login-page",
      new VisualCheckOptions()
      {
          DiffingMethod = DiffingMethod.Balanced,
          CaptureDom = true,
          Regions = new []
          {
              // Ignore all kind of changes for element #user-name
              SelectiveRegion.EnabledFor(usernameElement, DiffingOption.None),
              // Ignore only style changes for element #password
              SelectiveRegion.DisabledFor(passwordElement, DiffingOption.Style),
          },
      });

Capturing the DOM snapshot​

Sauce Visual does not capture dom snapshot by default. It can be changed when creating the VisualClient object.

Example:

VisualClient = VisualClient.Create(Driver, Region.UsWest1, sauceUsername, sauceAccessKey);
VisualClient.CaptureDom = true;

Full page screenshots​

By default, only the current viewport is captured when .VisualCheck is used. You can opt in to capturing the entire page by using the FullPage option. It will capture everything by scrolling and stitching multiple screenshots together. Additionally, you have the option to configure full page settings using the FullPageConfig option.

note

It's recommended to use the HideAfterFirstScroll option for fixed or sticky position elements such as sticky headers or consent banners.

Options:

  • DelayAfterScrollMs: Delay in ms after scrolling and before taking screenshots. The default value is 0. We recommend using this option for lazy loading content.
  • DisableCSSAnimation: Disable CSS animations and the input caret in the app. The default value is true.
  • HideAfterFirstScroll: One or more CSS selectors that we should remove from the page after the first scroll. Useful for hiding fixed elements such as headers, cookie banners, etc.
  • HideScrollBars: Hide all scrollbars in the app. The default value is true.
  • ScrollLimit: Limit the number of screenshots taken for scrolling and stitching. The default value is 10. The value needs to be between 1 and 10.

Examples:

await VisualClient.VisualCheck("C# full page",
    new VisualCheckOptions()
    {
        FullPage = true,
    });
await VisualClient.VisualCheck("C# full page config",
    new VisualCheckOptions()
    {
        FullPage = true,
        FullPageConfig = new FullPageConfig()
            {
                DelayAfterScrollMs = 500,
                DisableCSSAnimation = false,
                HideAfterFirstScroll = new List<string> { ".header" },
                HideScrollBars = false,
                ScrollLimit = 5
            }
    });
note

The maximum number of scrolls and stitches in a full page screenshot is 10.

Clip to an Element​

You can clip to a specific element on the page by using the clipElement option when calling Sauce Visual.

Notes:

  • Clipping is done by taking a screenshot of the page then clipping it to the location of the requested element.
  • We will attempt to scroll the element into view before taking the snapshot.
  • We can only take a screenshot of what is visible in the current viewport, however, this can be combined with full page option to enable clipping large vertical elements.

Example:

var element = Driver.FindElementByCssSelector(".your-css-selector");
await VisualClient.VisualCheck("Visible Sale Banner",
    new VisualCheckOptions()
    {
        ClipElement = element,
    });

Examples​

Two examples are available: