Page Scripting - Test Automation in Business Central

The 2024 wave 1 release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC24)  provides Page Scripting to automate user testing processes, reducing time and effort on UAT.

UAT (User Acceptance Testing): A critical phase of testing Business Central development is where end users test the system to make sure it meets business requirements and is ready to use. The purpose of UAT is to ensure that the software works properly in the real-world environment and meets the needs of users.

Ideally, after each software change (upgrade, customization, add-on installation), it would be necessary to test whether the business processes managed in Business Central continue to function as expected after the changes.

Unfortunately, practice shows that the costs to be spent on testing are high for most users, which is understandable from a certain point of view, since the production of programmed automated tests involves significant additional costs and requires development competence.

The Page Scripting feature of  Microsoft Business Central resolves this issue.

With Page Scripting, you can record business processes managed in Business Central from a user perspective in a macro-like way. Access to the page scripting function is a subject of permissions. The following permission sets are required to use it: PAGESCRIPTING - REC and PAGESCRIPTING - PLAY

The Page Scripting feature can be accessed in the Settings menu:

What functions does the Page Scripting Tool have?

• Recording steps
• Edit recorded steps
• Passing values between steps, copying them to the next step
• Manage optional pages (pages displayed under certain conditions)
• Manage session user ID
• Insert conditional steps
• Validate expected results
• Insert a waiting step

The process, recorded with the Page Scripting function, can be saved in a YAML file, the contents of which can be modified afterwards, even with a text editor.

The saved script can be reloaded and run in Business Central, shared with other users, or combine smaller script units.