Testing a Mobile application

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Help / Developing an application or website / Test

Overview
Test in the simulator
Test in the emulator
Test in native
Direct test on the device connected to the development computer
Stopping the project test
Stopping the test of a project in simulator mode
Stopping the test of a project in the emulator
Stopping the test of a project on the mobile device
Remarks
Directory of the data files used for testing

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WEBDEV

WINDEV Mobile

Others

See also

Testing a Mobile application

Overview

By testing the project you can simulate how the application will run when launched by the user (executable, package, etc.). This allows you to test the entire application, even if it is still being developed.

Summary table of available tests according to the platforms:

	Simulator (Development computer)	Emulator	Native (on the device)

Android	X	X (on PC)	X (connected device)
Android widget	X (windows only)
iOS	X	X (on MAC)	X (Using WMDev)
iOS widget	X (windows only)	X (on MAC)
Apple Watch	X (windows only)	X (on MAC)
Catalyst	X (windows only)	X (on MAC)

Overview of the different types of tests
Several types of project tests are available in WINDEV Mobile:

Test in a simulator (Test on the development computer):
This test simulates a mobile device on the development computer. No connection to a mobile device is required during this test. You can use the debugger. However, this test being run on a PC and not on the real device, the application may behave differently in some ways.
Test on an emulator:
The SDK is supplied with a device emulator. The test of the application can be run in an emulator. This option does not require a real device to run the tests but it provides a more accurate execution than the "simulator" mode.
Please note: The emulator test is performed on a "Mac".
Direct test on the device connected to the development computer.
In this case, the application file that corresponds to the project is created, copied directly to the device and executed. When running the program on the device, the device can be disconnected from the PC. The debugger is available in Android and iOS.

Test in the simulator

To run the test of the current project on the development computer (in simulation mode):

Click in the quick access buttons (or press Ctrl + F9).
If the first project window was not defined, a window is displayed, allowing you to select the first project window.
If the application is intended to be used on phones and tablets, two windows are displayed:
- a window used to define the first project window on the phones.
- a window used to define the first project window on the tablets.
Validate (if necessary) the warning window for the simulator mode.
The editor is automatically minimized and the project is run.

Remarks:

The result of certain functions depends on the platform used (operating system, string format, etc.). Differences may occur when running the test in simulation mode and when running the application test on the device corresponding to the relevant platform.
Debugging in the simulator: You can debug your application in the simulator.. This mode is used to quickly debug a new function or to check an algorithm but it presents differences of behavior. For example:
- file paths: the paths used are those of Windows.
- format of character strings.
- functions specific to the mobiles not available.
Test mode options: To specify the options to be used in test mode:
- On the "Project" tab, in the "Test mode" group, expand "Test mode" and select "Configure test mode".
- Specify:
  - the command line to pass to the application during the test: enter the command line you want (personal or common to all users).
  - New in version 2025
    the vault management mode during the test. For more details, see Secret string vault.
    Note: This feature is only available from version 2025 Update 1.
  For more details, see Test mode settings.
Testing a Widget iOS 14 application: Widget iOS 14 windows can be tested directly in the WINDEV Mobile simulator.. The characteristics of Widget windows are taken into account.

Test in the emulator

To run the test of the current project in the emulator:

Scroll down to the icon among the quick access buttons and select the corresponding option: "Test project (xxx emulator)".
The application is automatically generated.
A window allows you to select the emulator or the device onto which the application will be copied and run. This window is used to create an emulator if necessary.
Select the desired emulator and validate.
The emulator and the application start.

Android emulator
The Android emulator is supplied with the Android SDK. To use an emulator, you must first create it in Android Studio (refer to the Android Studio documentation for more details). If the emulator has been created, it will automatically appear in the list of available devices for testing via the "GO" option.

Remarks:

The emulator may take a long time to start. It is recommended not to close the emulator between 2 project tests.
The debugger is not attached to the application. The breakpoints are ignored.
This type of test does not take the speed of the phone into account. The test takes the speed of the development computer into account.
Some WLanguage functions are not available in the emulator. The documentation of the different functions indicates whether the function can be used in the emulator. The functions fail when they are not available.

iOS emulator (Xcode)

iOS 14 Widget application: when testing from Xcode, a Widget mode is forced by default. If necessary, you change the configuration in Xcode (refer to the Xcode documentation).

Test in native

Direct test on the device connected to the development computer

To test the current application on the device connected to the development computer:

Expand in the quick access buttons.
Select:
- "Debug on mobile device".
- "Debug on <Mobile device name>".
  Note: To perform a test directly on the cell phone, several steps must be taken. for more details, see Testing an iOS application on a mobile device.
If the application has not been generated, the application generation wizard will automatically start.
The application is copied onto the device and it is run.

During the test, the device can be disconnected from the PC while the application is being used. However, if the application is closed, the test can be run only if the device is reconnected to the PC.

For more details, see:

Stopping the project test

Stopping the test of a project in simulator mode

In simulator mode, several methods can be used to stop the test:

1st method: Close the application under test (using an option to close the application, for example). WINDEV or WINDEV Mobile displays the editor that was open when the test was started.
2nd method: Close the application test window.
3rd method: Return to the editor using the taskbar or Alt + Tab and confirm that you want to stop the test.. WINDEV or WINDEV Mobile displays the editor that was open when the test was started.

Stopping the test of a project in the emulator

To stop the test of a project in the emulator, all you have to do is close the application in the emulator.

You also have the ability to close the emulator. However, the emulator taking quite a long time to be started, we advise you to leave it opened if several tests must be run.

Stopping the test of a project on the mobile device

During the direct test on the device, all you have to do is stop the application on the device.

Remarks

Directory of the data files used for testing

To configure the data files used when running the site test in the editor:

Open the project description window. To do so, go to the "Project" tab, "Project" group, and select "Description".
In the "Data files" tab, select the location of the test files:
- Current directory: Data files will be located in the project's EXE subdirectory.
- Specified directory: the data files will be located in the specified directory.

Reminder: When testing the application, the data files used are those on the development workstation.. The file system also corresponds to the Windows system for PC. To avoid any problems when the application is used in a real-case scenario, use InTestMode to differentiate between the access to the data files in test mode and at runtime.