qTrace: Ultimate Screen Capture tool for bulk Defect Management

Workflow of  any software development model is totally depends on the software development life cycle. Software development life cycle includes many phases, which help us to to produce better and robust application. If you follow each and every stage properly then you will get the maximum outcome in less time. Maintaining QoS  is another essential thing,which emphasis on skillful operation. As a developer or tester we are always giving priority for automation tasks. it helps us to do quick delivery of our product or application.

During the testing phase most of  tester utilizing their precious time for capturing screen shots, integrating screenshots into documentation  & report it to the development team. Basically it's a one-one process which consumes most of our time e.g  if I find a validation bug in any form field, I will create  some scenarios, capture some screenshot  and generate some documentation w.r.t screenshots etc. So imagine what happens if you get more than 50 bugs  🙂  Product delivery might get extended !.  So to obtain a Rapid Application Development (RAD) we have to use some automated tool that will automate some inadequate  things like screenshot capturing and focus on documenting and test case scenarios. Ultimately it will save your time as well as money ! I used many screens capturing tools but 'qTrace' is one of the ultimate tool that automate your screencast capturing  process. This awesome tool developed by qasymphony.

qTrace is really handy tool for web developers, project managers, IT admin etc . qTrace is not only a great time saver but also an automated tool that helps you to focus on essential things. qTrace capture screenshots in batch, so that you can evaluate it and easily include them in your reports. We can easily interface qTrace with some popular defect tracking tool like Jira, Assembla, Bugzilla, Fogbugz, Rally, Versionone, Qtest & HP quality center etc.

Installing & Using qTrace Tool

1. Download qTrace setup for windows.

2. Install qTrace with administrative privileges, you  may need to download .net framework 4.x  to complete installation.

3. qTrace is available for Free as well as a Pro version, for both versions you need to create  QASymphony account  which is necessary to activate your installed application.

4. Provide your login credentials to activate your application.

5. Now you can start your testing process by initiating small auto-hide control panel of qTrace , which is available on the right side of your screen.

6. You can  configure qTrace for capturing the screenshot for e.g choosing a custom area, choosing a running application etc.  a big red button initiates your process of capturing  events.

7. Using configuration panel you can set font, color, do linking some  defect tracking tool as discussed earlier. You can  also customize hot-keys.

Using qTrace for Form Validation

To demonstrate qTrace usages consider that I want to validate the contact form on my website.

1. Start your activity for testing e.g I opened my 'contact us' page and navigate to form section

2. Now start qtrace and select the region for capturing events. e.g I selected entire screen

3. When activity starts, proceed with your test scenarios e.g Checking form fields and its validation criteria.

4. When you are done with the entire process, stop your qTrace engine. Now you will see a qTrace editor as below, the editor will help you to assign your result values to corresponding labels. You can use some patterns, shapes & lines to customize these screenshots easily.

5. After finalizing entire result scenarios, you have to generate report of the same activities. To do this simply click on 'save as'  option then you will see a dialog box for choosing file format for generating report.I generated my form validation test reports using PDF file format. Document and image format is also available. You can also email that report !

7. qTrace support synchronizing your report on cloud using DropBox service. i.e  you can easily upload your generated reports into your Dropbox account.To do this you need to authenticate qtrace  application to access your Dropbox interface. Check following image

6. That's it ! you completed your reporting task within a few minutes along with  multiple options 🙂

Features of qTrace

1. Easy to use & easy to configurable tool. qTrace run in background along with targeted application.

2. Easily interface with well know testing tools. Improve QoS ( Quality of Service ) of  reporting.

3. Save your time and automate inadequate tasks. Highlight defects.

4. Generate  report  according to industry standard.

5. Multiple options to share your reports i.e using Email, PDF etc.

6. Backup your reports on Cloud using DropBox connect.

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If you are tester & want to improve your defect ticket submission & want to automate few time consuming task,qTrace surely help you to make the most out of  your boundaries ! Kindly share your reviews &  queries about qTrace  we are happy to hear it & will try to troubleshoot it. Put your comments about this amazing tool 'qTrace'.