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Each feature file can include as many Scenario and Scenario Outline sections as you need. Variations are then automatically provided for you from your generated test cases. When you use a Scenario Outline the variations are provided in an Examples data table. When you use a Scenario, it acts as a template and a unique Scenario is automatically generated for each test case.

Edit your Gherkin feature in the editor in the panel on the left, and the generated Examples data tables and generated Scenario sections are shown in the preview on the right. You must generate test cases first before the preview becomes active.

To include parameter values from your test cases in a Scenario or Scenario Outline, simply enter the parameter name surrounded by angle brackets into a step. Automate will help you by autcompleting parameter names once you type <.

Feature: Use Automate

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  Scenario: including parameters in Gherkin

    Given I select <State> from the state dropdown

    And I input <Age> into the age input

    When I push the "Go" button

    Then I should see the completion indicator

From the script above, Automate will automatically generate a Scenario for every test case that has a unique combination of the included parameters, "State" and "Age", and will substitute parameter values from each test case into the text of the step. A generated Scenario might look like this:

# OUTPUT

Feature: Use Automate

​

  Scenario: including parameters in Gherkin

    Given I select North Carolina from the state dropdown

    And I input 18 into the age input

    When I push the "Go" button

    Then I should see the completion indicator

​

  # etc, one Scenario block for each unique test case

If you use Scenario Outline in place of Scenario in the same example, Automate will instead automatically generate an Examples table with one column for each included parameter, and one row for for every test case that has a unique combination of the included parameters. Here is an example of that output:

# OUTPUT

Feature: Use Automate

​

  Scenario Outline: including parameters in Gherkin

    Given I select <State> from the state dropdown

    And I input <Age> into the age input

    When I push the "Go" button

    Then I should see the completion indicator

    Examples:

    | State          | Age |

    | North Carolina | 18  |

    | Indiana        | 28  |

    | New Jersey     | 42  |

    # etc, one row for each unique test case

If a specific behavior doesn't apply to every test case, you can restrict a Scenario or Scenario Outline to only include the test cases that match a particular set of parameter values. The selector syntax utilizes curly braces { } and square brackets [ ] as such: {Parameter[Value 1]} -or- {Parameter[Value 1, Value 2, ...]} Automate will help you with the syntax by autcompleting once you type {. Here's an example which only includes test cases that have "North Carolina" or "Indiana" as the value of the "State" parameter:

Feature: Automate selectors

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  Scenario Outline: including parameters in Gherkin

    Given I select {State[North Carolina, Indiana]} from the state dropdown

    And I input <Age> into the age input

    When I push the "Go" button

    Then I should see the completion indicator

Which results in only test cases with "North Carolina" and "Indiana" in the Examples table:

# OUTPUT

Feature: Automate selectors

​

  Scenario Outline: including parameters in Gherkin

    Given I select <State> from the state dropdown

    And I input <Age> into the age input

    When I push the "Go" button

    Then I should see the completion indicator

    Examples:

    | State          | Age |

    | North Carolina | 23  |

    | Indiana        | 18  |

    | North Carolina | 48  |

    | Indiana        | 48  |

    # etc, one row for each unique test case with "State" as "North Carolina" or "Indiana"

It is also possible to invert a restriction by adding an exclamation point just after the opening curly bracket, like so: {!Parameter[Value 1, Value 2]} This includes all the test cases in which "Parameter" is not "Value 1" or "Value 2".

If you find yourself needing to restrict the test cases of every behavior in a feature file, you can conveniently use the same selector syntax in the Background section of a feature file, like this:

Feature: global restrictions in the Background section

  Background:

    Given I select {State[New Jersey]} from the state dropdown

​

  # Every Scenario/Outline block is now restricted to test cases

  # in which the "State" parameter has the value "New Jersey"

In addition to the parameters defined in the test model, Automate provides a few "pseudo-parameters" that can be helpful in some situations:

Test NumberA purely sequential number for the row or generated Scenario.Test CaseThe index of the generated test case that corresponds to this Examples row or generated Scenario. This number may have gaps and so not be purely sequential.Expected OutcomeA comma-separated list of any Expected Outcomes that apply to the test case as defined with Requirements.

Here's an example using all of the pseudo-parameters:

# OUTPUT

Feature: Use Automate pseudo-parameters

  Scenario Outline:

    Given this is test <Test Number> for test case <Test Case>

    When I select <State> from the state dropdown

    And I input <Age> into the age input

    And I push the "Go" button

    Then the claim is <Expected Outcome>

    Examples:

    | Test Number | Test Case | State          | Age | Expected Outcome |

    | 1           | 3         | North Carolina | 18  | denied           |

    | 2           | 5         | Indiana        | 28  |                  |

    | 3           | 7         | New Jersey     | 42  | accpeted         |

    # etc, one row for each unique test case

Bring back these tips again by click the Usage button on the right side of screen, above the Preview section.

Gherkin Feature File

The Hexawise Automate screen is a smart Gherkin feature file editor. It is aware of both the parameters, parameter values, & generated test cases of the current Hexawise model and the Gherkin test script syntax. It makes it easy to create a feature file with data-driven Scenario and Scenario Outline sections that are populated by the generated test cases of the Hexawise model.

Feature

Each Gherkin script has a Feature as its first keyword followed by : and a little bit of text to describe the feature, usually in the form of a user story which is demonstrated in the placeholder text. This section does not support parameterization of any kind.

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