How to Disable Screenshot Block for Android While Performing Mobile App Testing?

Mobile application testing is one of the fastest-growing trends in the modern app development industry. This is because portability has become one of the most important priorities in the lives of end users. Therefore with mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, users can achieve similar performance in pocket size form factor. While developing mobile applications, the developers must consider the variations and changes that can appear on multiple devices. Certain factors like screenshots play a vital role in ensuring the proper placement of all the elements in modern mobile devices. Mobile app testing can also benefit a lot from the introduction of automated testing practices. This improves the coordination and quality of the app testing and development cycle.

So, with this article, we are going to explore how the application developers can disable screenshot block for Android while performing mobile app testing. We will also understand the role of 3rd party tools and platforms in this process.

The World of Mobile Apps and Integrating Test Automation

Through the last few years, the mobile market has risen a lot to such an extent that almost 55% of Internet traffic comes from mobile devices. The 3 most important platforms in this segment include Android, iOS, and Windows. Android being the dominant player witnesses more than 1000 new devices arising annually. All the devices are unique in terms of display resolution, hardware specifications, user interfaces, and other parameters. So while working with mobile applications, the app developers can neither generalize the test cases nor restrict them to only simulation software. This is another primary factor that justifies the importance of real device testing in mobile application development.

Since the app developers have to create individual test cases for all device configurations, it will become a hassle to execute them manually. With the integration of test automation, the developers can run multiple such test instances simultaneously. For this process, the system will utilize multiple text files consisting of various parameters that will allow it to replicate human behavior. Based on these interactions, the system will generate a detailed report showing the usability and stability of the application. Some other crucial upsides of integrating test automation are mentioned below:

• Test automation allows developers to initiate the test cases on not only different configurations but also on different machines at the same time. For this purpose, test automation uses the principle of a hub that is connected to several notes.

• With this process, the app testers can boost the link between the testing and development teams of the app company. So, they can complete all the test cases within a few days.

• Since test automation will execute the repetitive test cases, the development team can focus on other creative areas like planning a new feature that can be added to the future update of the application.

• Since test automation is completely conducted by the system, it can eliminate errors that can arise due to human involvement. it is also possible to run the test cases 24 hours round the clock which is beyond human capabilities.

Role of Screenshots in Mobile Testing

While developing mobile applications, the developers must be aware of the importance of the visual elements. This is because the visual elements are not only responsible for maintaining the end user satisfaction but also ensuring that it is easy to navigate through the interface of the application. Due to variations in display size and other parameters, the UI elements can get misplaced, or in the worst-case scenario, they do not function at all. Using screenshots, the application developers can keep track of the previous status of the application and compare it after making any changes to the app. This is one of the most important parameters of performing visual testing, end-to-end testing, and regression testing.

Screenshots are also useful from the perspective of performing debugging and troubleshooting. This is because the system will automatically capture screenshots when it detects an error in the application interface and stores it in the form of screenshots. Later the app developers can use this visual data to navigate to the faulty element and fix it.

LambdaTest and its Influence on Mobile App Testing

LambdaTest is an automated cloud-based platform for verifying the performance of applications. While using this platform for mobile app testing, the application developers can run the test cases on thousands of combinations including real device cloud and other simulation software. With a recent update, LambdaTest allows the application developers to disable Android screenshots for all supported Android versions. However, the developers must remember that this feature is in the beta phase.

With the help of this feature, app developers can test their app on the LambdaTest platform without any visual issues. Some of the common visual issues include video coming black in between or the screenshots not getting captured during the application testing process.

Some other crucial upsides of using LambdaTest for initiating mobile app testing are mentioned below:

• This platform allows the integration of older browser versions and legacy mobile devices to improve the compatibility of the application. Recent statistics show that more than 75% of the end-users do not update their browsers or devices frequently. 

• Using LambdaTest, the app developers can maintain a real-time activity log of both the failed and successful test cases. This data can also act as a reference point whenever the app developers are struck with any feature of the application.
• The Final Test report generated by the LambdaTest API is intuitive as it consists of multiple screenshots, videos, and test logs for easy understanding. The test report will also automatically highlight all the faulty elements of the application undergoing the development cycle. So the testers can use the test report to easily navigate to all the faulty elements in the application.
• Finally, LambdaTest supports the integration of various advanced features like parallel test execution, Agile methodologies, and automated visual testing. These features play a critical role in improving the quality of the application.

How to Disable Screenshot Block for Android

The application developers can easily disable screenshot block for Android by integrating LambdaTest in their application development project. For this process, they simply have to follow a few prerequisites and certain steps. So for the ease of the new automation testers and developers we have listed all the required guidelines in the appropriate order:

1. Prerequisites:

• Firstly, the developers must ensure that they have a functional LambdaTest test account. For this, they simply have to navigate to the official website of LambdaTest and follow the on-screen instructions to create a new account. After purchasing the relevant license, they will automatically gain access to the username and login credentials for initiating the mobile test cases on the LambdaTest real device cloud.
• In the next step, the application testers have to choose their preferred programming language. It is very important to check that the chosen language is not only compatible with the mobile app testing tool but also with LambdaTest. Some of the popular options include JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and many others. In case the app developers are working with existing automation test scripts, there must modify the parameters so that it can work with the LambdaTest API.

• The application developers also have to set up their required automation testing libraries, dependencies, and plugins that will be used for executing the test cases. In this regard, we would advise the application developers to download all the required files from the official website to avoid any risk of malware infection.

1. Disabling Screenshot Block for Manual Mobile App Testing with LambdaTest

• The first step in this process is for the application developers to upload the app to the LambdaTest cloud API. The developers will have to wait for 3 to 5 minutes depending on the app file size after uploading the application. This is because during this time, the application file patching process will be complete and it will be available in the LambdaTest interface.
• As soon as the uploading process is completed, the application developers will be able to see the disable screenshot block toggle in the LambdaTest interface. So, the developers simply have to turn this toggle on and wait for the system to implement the changes.

• Disabling Screenshot Block for Automated Mobile App Testing with LambdaTest

• While the application developers are working with automation testing, the option to disable the screenshot block will be automatically implemented as soon as the developers upload their application to the LambdaTest testing cloud.
• On the other hand, the application developers also have the option to implement the Appium capabilities for turning off the screenshot block on their application undergoing the development process. The following code will illustrate the desired capabilities for disabling screenshot block while writing the automation test scripts for Appium testing.

  DesiredCapabilities capabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();

  capabilities.setCapability(“build”,”Java TestNG Android”);

  capabilities.setCapability(“name”,platform+” “+device+” “+version);

  capabilities.setCapability(“deviceName”, device);

  capabilities.setCapability(“platformVersion”,version);

  capabilities.setCapability(“platformName”, platform);

  capabilities.setCapability(“isRealMobile”, true);

  capabilities.setCapability(“app”, “APP_URL”); //Enter your app (.apk) url

  capabilities.setCapability(“deviceOrientation”, “PORTRAIT”);

  capabilities.setCapability(“console”, true);

  capabilities.setCapability(“network”, false);

  capabilities.setCapability(“visual”, true);

  capabilities.setCapability(“devicelog”, true);

  capabilities.setCapability(“enableScreenshotUnblock”,true); // for screenshot unblock

• For the long-term users of LambdaTest, we would like to inform you that this feature will only be available to applications that have been uploaded to the LambdaTest cloud after 28th June 2023.

Finally, we advise the application developers to go through the official documentation of all the tools and frameworks like LambdaTest and Appium. This will provide crucial information regarding all the features and methods that will be useful accordingly to the unique requirements of the user’s project. These websites also illustrate some of the most common errors that can arise during the application development process. Finally, we advise the app developers to maintain an activity log by naming the test cases according to the target elements of their application.

The Final Verdict

This article explored how the automation testers can remove screenshot block while performing mobile app testing on Android devices. We also discussed the importance of integrating automation testing in the mobile application development life cycle. So we advise all the developers to continue updating their information regarding all the recent trends and innovations in the segment of test automation. This information will not only help them to create a positive brand image but also maintain the company’s position in this competitive market. Finally, the data about consumers will help testers and developers on how to customize the application for a wider consumer base. Finally, the developers must be very careful while integrating the automation testing tool or framework as it will have a massive impact on the testing experience.