Why cannot i call a CustomKeyword from scripts > groovy

Product Forums Katalon Studio
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1

Hi.

I am trying to create a WebUI project with POM, but when i try to call a CustomKyword from Include > scripts > groovy, i am getting an error when the IDE import automatically the CustomKeywords package.

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2

Hi there, and thanks for posting in the Katalon community! :hugs:

To help you faster, please review our guide on Custom Keyword here: Introduction to custom keywords in Katalon Studio | Katalon Docs. Double-checking the steps and configurations might resolve the issue.

If the doc doesn’t help, feel free to provide more details, and a community member will assist you soon. Thanks for being a part of our community!

Best,
Albert Le

6

In the steps.SuccessfulSignupSteps class, do the following two changes

  1. LINE#21 remove the line:
    import CustomKeywords
    as you do not need the CustomKeywords class here

  2. LINE#57 change the line from

     CustomKeywords.'pages.Homepage.clickHrefSignup'()

to

    pages.Homepage.clickHrefSignup()

You do not need the Customkeywords class here to call the clickHrefSignup method of the pages.Homepage class. The steps.SuccessfulSignupSteps can call the method directly.

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7

One thing to be clarified.

Is the clickHrefSignup method of the pages.Homepage class a static method, or an instance method?

If the method is an instance method, you need to write:

new pages.Homepage().clickHrefSignup()
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8

Thank you for your help!!!

Since that’s a static method, I can call it directly without creating an instance. Do you know why we can’t use CustomKeywords within Include > Scripts and other CustomKeywords, but we can use them in Test Listeners and Script Test Cases?

9

I don’t know. It is by design. Ask Katalon for sure.

10

@ESTEBAN

Let me tell you one point to make your understanding clearer.

In a Test Case script in the Script mode, you can call your Groovy class as a custom keyword. You can write a Test Cases/TC1, which goes as follows

import pages.Homepage
...
Homepage.clickHrefSignup()

This TC1 will run fine.

Please note that this code does not bother calling the CustomKeywords class to invoke pages.Homepage.clickHrefSignup method.

I mean, if you write a Test Case in the Script mode with your hands, you do not need the CustomKeywords class at all.

I would rather recommend you NOT to use the CustomKeywords."fully.qualified.class.name.methodName"(args...) notation in the Script view of Test Case Editor as long as you never use the Manual view.

11

By the way, in the official document Introduction to custom keywords in Katalon Studio | Katalon Docs , it writes

Use custom keywords in the script view

To use your defined custom keywords in the script view of a test case, do as follows:

  1. The Class CustomKeywords of Katalon Studio allows you to access all custom keywords. Enter the following syntax into the script editor:
CustomKeywords.

??? This description would make you confused as it looks against my explanation above.

Well, in my humble opinion, they wrote right; but partially.

I suppose that they cut describing the alternative way (call your custom keywords directly without CustomKeywords). Why? — to make the doc short and readable for IT beginners, possibly.

The alternative way requires you to have the basic Java/Groovy programming knowledge. What is import statement? What is static method and instance method? What is new keyword? What is class? What is instance? … These questions are too easy for you @ESTEBAN but not for everyone. I guess, Katalon thought it is better not to mention the alternative in the doc for conciseness.

12

Let me tell you my guess.

I think that the CustomKeywords class was originally designed for the sake of Test Case Editor in Manual mode. It is not meant for human.

Let me show you an example.

I made a custom Groovy class Keywords/pages/Homepage.groovy:

package pages

import com.kms.katalon.core.annotation.Keyword

class Homepage {

    @Keyword
    static void clickHrefSignup() {
        println "clickHrefSignup was invoked"
    }
}

I made 2 Test Case scripts:

  1. Test Cases/TC1
import pages.Homepage

Homepage.clickHrefSignup()

When I ran the TC1, it ran fine. The output was like this this:

11月 07, 2024 9:22:58 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger startTest
情報: --------------------
11月 07, 2024 9:22:58 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger startTest
情報: START Test Cases/TC1
clickHrefSignup was invoked
11月 07, 2024 9:22:59 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger endTest
情報: END Test Cases/TC1
  1. Test Cases/TC2
CustomKeywords.'pages.Homepage.clickHrefSignup'()

When I ran the TC2, it ran fine. The output was like this this:

11月 07, 2024 9:03:41 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger startTest
情報: --------------------
11月 07, 2024 9:03:41 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger startTest
情報: START Test Cases/TC2
clickHrefSignup was invoked
11月 07, 2024 9:03:42 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger log
情報: pages.Homepage.clickHrefSignup is PASSED
11月 07, 2024 9:03:42 午前 com.kms.katalon.core.logging.KeywordLogger endTest
情報: END Test Cases/TC2

As you see, both of TC1 and TC2 ran fine. The outputs are identical.

Now, let’s look at the TC1 and TC2 in the “Manual” view of the Test Case Editor.

  1. TC1 TC1

  2. TC2 TC1

Please compare these 2 screenshots. You would surely notice how the Test Case Editor in Manual view renders them differently. How can the Editor differentiate them? The key is the code format as:

CustomKeywords."fully.qualified.class.name.methodName"(args...)

When the Editor in Manual view re-opens a test case script and when it finds CustomKeywords.XXXX(yyy) notation in the source, it will renders the row that calls a Custom keyword, as it did for TC2. Otherwise, it will render the row with a meaningless label "Method Call Statement" as it did for TC1. As such, the CustomKeywords.XXXX(yyy) notation is significant for the Editor software. It gives the Editor in Manual view a signal how it should render the source code line in the tabular form.

Now, let me go back to @ESTEBAN’s original question:

"Why we do not have CustomKeywords for “Include > Scripts?”

Katalon Studio does not provide a dedicated Editor with “Manual” view for “Include > Scripts”. Therefore we do not need CustomKeywords class for “Include > Scripts” at all.

Don’t worry. You can write a script under the “Include/Scripts” folder using text editor, which calls your Groovy class under the “Keywords” folder directly.

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