TestLink Tutorial: A Complete Guide

What is TestLink?

Test-link is most widely used web based open source test management tool. It synchronizes both requirements specification and test specification together. User can create test project and document test cases using this tool. With Test-Link you can create an account for multiple users and assign different user roles. Admin user can manage test cases assignment task.

It supports both automated and manual execution of Test cases. The testers can generate Test Plan and Test Report in a fraction of the time with this tool. It supports test reports in various formats like Excel, MS word, and HTML formats. Apart from these, it also supports integration with many popular Defect tracking system like JIRA, MANTIS, BUGZILLA, TRAC, etc. Since it is a web based tool, multiple users can access its functionality at the same time with their credentials and assigned roles.

Advantages of TestLink

  • It supports multiple projects
  • Easy export and import of test cases
  • Easy to integrate with many defect management tools
  • Automated test cases execution through XML-RPC
  • Easy filtration of test cases with version, keywords, test case ID and version
  • Easy to assign test cases to multiple users
  • Easy to generate test plan and test reports in various formats
  • Provide credentials to multiple users and assign roles to them

Login to TestLink

Step 1 : Open the Testlink home-page and enter the login details

  1. Enter the userID – admin
  2. Enter the password
  3. Click on the login tab

Login to TestLink

Creating a Test Project

Step 1: In the main window click on Test Project Management, it will open another window

Creating a Test Project

Step 2: Click on the tab “create” to create a new project.

Creating a Test Project

Step 3: Enter all the required fields in the window like a category for a test project, name of the project, prefix, description, etc. After filling all necessary details, click on tab “Create” at the end of the window.

Creating a Test Project

This will create your project “Guru99” successfully.

Creating a Test Project

Creating a Test Plan

Test plan holds the complete information like the scope of Software testing, milestone, test suites and test cases. Once you have created a Test Project, next step is to create Test plan.

Step 1: From the home-page, click on Test Plan Management from home-page

Creating a Test Plan

Step 2: It will open another page, at the bottom of the page click on a tab “Create”

Creating a Test Plan

Step 3: Fill out all the necessary information like name, description, create from existing test plan, etc. in the open window, and click on “create tab”

Creating a Test Plan

Step 4: Guru 99 Test Plan is created successfully

Creating a Test Plan

Build Creation

A build is a specific release of a software

Step 1: Click on Builds/Releases under Test Plan from the home page

Build Creation

Step 2: In the next window, fill all necessary details for a software release and click on create to save your release

  1. Enter the title name
  2. Enter the description about the software release
  3. Mark the check-box for status- Active
  4. Mark the check-box for status- Open
  5. Choose the date of release
  6. Click on create a button

Build Creation

Once you have a release the software it will appear like this

Build Creation

Creating Testsuite

Test suite is a collection of test cases which may be testing or validating the same component. Following steps will explain how to create test suite for your project.

Step 1: Click on test specification option from the home page.

Creating Testsuite

Step 2: On the right-hand side of the panel, click on the setting icon Creating Testsuite. It will display a series of test operation.

Step 3: Click on the “create” tab for the test suite

Creating Testsuite

Step 4: Fill-up all the details for test-suite and click on save it tab.

  1. Enter the test suite name
  2. Enter the details about your test suite
  3. Click on save button to save the details of test-suite

Creating Testsuite

You can see the test suite for Guru 99 is created

Creating Testsuite

Your test suite appears on the left side of the panel under folder structure tree

Creating a Testcase

Testcase holds a sequence of test steps to test a specific scenario with an expected result. Below steps will explain how to create a test-case along with test steps.

Step 1: Click on the test suite folder on the left side of the panel under a folder tree structure

Creating a Testcase

Step 2: Click on the setting icon in the right side panel. List of test case operations will be displayed on the right side panel

Creating a Testcase

Step 3: New window will open, to create test cases click on create a button in test-case operations

Creating a Testcase

Step 4: Enter the details in the test case specification page

Creating a Testcase

Step 5: After entering the details, click on “create” button to save the details. The test-case for Guru99 is created successfully

Creating a Testcase

Step 6: Click on test-case from the folder, as shown above, it will open a window. Click on “create steps” button in a test case. It will open a test case step editor

Creating a Testcase

Step 7) It will open another window on the same page, in that window you have to enter the following details

  1. Enter the step-action for your test case
  2. Enter the details about the step action
  3. Click save it and add another step action OR click save and exit tab if there is no more test step to add

Creating a Testcase

Step 8) Once you save and exit the test step, it will appear like this

Creating a Testcase

Assigning test case to test plan

For test case to get executed, it should be assigned to test plan. Here we will see how we can assign a test-case to test plan.

Step 1) Click on the setting icon Assigning Test Case to Test Plan on the test panel. It will show the list of operations.

Step 2) Click on “Add to Test Plans”

Assigning Test Case to Test Plan

Step 3) New window will open, search your project “Guru99”

  1. Mark the checkbox against your test plan
  2. Click on add button

Assigning Test Case to Test Plan

This will add your test case to your Test Plan.

Creating Users and Assigning Roles in TestLink

Testlink provides User management and authorization features.

Below is list of default roles in Testlink and their rights –

Role Test Cases Test Metrics
Guest View View
Tester Execute View
Senior Tester Edit & Execute View
Leader & Admin Edit & Execute Edit & Execute

Step 1: From the Testlinks home-page, click on users/roles icon from the navigation bar

Creating Users and Assigning Roles in TestLink

Step 2: Click Create

Creating Users and Assigning Roles in TestLink

Step 3: Fill out all the users details and click the “Save” button

Creating Users and Assigning Roles in TestLink

Here in the list, we can see the users have been created

Creating Users and Assigning Roles in TestLink

Step 4: Allotting test project role to the user,

  1. Click on “Assign Test Project Roles” tab
  2. Choose the project name
  3. Select the user role from the drop down

Creating Users and Assigning Roles in TestLink

Writing Requirements

Step 1: From the navigation bar select the “Requirements Link”, it opens the Requirement page.

Writing Requirements

Step 2: From the requirement page, on the right side of the panel click on “create” button

Writing Requirements

Step 3: A new window will open, enter all the details like

  1. Document ID
  2. Title name
  3. Requirement Description
  4. And Click “Save” button

For the type, you can choose the option from the drop-down- here we chose “User Requirement Specification”

Writing Requirements

Step 4: It should create Requirement specification and displayed on the left side panel under the project “Guru99”.

Writing Requirements

Step 5: Select the setting button from requirements specification home-page. It will open another window.

Writing Requirements

Step 6Click “Create” tab under Requirement Operations.

Writing Requirements

Step 7: Fill out all the specified details and click the “Save” button

  1. Enter the document ID
  2. Enter the title name
  3. Enter the description
  4. Enter the status-whether it’s in draft, rework, review, not testable, etc. Here we chose valid
  5. Enter the type – user interface, non-functional, informational, feature, etc. Here we chose use case
  6. Enter the number of test cases needed
  7. Enter “Save” button at the end

Writing Requirements

Note: To add more requirements you can mark the check-box and click save button

On the left side of the panel, we can see that the requirement is added.

Writing Requirements

Assigning requirement to test-cases

In Testlink, Requirement can be connected to test cases. It is a very crucial feature in order to track test coverage based on requirements. In test reports, you can verify which requirements are not covered and act on them to apend in test suites for maximum test coverage

Step 1: From the test specification section open any single test case and click on requirement icon

Assigning Requirement to Test-Cases

Step 2: To assign requirements specification to test case you have to follow the following steps

  1. Scroll the drop down box to select the requirements specification
  2. Mark the requirement checkbox
  3. Click on “assign” tab

Assigning Requirement to Test-Cases

After clicking on “assign” tab, a window will appear stating “Assigned Requirement.”

Assigning Requirement to Test-Cases

Executing a test case

In TestLink, we can run a test case and change execution status of a test case. Status of a test-case can be set to “blocked” “Passed”, or “failed”. Initially, it will be in “not run” status but once you have updated it, it cannot be altered to “not run” status again.

Step 1: From the navigation bar click on the “Test Execution” link. It will direct you to the Test Execution Panel.

Executing a test case

Step 2: Pick the Test case you want to run from the left side panel

Executing a test case

Step 3: Once you have selected the test cases, it will open a window.

Executing a test case

Step 4: Follow the following steps

  1. Enter the notes related to test case executed
  2. Select its status

Executing a test case

Step 5: On the same page, you have to fill similar detail about the execution of test-case. Fill the details, select the status and then click on “save execution”.

Executing a test case

Generating Test Reports

Test link supports various test report formats like

  • HTML
  • MS Word
  • MS Excel
  • OpenOffice Writer
  • OpenOffice Calc

Step 1: From the navigation bar, click on Test Reports option

Generating Test Reports

Step 2: From the left side panel, select “Test Report” link

Generating Test Reports

Step 3: To generate a report follow the following steps

  1. Mark and unmark the option you want to highlight in your test report
  2. click on your project folder

Generating Test Reports

The test report will look like this

Generating Test Reports

Export Test case/ Test Suite

Testlink provides the features to export test projects/test suites in your Testlink and then you can import them into another Testlink project on different server or system. In order to do that you have to follow the following step

Step 1: Choose the test case you want to export in the Test specification page

Export Test case/ Test Suite

Step 2: Now on the right-hand side of the panel click on the Export Test case/ Test Suite setting icon, it will display all the operations that can be performed on the test case.

Step 3: Click the “export” button

Export Test case/ Test Suite

Step 4: It will open another window, mark the option as per requirement and click on the export tab

Export Test case/ Test Suite

Following XML is generated

Export Test case/ Test Suite

Importing Test case/ Test suite

Step 1: Select the Test suite folder inside which you want to import the test case

Importing Test case/ Test suite

Step 2: Click on the setting icon Importing Test case/ Test suite on the right-hand-side of the panel, it will display all the operations that can be executed on the test suite/test case

Step 3: Click on the import button in the test case operations list as

Importing Test case/ Test suite

Step 4: Browse and attach the XML test case file that you have exported from test link and click on upload button.

  1. Use the browse option to attach the XML test case file that you have exported from testlink
  2. Click on upload file

Importing Test case/ Test suite

When you upload a file, it will open window stating import test cases

Importing Test case/ Test suite

Step 5: Test case will be uploaded and displayed on the right-hand side of the panel

Importing Test case/ Test suite

Summary

In this tutorial, we have covered various aspects of TestLink- like how you can use Testlink-as a test management. It explains you step by step how to manage test plan for your project, how to create a user and assign them their roles accordingly or even how to import or export test cases to your project. Other useful features like generating reports, defining requirement, etc. are also demonstrated well in this tutorial.