9 tools to become an efficient QA superhero.
Where would Batman be without his Batmobile?
Thor without his hammer?
Clark Kent without his glasses?
Even if you are a QA superhero, a little bit of help from today’s best technology can be handy to be more efficient while working on a mission. It won’t help you if you don’t already have the skills of a super tester, but it will save you time.
When we started to think about this article, we had a look round on different blogs to see what was said about this topic. And you know what? There are literally a thousand tools; browsers extensions, applications, software, for MAC, Windows, Chrome, Firefox etc..; And even more blog posts describing, comparing, selling them. But, which ones were the best tools? Hum…it’s hard to say.
So, we started from scratch. We asked our internal testers and our WE ARE TESTERS members about their tools.
Surprisingly the result was pretty much the same across the board (everybody has their own best/favourite tool). So, we changed our approach and selected the best tools that do the job (and that are free licensed) from our internal team and our WE ARE TESTERS members.
For each environment, we’ve selected a tool for screenshots, video captures and getting the crash logs.
And the winners are…
from an iPhone/iPad
to a Mac desktop/laptop
Screenshots
Use the native screenshot shortcut on iPhone/iPad
+ AirDrop to retrieve the pictures.
AirDrop is installed in all Mac/MacBook/iPhone/iPad you just have to enable it on your laptop/desktop and indicate who you open access to (contacts, everyone etc.)
- Take the screenshot on your iPhone/iPad
- Share the pictures from your phone to your laptop/desktop using the AirDrop feature.
3. Get the shared pictures in your Finder>Downloads folder on your Mac.
❌ Area screenshot
✅ Fullscreen screenshot
❌ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
❌ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
👍 Thanks to Emma, a member of WE ARE TESTERS for this tip ;-)
You can also use : iCloud, Dropbox instead of AirDrop if you have synchronized the saving of your iPhone photos with these tools.
Video captures
Quicktime is already installed on Mac/MacBook.
- Plug your iPhone / iPad to your MAC desktop/Laptop.
- Launch a new video recording (not a screen recording).
- Select your iPhone in the list of cameras.
- Notice your mobile screen is mirrored on your Mac and launch the recording.
- Start testing the app or the website you have to QA.
❌ Area screenshot
❌ Fullscreen screenshot
❌ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
✅ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
👍 Thanks to Seb, a mission manager @ WE ARE TESTERS for this tip ;-)
Crash logs
No tool needed to find them. Here are the steps :
- Sync your iOS device with your MAC with iTunes
- Open Finder
- Follow this path: Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/
- Open the folder with the ‘name’ of your device
- Find the right file regarding the app that has just crashed
👍 Thanks to Seb, mission manager @ WE ARE TESTERS for this tip ;-)
From iPhone/iPad
to Windows Desktop/Laptop
Screenshots
Use the native screenshot shortcut on iPhone/iPad
+ iTools to retrieve the pictures
❌ Area screenshot
✅ Fullscreen screenshot
❌ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
✅ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
👍 Thanks to our StarDust internal testers for this tip ;-)
Video Captures
Apowersoft iPhone/iPad recorder
Download Apowersoft iPhone/iPad recorder for Windows
Mirror your iOS device on your windows desktop/laptop and record the mirrored screen.
- Launch Apowersoft iPhone/iPad recorder
- On your iOS device’s screen, slide bottom-up to display iPhone options and click on AirPlay.
- Choose your laptop/desktop and enable the mirror option
4. On your laptop/desktop, launch the screen recording and start testing the app on your iOS device.
Crash logs
Use iTools again.
- On iTools, on the side menu, click on “Advanced”.
- Select Crash logs
3. Select the right file
on Mac Desktops/Laptops
Screenshots
Awesome screenshot
get the Chrome extension / get the Firefox extension
✅ Area screenshot
✅ Fullscreen screenshot
✅ Entire page screenshot
✅ Edition of the screenshot
❌ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
👍 Thanks to Emma, a member of WE ARE TESTERS for this tip ;-)
Video capture
Quicktime > screen recording
Read the tutorial to record your Mac screen
❌ Area screenshot
❌ Fullscreen screenshot
❌ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
✅ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
From Android phones/tablets
to Windows desktops/laptops
Screen shots
Mirror your mobile/tablet device on your desktop/laptop, and screenshot it from there.
❌ Area screenshot
✅ Fullscreen screenshot
❌ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
❌ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
👍 Thanks to our StarDust internal testers for this tip ;-)
Video captures
Download the Android app on your phone/tablet.
- Launch the app
- Launch a new recording session of your device.
- Start navigating on the app/website you have to test.
- Share the video with your laptop/desktop
❌ Area screenshot
❌ Fullscreen screenshot
❌ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
✅ Video capture
❌ Save on desktop
❌ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
You can also use : Vysor (mirror your Android screen on your laptop/desktop)
👍 Thanks to our StarDust internal testers for this tip, and to Raul, a member @ WE ARE TESTERS for the alternative ;-)
Crash logs
Android Monitor again
When the crash happens, write down the date and time of the crash, then on Android Monitor access the “LogCat” view. And find the right crash log.
👍 Thanks to our StarDust internal testers for this tip ;-)
on Windows Desktops/Laptops
Screen shots & Video captures
Basic tool : FastStone Capture
✅ Area screenshot
✅ Fullscreen screenshot
✅ Entire page screenshot
✅ Edition of the screenshot
✅ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
❌ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
❌ Automatic actions after screenshot
You can also use : Greenshot and Screenpresso
👍 Thanks to Bruno, a member of WE ARE TESTERS for this tool, and to Julien and Raul for the alternatives ;-)
Advanced tool : ShareX
✅ Area screenshot
✅ Fullscreen screenshot
✅ Entire page screenshot
❌ Edition of the screenshot
✅ Video capture
✅ Save on desktop
✅ Save in Dropbox or other cloud
✅ Automatic actions after screenshot
👍 Thanks to our StarDust internal testers for this tip ;-)
We hope these tools will help you in the future and save you time whilst reporting bugs.
Feel free to give feedback on these tools once you’ve tried them out :-)
Claire Bertrand, product manager @ WE ARE TESTERS
