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Test reports

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Testing your report requires you to run it and to verify the data output. This practice helps you ensure that your customers are presented with complete and accurate data.

Before extensions, the output of a report was saved to a file, but extensions deployed to Dynamics 365 Business Central can't access the file system and therefore must save the output of a report to a stream. Codeunit 131007 Library - Report Dataset offers a high-level API for running and testing the output of reports that doesn't require direct access to the file system.

Example

The following example shows how to initialize the codeunit 131007 Library - Report Dataset by using the RunReportAndLoad method. This method is preferred as it runs the report and initialize the Library - Report DataSet codeunit. To verify the output, call either the AssertElementWithValueExists or the AssertElementWithValueNotExist method. The other methods in the library should work as well if they don't contain “Tag” in the name. RUNREQUESTPAGE and [RequestPageHandler] are optional and you can use them when you want to open the request page.

Tip

If you want to run the report separately and load the data from the input stream manually, you can use the LoadDataFromInstream method.

codeunit 50105 MyReportTesting
{
    Subtype = Test;
    
    [Test]
    [HandlerFunctions('RemittanceAdviceJournalRequestPageHandler')]
    procedure TestingReports()
    var
        XmlParameters: Text;
        LibraryReportDataset: Codeunit "Library - Report Dataset";
        GenJournalLine: Record "Gen. Journal Line";
    begin
        // Run the Report Remittance Advice - Journal. 
        XmlParameters := Report.RunRequestPage(Report::"Remittance Advice - Journal");
        LibraryReportDataset.RunReportAndLoad(Report::"Remittance Advice - Journal", GenJournalLine, XmlParameters);

        // Verifying Total Amount on Report. 
        LibraryReportDataset.AssertElementWithValueExists('Amt_GenJournalLine', GenJournalLine.Amount);
    end;

    [RequestPageHandler]
    procedure RemittanceAdviceJournalRequestPageHandler(var RemittanceAdviceJournal: TestRequestPage 399)
    begin
        // Empty handler used to close the request page. We use default settings. 
    end;
}

Any changes done in the handler above results in the XmlParameters being changed and applied automatically when the report runs. Examples of the implementation in the existing tests are in Codeunit 133770 and Codeunit 134141.

Remarks

TestRequestPage.SaveAsXML uses a different format than Report.SaveAsXML or Report.SaveAs by serializing the output of Report Previewer. This is a component that will be deprecated in the future and replaced with the new methods that can be used for the new tests. Another difference is that TestRequestPage.SaveAsXML requires files to be saved to disk and loaded, while other methods work in memory, making them more efficient.

Note

The existing tests still need support and the codeunit solves this problem by supporting both formats for now. TestRequestPage.SaveAsXML uses Tags for values, while the new format uses attributes. This means that you cannot use any public method that contains "Tag" in the name to test the reports generated in the memory.

Tip

From the Business Central client, you can export report results as raw data to an XML file. Use the file to help validate that the report returns the expected data. To export a report dataset to XML, run the report and select the Send to > XML (data only) on the request page.

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