Web Objects Repository

Info

The Web Object Repository (Web OR) in INGenious provides a centralized, maintainable, and scalable way to manage UI elements used across your automated tests. Instead of scattering selectors throughout test code or embedding them directly in automation scripts, the repository allows teams to define, store, and reuse web elements from a single source of truth.

Key Benefits:

Centralized element management – All web objects live in one organized repository.
Reduced duplication – Reuse element definitions across test suites and frameworks.
Maintainability – Update a selector once and apply the change everywhere.
Consistent naming and structure – Standardized element definitions promote cleaner automation design.

Object Repository Structure

Object repository follows the structure below:

```
├── ProjectName
│   ├── PageName1
│   │   └── ObjectName1
│   └── PageName2
│       ├── ObjectName1
│       └── ObjectName2
```

A single project can include multiple Pages, and each Page can hold multiple Objects.
Page names must be unique within the project.
Object names must be unique within their respective page.

An object consists of the following attributes that define how it can be identified and interacted with:

Attribute	Description	Example Value
Role	Defines the semantic role of the element, often based on ARIA roles.	button
Text	Visible text displayed by the element.	Submit
Label	The associated label or ARIA label of the element.	Email Address
Placeholder	Placeholder text shown inside an input field.	Enter your email
XPath	XPath expression used to locate the element in the DOM.	//input[@id='email']
CSS	CSS selector used to target the element.	#login-button
AltText	Alternative text for an image or element.	Company Logo
Title	The title attribute of the element.	View Details
TestID	A stable identifier intended for automated testing.	data-testid="username-input"
ChainedLocator	Locator that finds the element relative to a parent or nested element.	Parent: div.user-form → Child: input[type='password']

Project and Shared Web OR

There are two types of Web OR that you may use:

Project Web OR

Contains objects that can be used within the project and managed from the Project tab within the OR panel.

For projects created before version 3.0, an OR.object file is automatically generated whenever a project containing Objects is saved. It stores the Page and Object attributes in XML format and is located inside the respective project directory.

For projects created in version 3.0, a YAML file is automatically generated for each page at the time of page creation. This file contains the objects within the page along with their corresponding attributes and is stored in the project’s directory <ProjectName>\ObjectRepository\Web\.

For projects loaded in version 3.0, legacy .object files are automatically converted to YAML and reorganized into the new folder structure. The original .object files are preserved as .bak files under <ProjectName>\ProjectXMLOR\.

When a Project Web Object (PWO) is used in a test step, the identifier [Project] PageName will show as its reference.
Shared Web OR

Contains objects that can be used across different projects and are managed from the Shared tab within the OR panel.

Similar to Project WebOR, for projects created before version 3.0, a SharedOR.object file is automatically generated whenever a project saves Objects created under Shared or when Objects are copied from Project to Shared. Like OR.object, it stores Page and Object attributes in XML format and is located in the Shared\SharedWebObjects\ directory.

For projects created in version 3.0, a YAML file is automatically generated for each page—either upon page creation under Shared or when pages or objects are moved from Project to Shared. This file contains the page’s objects and their corresponding attributes and is stored in the Shared\SharedObjectRepository\Web directory. The webor-projectsdata.yaml file maintains the list of projects that use the Shared Web Objects.

For projects loaded in version 3.0, legacy .object files are automatically converted to YAML and reorganized into the new folder structure. The original .object files are preserved as .bak files under Shared\SharedXMLOR\

When a Shared Web Object (SWO) is used in a test step, the identifier [Shared] PageName will show as its reference.

How to use Project and Shared Web OR

Pages and Objects can be added directly within the Project and Shared repositories using the Add Page or Add Object options.
Objects from Project and Shared Web OR can be used in a single Test Scenario.

For example:
For versions 2.4 and 2.4.1, Pages and Objects created under the Project tab can be copied to the Shared section by using the Copy to Shared option. When an entire Page is copied, all Objects under that Page—including their attributes—are copied. When copying a single Object, only that Object and its corresponding Page are copied. Note that existing test steps using the Project‑level Web Object (PWO) will not be automatically updated to use the Shared Web Object (SWO).
For version 3.0, Copy to Shared option is replaced by Move to Shared option. When an entire Page is moved, all Objects under that Page—including their attributes—are moved. When moving a single Object, only that Object and its corresponding Page are moved. Note that existing test steps using the Project‑level Web Object (PWO) are automatically updated to use the Shared Web Object (SWO) within the project.
Pages and Objects may share the same names across the Project and Shared repositories. However, names must remain unique within each individual repository.
Pages and Objects in both the Project and Shared repositories can be renamed using the Rename Page or Rename Object options. After renaming, any existing test steps in the current project that previously referenced an SWO using the old name will be updated automatically.
Pages and Objects in both the Project and Shared repositories can be deleted using the Delete Page or Delete Object options. However, once deleted, any existing test steps that previously referenced an SWO or PWO will still attempt to use the removed Page or Object, which may result in errors during test execution.
To view all test cases that reference an Object within the project, use the Get Impacted Cases option. This feature is available for both Project and Shared repositories.

Suggestion: Before renaming or deleting an object, please use the Get Impacted TestCases option for checking.