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Modifying Test Case Content

After recording a test case, you'll almost always need to customize it before it's ready for load testing. The recording captures exactly what happened during one session, but load testing requires flexibility: handling variations, removing unnecessary elements, and configuring data-driven behavior.

This part of the manual covers the most common content edits, each on its own page. Jump straight to the one you need.

Why Customization Matters

A raw recording is rarely ready for load testing. Here's why:

  1. File uploads: By default, Load Tester uploads the same file recorded during the session. For realistic testing, each virtual user should upload different content.

  2. Dynamic file downloads: When file downloads use unique identifiers in the URL path (rather than query parameters), Load Tester can't automatically correlate them, so you need to configure extraction and substitution.

  3. JSON/XML data: Modern applications send structured data (JSON, XML) in HTTP requests. You need to customize these payloads to vary data per user or iteration.

  4. URL and hostname changes: You may need to test against a different environment (staging vs. production) or modify recorded URLs to handle dynamic content.

  5. Repeated values: The same hostname, token, or parameter often appears on dozens of transactions. The Fields View lets you change all of them at once.

  6. Third-party services: Ad-servers and click-trackers inflate metrics, trigger fraud detection, and make configuration harder. It's usually best to remove them entirely.

  7. Static resources: Recorded CSS, JavaScript, image, and font requests carry build fingerprints that turn into 404s on the site's next release, and they're usually served by a CDN rather than the servers you're testing.

The Techniques

  • File Uploads - Configure each virtual user to upload a different file using imported files and a generated dataset.
  • Dynamic File Downloads - Handle downloads whose unique identifier is part of the URL path, by extracting and substituting the dynamic values.
  • JSON & XML Content - How Load Tester recognizes structured payloads, auto-correlates them with ASM, and how to configure them by hand.
  • URLs & Hostnames - Retarget a recording at a different environment and make URL path segments dynamic.
  • Mass-Editing Fields - Select many fields at once in the Fields View and apply one change, to edit every instance of a field or retarget all hostnames.
  • Removing Transactions - Keep third-party ad-servers and trackers out of the load test, and delete unwanted transactions.
  • Stripping Static Resources - Remove all CSS, JavaScript, image, and font requests in one action.

Next Steps

After customizing your test case, verify it replays successfully:

For advanced configuration:

For load testing with customized test cases: