Settings Reference¶
Load Tester preferences control application behavior, default values, and UI options. Most users will never change more than a handful of these. When you do need to change one, this reference tells you where to find it, what it defaults to, and what happens when you change it.
Access preferences through Window → Preferences (macOS: Load Tester → Preferences).
Accessing Preferences¶
To open preferences:
- Windows/Linux: Window → Preferences
- macOS: Load Tester → Preferences
The Preferences dialog organizes settings by category in a tree structure on the left.
General Settings¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → General
Test Case Editor¶
Controls default behavior of the Test Case Editor view.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show HTTP method | Display HTTP method (GET, POST) in transaction list | Enabled |
| Show response code | Display HTTP status code (200, 404) in transaction list | Enabled |
Replay Behavior¶
Controls how test cases behave during replay.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Remove network errors before replay | Automatically delete network errors from test case before replay starts (prevents replay failure due to stale recorded errors) | Enabled |
| Allow replay without authentication configured | Permit replay even if NTLM/Basic authentication isn't configured (useful for debugging, but may cause 401 errors) | Disabled |
| Activate Content View during replays | Automatically show Content View and update it with each completed page during replay | Enabled |
| Wait for page complete before loading child resources | Virtual users wait for main page response before requesting images/CSS/JS (matches real browser behavior) | Enabled |
When to change: - Disable "Remove network errors" if you want to see which transactions had network issues during recording - Enable "Allow replay without auth" when debugging test cases with partially configured authentication - Disable "Activate Content View" if you don't need to see pages during replay (faster)
Browser & Recording Settings¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → Browser
Browser Selection¶
Controls which browser is used for recording.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Default browser | Browser automatically launched when recording starts (marked with *) |
| Auto Detect | Scans system for installed browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari) |
| Add custom browser | Configure unsupported browsers (requires manual proxy configuration) |
Browser configuration options (per browser):
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Cache | Delete browser cache before each recording (prevents cached content from being missing in recording) | Enabled (IE/Firefox) |
| Clear Cookies | Delete browser cookies before recording (ensures clean session state) | Enabled (IE/Firefox) |
| Use Windows System-wide Proxy Settings | Automatically configure Windows proxy before recording and restore afterward (easiest method for Windows browsers) | Enabled (Windows) |
| Continue Recording After Browser Process Terminates | Keep recording even if browser process ends (useful for multi-window browsers) | Disabled |
⚠️ Important: Always clear cache and cookies before recording. If Load Tester isn't configured to do this automatically, clear them manually in the browser.
Content View Rendering (Windows only)¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → Browser → Windows
Controls how content is displayed in the Content View.
| Setting | Options | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content View Rendering Mode | Interactive / Proxified | Interactive | Interactive: Click form fields to configure them Proxified: Serve content through internal proxy |
| Report Rendering Mode | Direct / Servlet | Direct | Direct: Renders reports directly in IE Servlet: Serves reports via HTTP (enables external browser launch) |
Interactive Content View¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → Browser → Windows → Interactive Content Viewer
Controls behavior of the Content View in Interactive mode.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Allow Scripts | Enable JavaScript/VBScript in Content View (may be needed for interactive forms) | Enabled |
| Allow ActiveX | Enable ActiveX controls in Content View | Enabled |
| Enable "Click to Configure" for input fields | Click form fields in HTML view to configure them for parameterization | Enabled |
| Allow download of missing resources | Permit Content View to fetch resources not in recording (connects to live server) | Disabled |
When to disable scripts/ActiveX: If viewing recorded content causes errors or unwanted behavior (e.g., JavaScript modifying forms).
Networking Settings¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → Networking
Hostname Resolution¶
Controls DNS lookup and caching behavior.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh hostname lookups every | How long to cache DNS lookups (minutes). If disabled, caches for entire load test duration. | Disabled |
| Enable separate hostname cache per virtual user | Each VU maintains its own DNS cache (more realistic but uses more memory) | Disabled |
| Simulate even distribution for DNS load balanced hostnames | Distribute VUs evenly across multiple IPs for round-robin DNS hosts | Enabled |
| Allow virtual users to re-query name service during test case | VUs can refresh DNS lookups mid-test (simulates users with varying DNS results) | Disabled |
| Maximum unique IPs to attempt connections to | How many IPs to try before considering host unreachable (for multi-IP hosts) | 3 |
| Open custom HOSTS file | Edit hosts.txt for custom hostname mappings |
- |
When to change: - Enable per-VU cache for applications with very short TTLs or frequent DNS changes - Increase max unique IPs if testing load-balanced hosts with many IPs - Disable even distribution to test actual DNS round-robin behavior
IP Protocol¶
Controls IPv4/IPv6 preferences.
| Setting | Options | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostnames with IPv6 addresses | Automatic / Prefer IPv4 / Allow IPv6 | Automatic | Automatic: IPv4 only on platforms without IPv6 Prefer IPv4: Always use IPv4 when both available Allow IPv6: Distribute across both protocols |
TLS / SSL¶
Controls SSL/TLS security and behavior.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Use strict SSL security checks | Enable additional SSL compliance validation (may report errors lenient browsers ignore) | Disabled |
| Disable SNI for recording and playback | Disable Server Name Indication (SNI) for all test cases and recordings | Disabled |
| TLS Renegotiation Security | How to handle insecure TLS renegotiation requests | Allow Insecure |
TLS Renegotiation options:
| Option | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Strict | Reject insecure renegotiation (connection fails) | Testing servers with RFC 5746 support |
| Interoperable | Refuse insecure renegotiation but keep connection | Mixed environments |
| Allow Insecure | Allow servers to renegotiate insecurely | Legacy servers without RFC 5746 |
When to enable strict SSL checks: Testing compliance with security standards or diagnosing SSL handshake issues.
Load Testing Settings¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → Load Testing
Test Defaults¶
Default values for new load test configurations.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Default Sample Period | How often metrics snapshots are recorded (seconds) | 5 seconds |
| Live Chart Samples | Number of data points plotted in real-time charts (more = longer history but higher CPU) | 600 |
Metrics Collection¶
Controls what data is collected during load tests.
| Setting | Description | Default | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record URL metrics | Collect metrics for each individual URL/transaction | Enabled | High data volume Provides detailed per-component analysis |
| Record Detailed Page Durations | Record duration of every page execution during test | Enabled | High data volume Enables percentile and distribution analysis |
When to disable: - Very long tests (>2 hours) - reduces memory and disk usage - Tests with thousands of URLs - prevents excessive data collection - Focus on aggregate metrics only - faster analysis
Test Termination¶
Controls how load tests end.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Terminate test immediately when completed | Stop all VUs instantly when test duration expires (don't let them finish current page) | Disabled |
Default behavior: VUs finish their current page before stopping (more realistic, prevents mid-transaction errors).
When to enable: Strict time limits required, or testing time-sensitive scenarios.
Error Recording¶
Limits how many errors are saved during load tests (prevents excessive memory usage).
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Descriptions | Maximum unique error messages to record per test case | 1000 |
| Number of Pages | Maximum error pages (full HTTP content) to save per test case | 10 |
When to increase: - Debugging test with many different error types - Need to analyze all unique errors (not just first 1000)
Caution: Large values increase memory usage significantly during load tests.
Trace Logging (Advanced Diagnostics)¶
Detailed logging of virtual user activity for troubleshooting.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable trace logging | Save detailed HTTP transaction logs for first N virtual users | Disabled |
| Number of users to log | How many VUs to trace | 5 |
| Log location | Directory for trace log files | <install>/tracelog/ |
Trace log formats:
- log.txt - Timestamped event log (connections, requests, responses)
- T0.txt, T1.txt, ... - Full HTTP request/response for each transaction (headers + body)
⚠️ Warning: Trace logging consumes disk space at an alarming rate and severely impacts performance. Only enable it for debugging specific issues. It automatically disables itself when Load Tester restarts (which is a deliberate safety feature, not a bug).
Trace log directory structure:
tracelog/
├── T0/ # Test run 0
│ ├── BC0/ # Business case (test case) 0
│ │ ├── VU0/ # Virtual user 0
│ │ │ ├── R0/ # Repeat 0
│ │ │ │ ├── log.txt # Event log
│ │ │ │ ├── T0.txt # Transaction 0 HTTP
│ │ │ │ └── T1.txt # Transaction 1 HTTP
│ │ │ └── R1/ # Repeat 1
│ │ └── VU1/ # Virtual user 1
│ └── BC1/ # Business case 1
└── T1/ # Test run 1
Validation Settings¶
Location: Preferences → Web Performance → Configuration Wizards → Validation Rules
Controls default validation rules applied by the Validation Wizard.
Creating Validation Rules¶
Validation rules detect errors during replay/load testing by searching response content for expected/unexpected text.
Rule configuration:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Message | Text to search for in response content | Error:, Exception, Welcome back |
| Record error if | When this rule triggers an error | Message is found (error text) Message is not found (expected text missing) |
Rule Constraints¶
Limit which transactions a rule applies to.
| Constraint | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| URL contains | Apply rule only to URLs matching text | 192.168.10.10 (specific host)/api/ (API endpoints) |
| MIME type contains | Apply rule only to specific content types | text/html (HTML only)application/json (JSON only) |
| Recorded transaction must satisfy rule | Skip rule for transactions where recording would have triggered error | Enabled (default) |
Example rules:
| Use Case | Message | Record error if | Constraints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detect server errors | 500 Internal Server Error |
Message is found | MIME: text/html |
| Verify login success | Welcome back |
Message is not found | URL: /login |
| Detect session expiry | Session expired |
Message is found | - |
| API error detection | "error": |
Message is found | MIME: application/json |
⚠️ Important: Changing validation preferences here only affects future wizard runs. Existing validation rules on existing test cases are not updated automatically. You have to re-run the Validation Wizard on any test case that should pick up the new settings.
File Locations Reference¶
Settings and data are stored in these locations:
macOS:
~/WebPerformance7/ # Workspace root
├── .metadata/.plugins/com.webperformanceinc.util/
│ ├── validation/ # Validation rules
│ ├── asm/ # ASM detection rules
│ ├── recording/ # Recording preferences
│ └── fields/ # Field configuration defaults
├── config/
│ └── diagnostic.properties # Debug logging settings
└── .metadata/.log # Eclipse log file
Windows:
C:\Users\<username>\WebPerformance7\ # Workspace root
├── .metadata\.plugins\com.webperformanceinc.util\
│ ├── validation\ # Validation rules
│ ├── asm\ # ASM detection rules
│ ├── recording\ # Recording preferences
│ └── fields\ # Field configuration defaults
├── config\
│ └── diagnostic.properties # Debug logging settings
└── .metadata\.log # Eclipse log file
Resetting to Defaults¶
To reset all preferences to defaults:
- Close Load Tester
- Delete workspace folder:
~/WebPerformance7/(macOS) orC:\Users\<username>\WebPerformance7\(Windows) - Restart Load Tester - fresh workspace created automatically
⚠️ Warning: This deletes all preferences, custom validation rules, ASM rules, and workspace layout. Your test cases (.wpt files) are safe if stored outside the workspace, but everything you've customized about Load Tester's behavior is gone.
To reset specific settings:
- Open: Window → Preferences
- Navigate to setting category
- Click: Restore Defaults button
- Click: Apply
Quick Reference¶
Most commonly adjusted settings:
| Setting | Location | Common Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Default browser | Browser → Default browser | Switch to Chrome, Firefox, Edge |
| Clear cache/cookies | Browser → per-browser settings | Enable for all browsers |
| Hostname resolution | Networking → Hostname Resolution | Configure for DNS load balancing |
| SSL security checks | Networking → TLS/SSL | Enable for compliance testing |
| Sample period | Load Testing → Default Sample Period | 10-30 sec for long tests |
| URL metrics | Load Testing → Record URL metrics | Disable for very large tests |
| Validation rules | Configuration Wizards → Validation Rules | Add custom error detection |
Settings that require restart: - TLS Renegotiation Security (Load Tester + all load engines must restart)
Settings that require re-running wizards: - Validation Rules (re-run Validation Wizard on test case)
Related Topics¶
- Configuration Files - Advanced configuration via text files
- Workspace Management - Managing workspace location and settings
- Browser Configuration - Browser-specific recording setup
- Debugging Failed Replays - Validation and content checking
- Troubleshooting - Common configuration issues