In fields that allow keyboard input, you can either enter data manually or use one of the following variable options:
- Environment variables: Allow you to create unique scenarios for the strings you add to the input text in an environment. The environment variables most often used are RUN_ID and EPOCH. RUN_ID allows you to enter a random, different value at each run without manually editing anything, for example the first part of an email address. EPOCH presents a timestamp that is different each time it is inserted.
- Context variables: Most commonly used. You can set context variables either manually, through an external data file, or by pushing the value to context. After setting a context variable in your test scenario, you can use the variable in any text input field.
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Special Characters: Mainly keyboard keys. For example, in the Keys to send field for a step, you can enter an email address plus <<ENTER>> to tie the action of pressing the enter key to the step instead of clicking the Submit button in a separate step.
Our Use variables tutorial provides usage examples for each variable type, along with detailed usage instructions.
