This is a complete guide to using the most popular open-source Test Management tool – TestLink.
Learn how to quickly set up and use the TestLink Test Management Tool with these in-depth TestLink Tutorials.
Editors’ Note – If you are still using MS Excel spreadsheets to track test cases and execution, this is the best time to switch to a Test Management tool. And for that reason, we have selected the long-time popular open-source Test Management Tool. Try it!
Table of Contents:
TestLink Test Management Tool
We have divided this TestLink Tutorials series into 4 parts:
Here is the list of all the tutorials in this series:
TestLink Tutorial #1: TestLink introduction, installation, and creating Test Plan and Test Cases
TestLink Tutorial #2: Requirements management, Test execution, and generating test reports
TestLink Tutorial #3: Updating test case execution status remotely i.e. through Selenium WebDriver code using TestLink API (Advanced concepts)
TestLink Tutorial #4: Test Metrics, Keyword Management, Custom Fields and Test Report Charts
Let’s start with the 1st part of this series.
Introduction To TestLink
This is the most widely used web-based open-source test management tool. It integrates both the Requirements Specification and Test Specification. The user can create test projects and document test cases using this tool. We can create an account for multiple users/testers and assign different user roles. Admin users can manage test case assignment tasks.
It supports both manual and automated execution of test cases. With this tool, the testers can generate Test Reports and Test Plan Documents within a minute. It supports the generation of Test reports in MS Word, Excel, and HTML formats.
TestLink also supports integration with many popular Defect Tracking systems like Mantis, Bugzilla, Jira, Youtrack, and TRAC. We can link a specific bug ticket to test cases. It also supports and maintains multiple Test projects. Since it is a web-based tool, multiple users can access its functionality at the same time with their credentials and assigned roles.
Benefits Of TestLink
- Supports multiple projects.
- Easy Test Cases import or export.
- Easy to integrate with many defect management tools.
- Automated Test case execution through XML-RPC.
- Easy to filter test cases with keywords, version, and Testcase ID.
- It can provide credentials to multiple users and assign roles to them.
- Easy to assign test cases to multiple users.
- Easy to generate Test plan, and Test reports in various formats.
TestLink Installation
UPDATE: You can install the cloud version of TestLink by checking the steps on this page.
Pre-requisites:
- Apache Webserver
- PHP
- MySQL
Note: If you have a System Admin assigned to your project, you can ask the sysadmin to install this for your project and skip directly to the “Creating a Test Project” step. If you have time to do these installations, I will suggest trying your hand at it. This will add to your experience.
To install TestLink, you need to install an Apache web server, PHP, and MySQL server. If your system or server already has Apache, PHP, and MySQL installed, then you can directly install this tool, as mentioned in the “Installation of TestLink” section below.
Otherwise, follow the below steps one by one to install Apache, PHP, and MySQL first.
Installation Of Apache
This section contains steps to be followed to install the Apache webserver.
Step #1: Download Apache from here.
Step #2: Extract the Zip file to C:/
Step #3: Copy C:\Apache24\bin path and append this with a path environment variable.
Step #4: Open Command Prompt. (Run as administrator)
cd to C:/Apache24/bin and run the following commands one by one
httpd -k install
httpd -k start
Installation Of PHP
This section contains steps to be followed to install PHP and configure PHP with Apache.
Step #1: Download PHP from this page (thread is safe).
Extract this to C:\php
Step #2: Rename php.ini-development to php.ini
Step #3: Add C:\php\ to the path environment variable.
Step #4: Edit php.ini and add/edit the following lines:
display_errors =On
log_erros = On
doc_root = C:/Apache24/htdocs
extension_dir = “C:/php/ext”
Step #5: Edit httpd.conf and add/edit the following lines,
LoadModule php5_module “C:/php/php5apache2_4.dll”
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .html .php4 .php5
At the end of httpd.conf file add,
PHPIniDir “C:/php”
Step #6: Create a file named phpinfo.php inside C:/Apache24/htdocs & add the following line inside the file.
<?php phpinfo();?>
Step #7: Copy php-mysql.dll in C:/php/ext and put it inside C:/Windows/System32
Step #8: Restart Apache.
Installation Of MySQL
This section contains steps to be followed to install MySQL.
Step #1: Download MySQL and install it.
Step #2: Create a Database named “TestLink” on your MySQL server.
Step #3: In php.ini uncomment MySQL extension.
And set the date time zone as “PRC”.
Installation Of TestLink
This section contains steps to be followed to install TestLink in the Apache webserver.
Step #1: Download TestLink.
Step #2: Extract the package, rename it to “testlink” and put it inside “C:/Apache24/htdocs”
Step #3: Edit config.inc.php and edit the following lines,
$tlCfg->log_path = ‘C:/Apache24/htdocs/testlink/logs/’;
$tlCfg->config_check_warning_mode = ‘SILENT’;
$g_repositoryPath = ‘C:/Apache24/htdocs/testlink/upload_area’;
Save the changes, and open http://localhost:80/testlink from the browser.
Click the “next” button until the installation is completed.
Step #4: Now you can log in to TestLink By accessing http://localhost:80/testlink.
Username: admin
Password: admin
Note: If you want screenshots of these installation steps, please check this installation guide.
Creating A Test Project
Test Project is a project created for a specific product/project. It contains Test plans, Test suites, Test cases, and Builds. We can maintain multiple projects in TestLink.
This section clearly explains how to create a Test Project:
Step #1: Creating a new Test Project requires “admin” rights. (So login with admin user)
Step #2: When logging for the first time, it will directly navigate to the Test project creation page. Otherwise, select the “Test Project Management” link on the main page and click on the “Create” button.
Step #3: Test Project section will be opened. Click on the “Create” button.
Step #4: Enter Test Project name, description, and all the required fields, and click on the “Create” button.
Test Projects should be created successfully.
Creating A Test Plan
The Test Plan document contains complete information like the scope of testing, milestones, test suites, and test cases. Once you’ve created a Test Project, the Next step is creating a Test plan.
This section clearly explains creating a Test Plan:
Step #1: Click on the “Test Plan Management” link on the desktop page.
Step #2: Click on the “Create” button on the test plan management page.
Step #3: Enter all the required details on the page.
Step #4: Click on the “Create” button. It should be saved.
Build Creation
The build is a specific release of the software.
This section clearly explains how to create a build:
Step #1: Click on “Builds/Releases” as shown in the figure.
Step #2: Click on the “create” button.
Step #3: Enter the details about the build as shown in the below figure and click on the “Create” button.
The build should be created and saved.
Creating Testsuite
Testsuite is a collection of test cases that may be validating/testing the same component. This section clearly explains how to create a test suite. Follow the below steps one by one to create a Testsuite.
Step #1: Click on the “Test Specification” link on the Desktop. It should navigate to the Test specification page of the Project.
Step #2: Click on the settings icon on
the right-side panel. It will display a series of Test suite operations.
Step #3: Click on Create a button for the Test suite.
Step #4: The Test Suite specification page should be opened. Fill in the details related to the Test suite and click the “Create Test suite” button.
The test suite will be created and appear on the left side, folder tree structure.
Creating A Testcase
Testcase contains a sequence of test steps to test a specific scenario, with an expected result. This section explains how to create a test case along with the test steps. Follow the below steps one by one to create Test cases.
Step #1: Click on the Test suite folder on the left side tree structure
Step #2: Click on the settings icon in the right-side panel. A list of Test case operations will be displayed on the right-side panel.
Step #3: Click on the Test case “Create” button. It will open the Test case specification page.
Step #4: Enter details in the Test case specification page.
Step #5: After entering the details, click on the “Create” button. It will save the test case.
Step #6: Now click on the “Create steps” button in the test case. It will show the test case step editor.
Step #7: Start adding the Test steps as shown in the picture.
Step #8: Click the “Save” button to add further steps, or click the “Save & exit” button to save the step and exit from the editor.
Finally, the test case we just created will look like this:
Assigning Testcase To Test Plan
To Execute a Test case, it should be assigned to a Test plan. This section describes how to assign a test case to a Test Plan. Follow the below-mentioned steps to assign a test case to a Test Plan.
Step #1: Click on the settings icon on the test case panel. It will display the list of operations.
Step #2: Click on the “Add to TestPlans” button.
Step #3: Click on the checkbox of the test plan, to which you want to assign the test case. And then click on the “Add” button.
The test case will be successfully added to the Test Plan.
That’s all for today.
Recap of what we learned in this tutorial:
- TestLink provides various functionalities such as documenting and executing test cases, Test reports, and Test plan generation.
- Multiple users with multiple roles can be defined in TestLink.
- It is a web-based test management tool, so everyone in the organization can browse test cases if they have valid login credentials.
- You can easily generate test reports in HTML, MS DOC, or Excel format.
- We can export all the test suites & Test cases and can import them into some other projects. This is very useful if we want to reuse existing test cases for the next project versions.
Due to these useful features, TestLink is widely used, and it has been the most popular open-source test management tool for a long.
About the author: Thanks to Anitha Eswari for helping us to craft these useful tutorials. She is currently working as a senior test engineer, having sound knowledge of manual and automation testing and various test management tools.
What Next?
In 2nd and 3rd part of this series we will see how to manage requirements, map test cases to requirements, execute test cases manually, link defects, and generate test reports. In the advanced part, we will see how to use Selenium WebDriver to update test cases automatically using TestLink API and save time and money, which are important factors for the success of any project.
List of All Tutorials:
TestLink Tutorial #1
Tutorial #2 here
Tutorial #3 here
Tutorial #4 here
As usual, we are here to help you. Let us know your queries in the comments below.
Excellent Information ,Thanks for Sharing ….
I am using TestLink 1.9.9 version and it doesnot have my settings option .can i just know how can i generate the key??
Very good sharing
Thank you so much
Some of you asked about the steps to navigate to the next topic (# 2 & 3). In the URL of the site, change the number to 2 or 3 as you want and you will be able to get there.
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/testlink-tutorial-1/
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/testlink-tutorial-2/
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/testlink-tutorial-3/
Hi guys,
In test execution of a test case there are three possible results that can be choosen namely Passed, Failed and Blocked.
Question: Can i have one more status as NA? i guess it can be coded in the tool but i am not a programmer. Can anyone tell me where i can add this module?
What is the actual meaning of status “Blocked”?
Very useful tool and as usual very well Explain.
Hello,
Thank you for provide good information but i am new in selenium so Can you start new tutorial for selenium.
Like you are provide complete tutorial for software testing and qtp etc.
Hello,
I am using the bugtracker.net for defect management/tracking. how to integrate this bugtracker.net with test link tool as this is not present in the issue tracker management feature….. kindly help..
Thanks in advance
I used Xampp server to install Testlink but.
I cant find lines to edit, in config file.
some how i tried to change the lines(except the middle one, which i cant find) but on opening the testlink on localhost it showed 404 error.
I have checked almost all online help. But not able to install teslink.
PLease help.
Even I am not able to see ‘Add to test plan’ option.
Pl advise asap
it’s so helpfull. I’m personally used & it’s amazine.
We facing issue to install TestLink, there is something wrong in the create table SQL, but we do not know what…
I’m looking for the email address of the TestLink helpline.
Somebody can help please?
Many thanks.
I used Xampp server to install Testlink but.
I cant find lines to edit, in config file.
some how i tried to change the lines(except the middle one, which i cant find) but on opening the testlink on localhost it showed 404 error.
I have checked almost all online help. But not able to install teslink.
PLease help.
can we integrate testlink with ontime defect tracking tool
I’m new to Test link. I’m going through the installation of testlink on my PC. For the project I’m using test link I’m the QA but there is a Dev and a Manager. I would like to create a admin account for our project and share the details with them .
I’ ve some Questions :
1) If there are 3 members in our project and with diff roles (test, manager, dev). Should they set up all the installation like what i did to view the defects or how to do it?
how can i navigate to 2nd tutorial of test link…i do not see any link
Thank you for creating such an elaborate content. which version of Testlink do you recommend? we observed that on 1.9.19 there is no save button during test execution.
Hi Anitha,
I am not able to get this button “Add to TestPlans” in test case panel , on demo link. Can you pls put more light on this?
Thanks,
Parul
Hi,
“TestLink Online Demo here” is not working pls help.
Thanks
Mamatha
Hi Guys,
Do we always see all the created testcases of particular project under “Test specification”?
I have created 6 sample TC’s under the project “i am not sure” which is allocated as 3 TCs each in each testsuite.
I assigned 6 TCs to “example testplan #1” and 3 TCs to “example testplan #2”.
Under the “Current Test Plan” i selected “example testplan #2” (i.e. this testplan is active now which has just 3 TCs). Now i navigate to test specification and i see all the created TCs under that project but not just the assigned TCs to that testplan.
Is this how the functionality of “Test specification” constructed in TestLink?
You can also use some third party like XAMPP.
It provides the complete bundle of mysql, php and apache and is comparatively easier to install. It will save a lot of your time. Being said that, process given here is thorough, and is the way you should do it. But if by any means you are not able to, you can use XAMPP.
thank you for helping us to improve our productivity with this Testlink…
Hai sir,
I’m a manual tester, I really need help on writing testplan. If i have 20 test cases related to regression testing, all will come under one test plan?
Thanks Anitha for this very informative article…I will be looking forward for the next tutorials on this series..
Hello, Does testlink allow you to tag test cases so you can run queries based on the tag ? eg. I need to create a regression testplan with only 10 of the features of the product instead of 18 features. Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I am using 1.9.14 version & ms office 2016. I have manually created some test cases and exported them as xml. When I try to open the xml in excel 2016, i am getting the following error -“The specified xml source does not refer to a schema. Excel will create a schema based on the xml source data”. If click ok button to proceed further and add some test cases and export the data as xml, again I am getting error as “Cannot save or export xml data.The XML maps in this worksheet are not exportable”. I don’t know whether this is an issue with this version or excel.
Please help.
Thanks
Balaji
I got the answer to all my problems.
Actually I was using the latest version of testlink.
Anyways, thankx to all.
Superb article
sdjbvhk jk,kn ugfyu uuoo. hyuibn juui uiiol kijug.
Great Job! Thanks!
Now going to the second part!
Hello guys. Just an alternative to installation process where in we need to install MySQL, PHP and Apache separately, I would rather suggest to install xampp which will automatically include Apache, MySQL, FileZilla, Mercury & Tomcat.
xampp-win32-1.8.3-4-VC11-installer
Hey Folks,
I have been using Testlink from 2 Years and just I have verified the above steps, but I dont think so they correct one, in the above Where is the Keyword management ? how we will use them with the Test cases? how you will identify in which Test phase we are moreover We need to generate the Test cases from Requirements,we should not jump directly to Test Specification,and we should map the each requirement with Test cases………… If any concerns catch me ||vaseemsix@gmail.com|mohammad.vaseem@goktree.com|mohammad.vaseem@ktree.com
Step – 1
Download php from this page (thread is safe).
Extract this to C:\php..
During step 1 execution (php download), am facing The page cannot be found issue.. Please help me out..
Thanks
Jai
It’s very useful ……good job
thanks
@Jai: Use this link to download PHP
http://windows.php.net/download
download thread safe one..
Hello Vishruth,
Test Report section is to produce Test Reports only, TO create / upload Test Scenario, you need to go to “Test Specification” section.
Where, you can create Test suites and within that you can create testcases.
I’m using test link for first time using this tutorial. Thanks. Keep up the good you are doing.
Very good explanation , very useful for us.
Hi guys,
I have questions related to Test Specification Tab on Dashboard (or) Desktop (Homepage). Whatever term is used.
Step 1: I have created a project (Say Deep)
Step 2: I have created a Testplan (Say Water)
Step 3: I have createad a Build (Say Sea V1.0)
Step 4: Created a Testsuite (Say Humanbeings) under project “Deep”
Step 5: I have created two Testsuite (Say Man and Women respectively) under testsuite “Human beings”.
Question in step 5: Are these (Man & Women)called child Testsuites? (or) testsuites (Man and Women) nested under testsuites “Human beings”
Step 6: I have created 5 test cases in each test suites.
Question related to Test Specification:
In testspecification i see only the Testsuite (Humanbeings, Man & Women) for all the testplans. What is the purpose of testspecification & how can it be used efficiently?
Scenario: I have created more testplans (Fire, Land, Sky) under the same project and i want to have the same test suites (Human beings but now name changed as Humanbeings 1, Humanbeings 2 and Humanbeings 3 ) then the same test suites (Man & Women) with the same TCs under the newly created testpalns.
Question: How do i change the name of the Testsuites in new testplans?
My findings during the name change: During name change of test suite under one testplan i see that all the testsuite in other testplans are changed (Because i think everything is linked). Some testplans were created from old testplans & some were not created from old testplans (i.e. independent of the already created testplan)
P.S.: If i have created a lot of confusion kindly metion where the confusion is. Then i can improve my explanation.
Hi guys,
FYI
Comments #42 & #43 are from me.
I am using TestLink 1.9.14
superb step by step guide. looks very easy to use tool. we will switch to this as we are using spreadsheets for tracking test cases as well as defects 🙁
Hola Buenas Tardes: estoy realizando la integración entre testlink y mantis, he hecho todo y en testlink no me habilita la opción de gestor de defectos, porqué será? gracias
Hi while installing apache i faced the error vcruntime140.dll missing.. after getting solution from google i tried install/uninstall with Microsoft window redistributable but still i am unable to install.pls help me get out of it
Hello All,
Can anyone recommend an open source test management tool?
Thanks in advance
Can you please tell me the location of “config.inc.php”
While giving httpd -k start
there occurs error
AH00558: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server’s fully qualified domain name, using fe80::604d:30d3:ff33:d29d. Set the server name directive globally to suppress the message
(OS 10048) Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/ network address/port)
is normally permitted.
Very good article and good step by step description.
Can you provide the similar type of article for JMETER.
If possible share the link wiht me on my email id.
mauar.abhyanand@gmail.com
it is a sketchy article.
@Mijjo – You can find “config.inc.php” file inside Extracted Testlink Folder.
@ Vijay
Do we require design documents for the preparation of test cases?
Nice and clear also your explanations are fluent… Thanks
Good one
Hi Vijay,
Our team is using TestLink for Test Management and your tutorial helped us more.
Problem:
-> Where can we create/upload TEST CASE SCENARIO on TestLink?
Note: On Test Report section we get option like ‘Select the top line in tree menu for all or a specific element to generate a document content.’ there we can find option ‘Test Case Scenario’, but we don’t know where do we upload/ create them,
Please help us with this.
Good to know such open source tools and thank you for all the details shared
Thanks a lot!!!
I have testlink on my machine, I want to share it with my other 2 team members. How do I do it? Please help
your presentation is very good, I am new to this field & actually gathering knowledge.
Thank you
Excellent !!!! thanks for sharing
Thanks, this tools is so useful.
Excellent Step by step instructions. Thanks Anitha proved “Information is Wealth”
Please correct the all links which is mension in the article, there links are not navogated to proper page, every link has error .
how can i navigate to 3rd tutorial of test link…i do not see any link
Hi
anyone using Tarantula Test Management tool? How it is?
Thanks
Mamatha
Hi,
I want to buy this tool What we need
DB: ???
Web server : ??
Actually, we started using test link. But its manually, we are entering the test cases. We installed the test link, in a VMmachine. When we create a test case, or try to do something, it will be down. Shall I know the minimum memory/ requirements for running the test link in a VMmachine
I am using windows 7 pro for installing & configuring the testsoftware but and I have installed xampp 3.2.1.
after after completing the apache when I restart the service its not working giving the error, can you pls guide me how to go about it. ( AH00526: Syntax error on line 561 of c:/xampp/apache/conf/httpd.conf: invalid command ‘application’ , perhaps misspelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration)
Hello Anitha Eswari,
Thank you for your valuable reply,
I have knowledge about how to create test cases, but my question is ‘How to Create Test Scenarios?’ on TestLink.
Please help with this.