Documentation › The MaxTAF Recorder

The MaxTAF Recorder

User  Chrome extension · MaxTAF Universal Recorder v2.x

The MaxTAF Recorder is a Chrome extension that watches what you do in a web application — primarily IBM Maximo — and turns it into a runnable MXML test case in MaxTAF Cloud. Record a workflow once, get a deterministic regression test out the other side.

Installing the extension

The recorder is distributed as an unpacked Chrome extension (Manifest V3). To load it:

1. Obtain the recorder build from Code Development Ltd (a maxtaf-recorder-v<version>.zip) and unzip it, or build it from source (npm install then npm run build, which produces a dist/extension folder).
2. Open chrome://extensions/ in Chrome and enable Developer mode (top-right).
3. Click Load unpacked and select the dist/extension folder.
4. The MaxTAF Universal Recorder appears in your extensions. Pin it, then open it — it runs as a Chrome side panel.

Connecting it to MaxTAF Cloud

To upload recorded cases straight into a project, open the recorder's Configuration (overflow ⋮ ▸ Configuration) and set:

If these are blank, the recorder still works but only saves the case as a local file (see SAVE_TO_FILE_ONLY below).

Recording and exporting a case

1. Open the recorder side panel and click the record button (the red dot). If there are leftover lines, you'll be asked whether to clear them first.
2. Use Maximo normally — log in, navigate to an application, create or edit a record. Each interaction appears as a line in the panel.
3. Add checks where you need them by right-clicking an element and choosing an Assert / Store / Verify action (see below).
4. Click record again to stop.
5. Click Create MaxTAF Case, enter a case name (letters, numbers, spaces and underscores), choose Overwrite if replacing an existing case, and click Export Case.
6. The case uploads to your configured project and opens in the MaxTAF Workspace as an MXML case, ready to run.

What the recorder captures

These interactions are recorded automatically as you work:

Frame switches are important for Maximo: the recorder tracks when your interaction crosses into or out of an iframe and inserts the frame-select step so replay lands in the right place.

Assertions and stored values

Right-click any element and open the MaxTAF Recorder context menu. Actions are grouped:

Store actions prompt for a variable name; the stored value can then be reused later in the case. Title actions ignore the element and use the page title. For the exact MXML each produces, see the MXML Reference.

Settings reference

Configuration lives in the recorder's settings (seeded from a preload-settings.json on install). The keys most users touch:

Headless / automation API

The recorder can be driven without its UI by posting window messages — this is how MaxTAF's AI test cases record a flow automatically. From the page's main frame:

// Start a fresh recording
window.postMessage({ type: 'MXTAF_RECORDER_CONTROL', command: 'startWithClear' }, '*');

// ... perform actions ...

// Record an assertion (searches all frames for the element id)
window.postMessage({ type: 'MXTAF_RECORDER_CONTROL', command: 'contextAction',
  action: 'assertValue', elementId: 'ASSETNUM@483' }, '*');

// Stop and create the case in MaxTAF
window.postMessage({ type: 'MXTAF_RECORDER_CONTROL', command: 'stop' }, '*');
window.postMessage({ type: 'MXTAF_RECORDER_CONTROL', command: 'createCase',
  name: 'MyCase_' + Date.now() }, '*');

How it works (briefly)

A content script injected into every frame captures your interactions; a background service worker stores them and, on export, compiles them to MXML and POSTs the case to the MaxTAF import API. Maximo recordings always compile to MXML because that language handles Maximo's quirks. If a direct upload can't reach MaxTAF (for example from inside a Kubernetes pod), the recorder falls back to a local proxy-upload path.