How to: Set Think Times in a Web Test
Think time is the time spent by a user perusing a Web page, including viewing the page and determining the next action. Think time does not include the time that is required for a page to load.
When you record a Web test, think times are recorded for each Web page. Later, when you run the Web test, the think time can be either used or ignored. In the Web Test Viewer, use the Think Time button to switch from using think times to not using them.
Think times are very important during load tests because they set the pace of the test. It is important to review the recorded think times of your Web tests to make sure they accurately reflect realistic wait times. It is easy to be distracted during a recording session and end up with unexpectedly long think times that have an adverse effect on a load test. To avoid this problem, you can pause the recorder.
For more information, see About Think Times.
To change a think time of a request in a Web test
Open a Test project that contains a Web test.
For more information about how to create a test project, see How to: Create a Test Project.
From the Test project, open a Web test. Your Web test opens in the Web Test Editor.
For more information about how to create a load test, see Creating a Web Test.
In the Web Test Editor, select the request for which you want to change the Think Time property.
In the Properties window, set the Think Time property to an appropriate value, in seconds. To display the Properties window, press F4.
On the File menu, select Save. Click the Run button to run your Web test in the Web Test Viewer with the new think time.
To use think times in a Web test
Before you run the Web test in the Web Test Viewer, click the Think Times button to switch from using think times to not using think times. It is a toggle key. When think times is switched on, each request now uses its saved think time when you run a test.
- or -
In the Web Test Viewer, click the Edit Run Settings button. For more information, see Running and Viewing a Web Test.
In the Web Test Run Settings dialog box, select Simulate Think Times to use think times in your Web test. Clear the check box to run tests without think times.
Note
You can also select the Simulate Think Times setting from the run settings in the Test Manager window. For more information, see How to: Specify a Test Run Configuration.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Change the Think Profile