Upgrading Tests from Earlier Versions of Visual Studio
There are upgrade and compatibility issues that you should be aware of before you use tests that you created using earlier versions of Visual Studio. Here are the two possible upgrade scenarios:
Upgrading tests from Visual Studio 2010
Upgrading test from versions of Visual Studio prior to Visual Studio 2010
Upgrading tests from Visual Studio 2010
Test projects that you created in Visual Studio 2010 SP1 that contain unit tests, coded UI tests, Web performance or load tests can be opened in Visual Studio 2012. Therefore, your team can continue to use Visual Studio 2010 SP1 or Visual Studio 2012 to work with these test projects. In some cases, like when projects contain coded UI tests, the projects might be repaired when they are opened in Visual Studio 2012. The repair process enables the test project to work correctly with both Visual Studio 2010 SP1 and Visual Studio 2012.
New test project templates
Note
Web performance and load test projects include test settings by default. However, unit test projects, and coded UI test projects no longer include test settings which increase testing performance. However, for compatibility, you can open and use a Visual Studio 2010 SP1 solution that contains a test project and .testsettings file and continue to use it. For more information, see Compatibility of Test Settings with Visual Studio 2010.
Visual Studio 2012 introduces new test project templates. In Visual Studio 2010, there was a single test project template. Visual Studio 2012 has these test project templates:
Unit Test Project – Can include unit tests, third-party unit tests, ordered tests, and generic tests. For more information, see:
Coded UI Test Project – Can include the test types listed for Unit Test Project above, and coded UI tests. For more information, see:
Web Performance and Load Test Project – Can include Web performance tests and load tests. For more information, see:
Because of these new test project templates, along with other changes for testing such as the deprecation of the Test View windows and the addition of Test Explorer, Visual Studio 2012 includes some compatibility and upgrade options. These compatibility and upgrade options support most or your previous test projects and their respective tests.
Video Attachments
In Visual Studio 2012, Microsoft Test Runner creates videos in Windows Media Video (WMV) format. For compatibility with videos created using Visual Studio 2010, you must install the Expression Encoder 4.0 diagnostic data adapter software. This will allow you to view video attachments created in Visual Studio 2010 using Visual Studio 2012. For more information, see Compatibility of Video Attachments Created Using Microsoft Test Runner in Visual Studio 2010
Using Visual Studio Ultimate, Visual Studio Premium, or Visual Studio Test Professional, you can create test plans, test suites, and test cases as work items in your team project to help you define your testing effort for your project. You can enter the required test steps, and any other information that you must have to run a test, as part of the work item. You can convert these to automated tests by associating test methods with your test case. For more information about how to define your testing effort, see Defining Your Testing Effort Using Test Plans.
Upgrading test from versions of Visual Studio prior to Visual Studio 2010
If you have existing manual test cases that you created by using versions of Visual Studio prior to Visual Studio 2010, you can migrate data from these test cases into a manual test case by using Visual Studio Premium or Visual Studio Test Professional.
If you have existing manual test cases that you have created by using third-party products, or that are currently stored in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel documents, you can also migrate these test cases into test case work items in Team Foundation Server.
If you have existing automated tests from earlier versions of Visual Studio, you can associate these tests with a test case—after you upgrade the test project that contains the automated tests to Visual Studio. For more information about how to associate automated tests with test cases, see How to: Associate an Automated Test with a Test Case and How to: Create Test Cases from an Assembly of Automated Tests Using tcm.exe.
Important
After your team project has been upgraded to Visual Studio 2012, there are some manual steps that you have to take to gain the new test functionality. You have to create some additional categories. Until you complete these steps, you might receive an error that the required category does not exist in your team project. For more information about how to add test management to your upgraded team project, see Enabling Interfacing with Microsoft Test Manager for Upgraded Team Projects.
If you are using a mixture of previous and current clients and servers, there are additional considerations you can read about in this compatibility matrix.
Tasks
Use the following topics to migrate your existing test cases.
Tasks |
Associated Topics |
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Using test types from previous versions of Visual Studio: Visual Studio 2012 includes some compatibility and upgradability for your existing manual tests, unit tests, coded UI tests, Web performance tests, and load tests. |
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Migrating manual tests from earlier versions of Visual Studio: You can use a power tool to migrate your existing test cases from versions of Visual Studio prior to Visual Studio 2010. Or you can add test steps to a test case by selecting the steps from your manual test file in your solution and copying them to a Microsoft Word or an Microsoft Excel document. You can then migrate these steps into a test case and make any additional changes that you require to the test steps. In addition, you can associate an automated test with your test case. |
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Migrating test cases from third-party products: You can use a power tool to migrate your existing test cases in Microsoft Excel documents into Team Foundation Server. Or you can migrate your test cases manually that are currently stored in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel documents. You can then access these migrated test cases using Microsoft Test Manager and make any additional changes to test steps. |
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See Also
Tasks
Quick Start Guide for Manual Testing using Microsoft Test Manager
Concepts
Visual Studio 2012 Compatibility
Verifying Code by Using Unit Tests
Testing the User Interface with Automated Coded UI Tests
Testing Performance and Stress Using Web Performance and Load Tests