Tools to get the job done

This post is going to focus on tools that I am going to be using while working with Protractor. I am not talking about a hammer or a saw. I’m talking about applications that will make your life easier as you code with Protractor. Most of these are optional and you are welcome to choose what you like to work with, but I am setting the stage so that if you want to follow along exactly as I do things, you need to be using the same tools as I am.

Note this post contains affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to use these links, but it helps to support this blog.

The set of tools (apps) that I will be using are:

• Google Chrome
• ConEmu
• Visual Studio Code
• Sublime Text

Google Chrome

If you don’t have Chrome installed on your system for whatever reason, I would highly recommend doing so now. Selenium works best on Chrome, so it only makes sense that Protractor also works best on Chrome. Unless you have a specific reason why you don’t want to use Chrome, this should be the first things you add to your system.

You can grab the installer from Google’s site here.

ConEmu

The console that comes with Windows is very ancient with respect to functionality. You can’t easily paste text in. The ability to click at any point in a command is missing. And there are no tabs, so you have to open multiple console windows instead of having one with multiple tabs.

Since Protractor is going to use the console window on a regular basis, let’s upgrade to something more modern and usable.

There are many options out there to choose from, most if not all of which are free. However, my choice goes to “ConEmu”.

Just a few of the features:

• Tabbed windows
• Easily resizable
• Colors
• Easy copy and paste

You can download ConEmu here.

Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code does not equal Visual Studio. Although the names sound similar they are two different beasts. VS Code is a lightweight code editor. It is fast and easy to use. Also, VS Code has a ton of free plugins that you can add that will make your life a lot easier.

You can download Visual Studio Code here.

After you install VS Code I recommend installing the following plugins.

• ESLint
• Path Intellisense

Sublime Text

Having a good, full-featured text editor will make life editing files and data a lot easier. Trying to use Windows Notepad to do anything more than just type up notes is a waste of time. No tabbed windows. No hotkeys to make editing text faster. My choice for a more powerful text editor is Sublime Text. Sublime Text is free, as long you don’t mind an occasional pop-up asking you to buy the full version.

Features of Sublime Text:

• Quickly edit text with hotkeys
• Tons of plugins
• Tabbed windows

You can download Sublime Text here.

To be able to download plugins for sublime you need to first install the “Package Control”. Instructions here.

I recommend the following plugins:

• Pretty JSON
• Compare Side-By-Side

You should now have all the tools that you will need to work effectively with Protractor Test.

These posts are an introduction to Protractor for Automated Testing. To learn more with a full hands-on guide, grab our course on Udemy for only $9.99 when you use my link. Website Automation for Beginners with Protractor

Lesson 3: Write Your First Test