You can control the way test runs proceed by specifying settings that are stored in test run configurations. Test run configuration settings are saved to disk in files that have the .testrunconfig extension. You can create and save multiple run configurations, and then make a specific run configuration active, which is the test run configuration that is used when tests are run. For information about how to make a run configuration active, see How to: Apply a Test Run Configuration.

The procedures in this topic describe various aspects of working with run configurations. The first group of procedures describes how to create and delete run configurations.

The second group of procedures describes how to set the values within run configurations. To set these values, you use the test run configuration editor, a dialog box that has the following pages:

• General. On this page, specify a name for the test run configuration and an optional textual description. You can also specify a scheme for creating the names of test runs, which are used to identify test runs in the Test Results window.

• Controller and Agent. Select whether to run tests on the local computer, or remotely, by using a test controller. Running tests locally lets you debug your tests and your production code. You cannot use integrated debugging when you run tests remotely.

  If you choose to run tests remotely, you identify the controller to use by specifying its network name or its IP address. For more information, see Controllers, Agents, and Rigs.

  Note:
  When the test controller is the local computer, identify the computer by specifying localhost.

  You can also specify names and values for properties of an agent. If an agent being used has those properties, the test or tests you are running will use that agent. If no agent has the properties that were requested, the test run will fail.

• Code Coverage. On the code coverage page, you specify what to instrument: which DLLs or .exe files, and, for ASP.NET projects, which directories. You can also specify whether to instrument in place and how to re-sign the files. This process starts by making a copy of the DLL. Then, the DLL is changed, that is, instrumented, so that code coverage statistics can be gathered from it during test runs. For more information, see How to: Obtain Code Coverage Data and Instrumenting and Re-Signing Assemblies.

• Deployment. Before tests are run, Visual Studio can copy them to a deployment directory to ensure isolation and produce more reliable test results. Use the Deployment page to control deployment in two ways: You can disable or enable deployment by checking or clearing the Disable Deployment check box. Also, you can specify any additional files or directories that you want copied to the deployment directory. For more information, see Test Deployment Overview and How to: Configure Test Deployment.

  Note:
  Do not check the Disable Deployment checkbox if you are working with smart device tests.

• Hosts.

  • Select ASP.NET if you want unit tests to run in the same process as an ASP.NET site. If you select ASP.NET, you can make additional choices to configure the way ASP.NET tests are run. For more information, see Unit Tests for ASP.NET Web Services.

  • Select Smart Device if you want unit tests to run on a smart device or emulator. Unit tests will be deployed to and run on the smart device or emulator you specify. For more information, see Working with Smart Device Unit Tests.

    Note:
    The Smart Device host only supports tests that are in smart device test projects. Tests that are in desktop test project will not run correctly under the Smart Device host.

  • For other test types, including Web tests, choose Default.

• Setup and Cleanup Scripts. On this page, you can select scripts to be run before tests are run, and after tests are run, respectively. To identify a script, type its path in the box under Setup Script or Cleanup Script. Alternatively, click the ellipsis (…). This opens the Open dialog box, which you can use to select a script file.

  Setup scripts and cleanup scripts run before and after test runs, regardless of the types of tests that are contained in those test runs. For more information about scripts that are run together with test runs, see Test Deployment Overview.

• Test Timeouts. You can use this page to can specify time-out values for test run and for individual tests. For more information, see How to: Set Time Limits for Running Tests.

• Web Test. Set values to be used when a Web test is run. Note that the Simulate Think Times setting is ignored when the Web test is aggregated into a load test. For more information, see How to: Set Think Times in a Web Test.

  Note:
  You cannot configure all aspects of test runs by using the test run configuration editor. For some aspects, you need to directly edit the XML file that contains test run configuration settings. For more information, see How to: Edit a Test Run Configuration File.

  Note:
  The Controller and Agent page and the Web Test page are available only if you have Visual Studio Team System Test Edition installed.