In Some Cases DivX Player Appears Frozen

 

Summary

In this example we are going to perform Exploratory Testing by starting with the Set Aspect Ratio function in DivX Player, and after learning more about it we are going to change our tests accordingly. DivX Player 2.5.3 can be used to view video files in Windows. In some cases the application's modal dialog boxes (a type of box that does not release the input focus until it is closed) can appear outside the viewable area. As a result the application appears frozen.

Application Description

The DivX Player is available only for Windows and is the official player application for DivX video files. It also supports other common audio and video formats. (Source: www.divx.com).

For this test we will be focusing on Set Aspect Ratio and Open URL.

Set Aspect Ratio can be used to change the width and height of DivX Player and the video that is currently being played.

 

Open URL displays a modal dialog box asking the user to enter the URL of a video file that is hosted on an Internet site.

Test Design

This example demonstrates the use of Exploratory Testing. One way to perform this type of testing is by examining one function (Set Aspect Ratio in this case). After learning more about the behavior of the application we can modify our tests accordingly.

We can also use the information gathered from other types of testing as a base for developing further tests. After doing some domain testing (in the Some Aspect Ratios Cause DivX Player to Crash example) we found out that if the user inputs large values in the Set Aspect Ratio function, the application crashes. Since it is unlikely that the user will input such a large number in the aspect ratio boxes, we can use this information to try to find examples that are more likely to happen in the real world.

Performing the Test

  1. Start DivX Player and select a video to play. Then set the aspect ratio to a value that could be inputted by an actual user (e.g. 1:2). We already tested larger values in Some Aspect Ratios Cause DivX Player to Crash example.


  2. The result is that the application switches to 1:2 aspect ratio but the bottom part (with the controls) goes out of the viewable screen. Let’s see if the menus are still working. Right-click on the player and select Open.


  3. The open dialog box appears. Let’s try the next one - Open URL.


  4. Select the Open URL… function. The box appears but it is very close to the end of the screen.
    It looks like the box appears in the center of the application, but since large part of the application is outside the screen the box is also almost outside the screen.


  5. Let’s repeat the same test but this time we will move the application down the screen so that much larger part is outside the screen. If the dialog box is appearing in the center of the application, it should appear outside the screen because the center of the application is outside the viewable area.


  6. After clicking on the Open URL… function, no box can be seen, and nothing can be done with the application. Just as suspected the box has appeared outside the screen. The real problem is that the box is modal, which means that nothing can be done until the user closes it.


  7. Since the box is outside the viewable screen, we can increase the resolution to increase the viewable screen and be able to close the box. Even easier way is to set the focus on the box (by using ALT+TAB) and then pressing escape. This will close the box. Can we reproduce the bug with fewer steps?


  8. This time we will try to reproduce the bug with as few steps as possible. Start the application.


  9. Let’s move larger part of the player outside the screen and select Open URL…

Results/Relevance

Just like before the modal box appears outside the viewable screen making the application appear frozen. In the last example we managed to reproduce the bug in two easy and likely to happen in the real world steps.

Since the application appears frozen, probably the user would assume that it has crashed and wouldn’t know that there is a modal dialog box outside the viewable area. The bug can be reproduced with almost all menu functions.

Even though we used Some Aspect Ratios Cause DivX Player to Crash example as a start for our exploration, after learning more about the behavior of the Set Aspect Ratio we changed the direction of our tests until we found a bug that is different than the one we found with domain testing.

Similar Tests/Additional Notes

We can try similar tests for other functions that show modal dialog boxes.

Configuration

Testing DivXNetworks' DivX Player 2.5.3 on:

Created 27 May 2004 for the CSTER

All images and written material ©Copyright Georgi Nikolov 2004

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