CAT Studio Interface
Learn about the CAT Studio interface and how to navigate through its features.
Menu
Menu on the left contains links to these pages:
| Page | Description |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Welcome screen with tips how to get started and information about upcoming events |
| Project | Create new project, open existing project, overview of an open project |
| Data sources | Here you define where is the data you want to test |
| Tests | Add, edit, run or remove tests from your project |
| Queries | Mainly playground - run any query against any of your data source |
| Logs | If anything goes wrong (such as connectivity to database) you can get details about it here |
| Variables | Only visible when enabled on Settings page. Used for managing environment variables |
| Settings | Settings of CAT Studio (NOT settings of your project) |
| Documentation | Link to CAT docs (this site) |
The menu is collapsible - click the hamburger icon to get more space. It is also responsive. If you see only icons, click the hamburger icon to see names of pages where you can navigate.
Toolbar
Almost all pages contain a toolbar with buttons:
The toolbar is split to two parts - there are buttons on the left and on the right.
The buttons on the left are related to the page you work with. E.g., on Queries page, there are buttons for running a query or for turning it into an automated test.
On the right side, there are “project related” buttons. They repeat on almost all pages and allow you to save project, close it or reload it from the disk.
Checks counter in the title bar
On the Starter plan, the title bar shows how many of today’s checks are left, next to the account button. The Team and Enterprise plans have no daily limit, and the counter is not there.
The ring empties as you use checks, and during a run the number goes down with every test that passes or fails. The colour tells you how many are left:
- purple: more than 50 left,
- amber: 50 or fewer left,
- red: none left today; a run does not start,
- grey,
Checks unavailable: CAT can reach neither CAT Portal nor its count on this computer.
A small offline mark means that CAT Portal could not be reached and the number is the count on this computer. Click the counter to see how many checks are used, when the limit resets, and a link to upgrade the plan; outside a run, the click also asks CAT Portal for the current count, so checks used in CAT CLI or on another computer show up.
Buttons
There are buttons not only in toolbar but also many context buttons anywhere on the screen.
Buttons with this color denote important or expected actions and should attract your attention:
Buttons with this color denote a super-important action, that you definitely shouldn’t overlook:
Expanders
This is expander:
You can click on its header to collapse or expand its content. You can gain precious vertical space when you need it.
Dialogs with Tips
All pages except Welcome page contain dialogs that help you with navigation and next possible actions.
You can close the dialog with ESC key. You can open it whenever using this icon in toolbar:
The dialogs reflect changes in your project - that means, you don’t always get the same tip when you click it.
If you don’t struggle with navigation and purpose of each page in CAT Studio interface, you can turn these dialogs completely off. That is done on Settings page:
CAT Studio Version
In the top right corner you can find what version of CAT Studio you are using.
Please mention this number when communicating with support.