30 November 2024 Leave a comment Tech-Help
When working with Android applications, especially in a testing or debugging capacity, it may be necessary to extract the current layout attributes such as ID, position, and text via ADB (Android Debug Bridge). This guide will provide a straightforward approach to achieving this using ADB commands.
Using ADB to Dump UI Hierarchy
The most efficient way to get the current activity’s layout and views is by using the uiautomator tool. This tool can dump the UI hierarchy to an XML file, which can then be analyzed for detailed information about the layout and views.
Steps to Dump UI Hierarchy
- Open a terminal or command prompt.
- Execute the following command to create an XML dump of the current UI hierarchy:
adb shell uiautomator dump - The command will output the location of the dumped XML file, typically stored at
/sdcard/window_dump.xml. - To view this file on your computer, pull it using:
adb pull /sdcard/window_dump.xml
Alternative Method for Direct Output
If you prefer to directly view the XML output without saving it to a file, use the following command:
adb exec-out uiautomator dump /dev/ttyThis command prints the XML directly to the console, allowing you to view it immediately.
Analyzing the Dumped XML
Once you have the XML file, you can open it in any text editor or web browser to analyze the layout hierarchy. This file contains valuable information such as node attributes, which describe each element’s properties.
Practical Application with Repeato
For developers and testers who need to automate testing on Android devices, Repeato offers a streamlined solution. As a no-code test automation tool, Repeato allows you to create, run, and maintain automated tests efficiently. It integrates ADB commands seamlessly, utilizing computer vision and AI to enhance test accuracy and reliability. This capability is particularly useful when timing and executing ADB commands in sequence, as described in our documentation.
By leveraging Repeato, you can ensure your automated tests are both comprehensive and easy to manage, reducing the complexity of manual testing and focusing on delivering quality applications.
