Today we are proud to announce that Test Base is moving from private preview to public preview. As part of public preview we are announcing a set of new capabilities that make it easy to validate your apps against Windows client and server operating system in a Microsoft managed test environment and that the service is discoverable on the Azure portal. Alternately, developers can access Test Base from the Desktop Application Portal (DAP) on Partner Portal.
What is Test Base for Microsoft 365?
Test Base for Microsoft 365 is an Azure service for app developers and IT professionals that facilitates data-driven testing of applications and enables them to take advantage of intelligent testing from anywhere in the world. Test Base helps you understand your application's ability to continue working even as platform dependencies such as the latest Windows updates change. It helps you test your applications without the hassle, time commitment, and expenditure of setting up and maintaining complex test environments. Additionally, it enables you to automatically test compatibility against Windows and other pre-release Windows updates on secure virtual machines (VMs) and get access to world-class intelligence for your applications. We recently announced support for Windows 11, our newest operating system offering.
A little less than a year ago, we announced the availability of a new testing service targeted at desktop applications called Test Base for Microsoft 365. Test Base for Microsoft 365 is an Azure service that facilitates data-driven testing of applications. Backed by the power of data and the cloud, it enables app developers and IT professionals to take advantage of intelligent testing from anywhere in the world. If you are a developer or a tester, Test Base helps you understand your application's ability to continue working even as platform dependencies such as the latest Windows updates change. It helps you test your applications without the hassle, time commitment, and expenditure of setting up and maintaining complex test environments. Additionally, it enables you to automatically test for compatibility against Windows 11 and other pre-release Windows updates on secure virtual machines (VMs) and get access to world-class intelligence for your applications.
What's new
We are constantly innovating and adding capabilities based on customer feedback. Here's a quick summary of new features in public preview:
Service discoverable in Azure Portal
You can now easily provision Test Base via the Azure Portal. In the search bar on the top, type in ‘Test Base' and click on ‘Test Base for Microsoft 365 (Preview)' from the search results. Once you login using your AAD credentials you can follow the workflow to create your Test Base account.
Easy to understand test execution summary
To help you investigate any service critical failures as quickly as possible and have a clear understanding of the status of your packages we have updated the Test Summary page.
With the newly added "Status" column, we are providing a more detailed overview of your packages as they progress in their testing journey. You will notice status provides additional information and guidance, explaining exactly what the message means and if there are any new results that require your attention. New test statuses will also continue to be added as new issues are able to be identified.
Email notifications
All registered users will receive an email notification when the post upload validation of your package fails. This email will help keep you informed of any error on your package and enable you to get back on the portal to fix the error. You can then re-upload your package from the manage package page.
Also, you can configure the alerts you receive by going to the email notification link under the Settings menu. We currently support the package upload validation event and are working on adding more notification events to the list.
Package deletion
One of the frequently requested features from our private preview was the ability to delete packages. We are happy to announce that this is now live from the manage package page.
To delete a package, find the package you want to delete and then click on the context menu at the end of the row. Select the Delete package menu item. Note that the delete operation is permanent. You will not be able to recover the package and test artefacts associated with the package.
A confirmation box will be shown. Select yes to delete the package.
Video recording of failures
Test Base can now record a video of any failures that happen on the VM. The video recording provides visibility into test execution and performance against the Windows releases you select for your testing efforts, and can you help you more easily identify failure points to investigate and remediate any issues. In case of a test execution failure, a video recording is captured and made available for download on the portal for one week. The video recording feature is enabled by default and requires no additional work from you to enable it for your tests.
What's next for Test Base for Microsoft 365?
If you are interested in onboarding your applications to Test Base, please sign up today. We are constantly gathering and collaborating on feedback to improve and prioritize new functionality for Test Base. Base on feedback we are working on support for API based onboarding, intelligent failure analysis and support for testing Microsoft 365 client applications.
To learn more about Test Base and started, visit our product documentation. There, you'll find quick start guides to creating your Test Base account, uploading applications to test and understand how to interpret the data.
We are actively engaging with developers and IT pros now to add more value and help solve additional use cases.
Learn more
Looking to see what the latest capabilities in Test Base look like up close? Watch this video.