Test Runner 4 Excel
TR4E

about

Test Runner 4 Excel (TR4E) is an Excel Addin available from Microsoft Marketplace that allows users to securely execute test cases from an Excel worksheet against any accessible API. TR4E compares the actual results against an expected result and can calculate the difference based upon discrepancies. Test results are written to a new worksheet in the test case workbook. TR4E uses SharePoint as it primary portal for loading test case workbooks, and writing request and response payloads.


TR4E can be run without a subscription, but to unlock all of the security features and runtime options you will need a subscription that can be tailored to your needs. You can request an evaluation subscription through the TR4E Service Desk by clicking .


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The growing TR4E feature list includes:

  • MS 365 SharePoint subscription integration to load test cases workbooks, transformers and optionally save request / response payloads
  • MS 365 Excel subscription integration to load test case worksheets, write test case result worksheets and update the test case history worksheet
  • Azure Entra ID integration supporting seamless single sign on (SSO) for improved security when running test cases
  • Configure batches of test cases to run at a staggered delay e.g. send 200 test cases staggered with a 5ms delay between test case start

The following steps will get you up and running.

  1. Get your Microsoft 365 administrator to install TR4E in your existing company subscription
  2. Watch the four (4) minute TR4E user introduction video
  3. Download the "TR4E Virtual Underwriter" test case example (for which a subscription key is required - see below)
  4. Read the documentation to find out more about all of the TR4E features
  5. Optionally, request an evaluation subscription key via the TR4E Sevicedesk

Application Component Description
Microsoft 365 Excel Test Case Worksheet The test case worksheet contains your test cases, and expected values
Microsoft 365 Excel Result Worksheet Each time a test is run TR4E will create a new results worksheet, the name of which reflects the date and time that the test case was run, for example 1 Jul 2025 6.04.52 PM EST
Microsoft 365 Excel Test History Worksheet Contains a summary of all the TR4E test case runs from this workbook, including who ran the test and against what environment
Microsoft 365 Excel TR4E Worksheet Used to configure TR4E, including information about the SharePoint environment, test environments and test cases
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Test Case Workbook The test case workbook, that contains the test case worksheets discussed above
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Request XSL-T A transformer that will convert each test case row from the Test Case Worksheet into a JSON or XML request that is sent ot the Test Subject API. You must have at least one request transformer.
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Response XSL-T A transformer that will convert each Test Subject API response into a CSV row that will be written to the Result Worksheet. You must have at least one response transformer.
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Request JSON or XML The TR4E generated request payload may optionally be written to a configured SharePoint location. TR4E will create a folder for each test case run that has a name the same as the Result Worksheet, for example 1 Jul 2025 6.04.52 PM EST
Microsoft 365 SharePoint Response JSON or XML The Test Subject API response payload may optionally be written to a configured SharePoint location. TR4E will create a folder for each test case run that has a name the same as the Result Worksheet, for example 1 Jul 2025 6.04.52 PM EST
Test Runner 4 Excel (TR4E) Request XSL-T Will be loaded from the configured SharePoint site and used to create the JSON or XML payload sent to the Test Subject API
Test Runner 4 Excel (TR4E) Worksheet XML An internal XML representation of each test case row. This wil be transformed by the Request XSL-T into the Request JSON or XML. It may optionally be written to SharePoint. TR4E will create a folder for each test case run that has a name the same as the Result Worksheet, for example 1 Jul 2025 6.04.52 PM EST
Test Runner 4 Excel (TR4E) Request JSON or XML The TR4E generated request payload created by applying the Request XSL-T to the Worksheet XML. It is sent to the Test Subject API
Test Runner 4 Excel (TR4E) Response JSON or XML The Test Subject API will return this response to TR4E that will use the Response XSL-T to transform the JSON or XML into a CSV row that will be written to the Result Worksheet
Test Runner 4 Excel (TR4E) Response XSL-T Will be loaded from the configured SharePoint site and used to create the CSV row written to the Result Worksheet

The interactive drawing below identifies the key TR4E components and TR4E dependencies on Excel, SharePoint and Azure Entra ID. Click on individual components, like "Test Case Worksheet" to find our more.

installation

TR4E is an Excel Addin, available from Microsoft AppSource and must be installed by your MS 365 administrator and be assigned to one or more users and / or security groups. Once installed TR4E will appear in the Excel Home ribbon for every user who has access.


Installation prerequisites are a separately licensed Microsoft 365 subscription including Excel and SharePoint. TR4E also depends upon the TR4E Entra ID Gallery OIDC application to be installed in your corporate Azure Entra ID by an administrator . This allows TR4E to use seamless SSO to access your SharePoint subscription, and use SSO for securing test case API calls.


The TR4E Addin will run in a browser or the Excel desktop and is supported in Edge, Chrome, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported.


By installing TR4E you agreed to abide by the Standard Contract for Microsoft Commercial Marketplace


documentation

TR4E Panel

The TR4E Excel Addin side Panel is launched by clicking the TR4E Addin button located in the Excel Home ribbon. The panel has an accordion with several sections that allow the user to configure the test case run. The sections and their controls are detailed below (you can use the navigation controls to zoom in and out of the picture):

TR4E Errors

A description of possible TR4E error codes, and their resolution

Error Code Description Resolution
E1000 The TR4E configuration worksheet is missing from the workbook Add a TR4E worksheet to the workbook
E1010 The TR4E configuration worksheet is missing the TR4E_SIMULATION_LOCATION named range that specifies the SharePoint Simulation folder setting Add a TR4E_SIMULATION_LOCATION named range on the TR4E worksheet. The named range must be a single cell that identifies the relative path for the simulation response files, for example Shared Documents/TR4E Virtual Underwriter/Simulation
E1020 The TR4E configuration worksheet is missing the TR4E_TEST_RESULTS named range that specifies the SharePoint Test Results folder setting Add a TR4E_TEST_RESULTS named range on the TR4E worksheet. The named range must be a single column with three rows: Row 1. the relative path for TR4E to save the test case request / response files, for example Shared Documents/TR4E Virtual Underwriter/Test Results; Row 2. The SharePoint team site URI where the test files will be saved, for example sites/TestRunner4ExcelTR4E; Row 3. The MS365 SharePoint tenant, for example https://acme.sharepoint.com/
E1040 The TR4E configuration worksheet is missing the TR4E_TRANSFORMER_LOCATION named range that specifies the SharePoint Transformers folder setting Add a TR4E_TRANSFORMER_LOCATION named range on the TR4E worksheet. The named range must be a single cell that identifies the relative path for the request and response transformers, for example Shared Documents/TR4E Virtual Underwriter/Transformer. The transformers are automatically loaded when the TR4E application is launched.
E1050 The TR4E configuration worksheet is missing the TR4E_TEST_CONFIG named range that specifies the test case worksheet, test case range and expected values range Add a TR4E_TEST_CONFIG named range on the TR4E worksheet. The named range must be a single column with three rows: Row 1. the worksheet that contains the test cases; Row 2. The range on the test case worksheet that contains the test case inputs, for example A1:S182; Row 3. The range on the test case worksheet that contains the test case expected values, for example T1:X182
E1060 The workbook does not contain a worksheet specified in the TR4E_TEST_CONFIG named range Check the TR4E worksheet TR4E_TEST_CONFIG named range and confirm that the test worksheet exists in the workbook
E1910 The TR4E_TEST_ENVIRONMENT named range is missing from the TR4E worksheet Add a TR4E_TEST_ENVIRONMENT named range on the TR4E worksheet. The named range must have at least two columns with one row per environment (columns 3 and 4 may be required if you are not using a TR4E subscription): Column 1. a user helpful description of the environment, for example TR4E Virtual Underwriter ; Column 2. The URL for the test environment API endpoint, for example https://tr4e-vu.crecy.com.au/quote; Column 3 (if not using TR4E subscription). An OIDC scope claim required in the JWT Access Token generated by Microsoft Entra ID (click for more information); Column 4 (if not using TR4E subscription). A collection of semi-colon delimited name value pairs that will be passed as HTTP headers, for example Name1:Value1;Name2:Value2;Name3:Value3. TR4E will automatically load the environments when it is launched.
E1920 The TR4E_SIMULATION_LOCATION named range is missing from the TR4E worksheet See resolution for E1010 above
E1930 The TR4E_TEST_RESULTS named range is missing See resolution for E1020 above
E1960 The TR4E_TEST_CONFIG named range is missing from the TR4E worksheet See resolution for E1050 above
E1970 The TR4E_BATCH named range and / or the TR4E_DELAY is missing from the TR4E worksheet Add a TR4E_BATCH named range and / or TR4E_DELAY named range on the TR4E worksheet. The named range must be a single column with one row for the required batch size and / or stagger delay
E2000 The named subscription has exceeded its daily quota, and will be available after the number of seconds mentioned in the error message Either: 1. wait for the quota to reset; 2. try another subscription (if available); or 3. request a quota increase via a subscription upgrade
E2100 The API returned a 401 Unauthorized error Check the configured credentials in the "External API Security" accordion
AADSTS160021 InteractionRequiredAuthError: interaction_required: AADSTS160021: Application requested a user session which does not exist. The browser has stale cached SSO credentials that need to be cleared out using Dev Tools. For Chrome and Edge, you can press F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (macOS). Alternatively, in the browser menu, you can typically find "More Tools" and then "Developer Tools". In Firefox, the shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (macOS), or you can find it under "More Tools" in the menu. In Safari, you need to enable the Develop menu in Preferences > Advanced, then you can access it via the Develop menu. Select the "Application" tab. On "Local Storage" right click on https://tr4e.io and select Clear. On "Session Storage" right click on https://tr4e.io and select Clear. Restart TR4E by clicking the TR4E button in the home ribbon.

TR4E Virtual Underwriter

TR4E Virtual Underwriter provides a simple example of how to create and run TR4E test cases against a live API accessible via a TR4E subscription. It is a simple Motor Vehicle Underwriting API that calculates an insurance premium for a number of specific underwriting rating factors, for example: garaging address, year / make / model, driver age, claim history ...etc. Your administrator will need to have installed TR4E in your Microsoft 365 tenant before you can run the test


Download the ZIP file in the link below to your desktop. Unzip the contents and confirm that Downloads has a "TR4E" folder. Drag the TR4E folder to "Shared Documents" in a SharePoint 365 team site that you have access to. Once uploaded you will need to configure the test case workbook for TR4E to work, per:


Under the TR4E folder open the "Test Runner For Excel Virtual Underwriter.xlsx" workbook, and on the "TR4E" worksheet cell H2 replace <ENTER YOUR SITE NAME> with the name of your team site; then,

on cell H3 replace <ENTER YOUR SHAREPOINT SUBSCRIPTION> with the name of your MS 365 subscription, for example acme.sharepoint.com; then,

open the TR4E application by clicking the TR4E button on the Home Ribbon. The TR4E panel will open and automatically log in to your company domain - you should see your profile photo in the TR4E banner; then,

open the "TR4E Subscription" accordion and select "Enable TR4E Subscription". Enter your TR4E subscription name and subscription key - you can request an evaluation subscription from the TR4E Service Desk .; then,

open the "External API Security" accordion and select "Basic Authentication". Enter your TR4E Virtual Underwriter username and password you were supplied when you got your subscription details; then,

open the "Payload Transformers" accordion and select "JSON"; then,

click the "Run Test" button at the bottom of the panel. TR4E will run all the test cases from the "Input" worksheet and create a new results worksheet in the workbook. The "Test History" table will be updated with test details.


Description Link SHA-256 Hash
The following ZIP file contains the TR4E Virtual Underwriter test case Excel workbook, request and response XSL-T transformers, and a suggested SharePoint folder structure for configuration. bbd70c747cacf40a7780d7044a789b1d8261dcf33dbbe2687055ca2d2aa0337f

Entra ID

Microsoft Entra ID Gallery - TR4E

TR4E uses Microsoft Entra ID for seamless single sign on to access Microsoft resources like O365 SharePoint and MS Graph API. Check it out in the Microsoft Entra ID App Gallery

TR4E must be installed in your organization's Entra ID tenant by an administrator. When the TR4E Excel Addin is first opened from the Excel Home Ribbon it will request an access token from Entra ID. If logged in user is not an Entra ID Administrator, then a request will be raised for approval.

support

Support channels are listed below. The best way to contact us is via the TR4E Service Desk