At Qxf2, we regularly see how teams juggle different types of applications, web apps, mobile apps, APIs, and in many cases, good old Windows desktop applications. Our open-source Qxf2 Page Object Model framework has always aimed to simplify life for testers by giving them one place to start their automation journey. The framework has always supported Web, Mobile, and API automation.

Now, we are happy to share a new addition:
Windows Desktop Automation Support
This enhancement is now available in the framework.

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Why We Added This

Many real-world projects still depend heavily on Windows desktop applications, especially internal tools, admin panels, reporting utilities, and legacy systems.
Testers often end up maintaining a separate automation setup just for these apps, which leads to:

• more maintenance
• more context switching
• more duplicate effort

So we decided to extend the framework to include Windows automation as well, keeping everything in one familiar place.

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We Already Wrote About the Setup and Example

If you’re looking for practical, step-by-step instructions to get started with Windows automation, we’ve already covered that in three detailed blog posts:

• How to use Windows Inspector
• How to use Appium Inspector along with Windows Inspector
• Getting started with Windows desktop automation using Appium and WinAppDriver

In addition, we updated the Qxf2 Page Object Model framework wiki with Windows desktop automation setup details:
Windows Automation Setup on Qxf2 POM Wiki

These resources cover:

• Preparing your machine for Windows automation
• How to write and verify locators with help of Windows Inspector and Appium Inspector
• Installing and configuring WinAppDriver and Appium
• Enabling Developer Mode
• Running a sample Windows automation script
• A complete working example using Windows Notepad and Microsoft Word

If you need the hands-on setup, these guides are the right place to start. This current post focuses only on the announcement and the background behind why we added Windows automation support to the framework. It explains the reasoning, our motivations, and what value this new capability brings, without repeating the setup steps you already have available.

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What This Update Means for Testers

This addition helps testers who work with a mix of old and new applications. You can now automate:

• Web
• Mobile
• API
• Windows Desktop Applications

All of these can now be handled within one unified automation framework. This reduces the amount of setup, context switching, and maintenance that testers usually juggle when dealing with different types of applications.

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A Simple Extension

Our goal with this update was to keep things straightforward. Windows desktop automation fits into the same folder structure and patterns already used for Web, Mobile, and API tests, so existing users do not need to learn a new workflow.

The idea was to extend the framework without changing how people already write and run tests. If you know how to use the framework today, you are already prepared to automate Windows apps.

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Closing Thoughts

We hope this update helps testers handle more of their real-world testing needs with less effort. Many teams still depend on Windows desktop applications, and having support for them inside the same framework makes day-to-day automation work smoother.

This update keeps the framework practical and accessible while expanding what you can automate. As you start using the new Windows support, we would be happy to hear your feedback or ideas for future improvements.

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Hire Qxf2

Good testers who can also write solid open source are rare. Qxf2 has built a team around exactly that mix. Our page-object-model based test automation framework on GitHub is the proof. It shows the care, craft and engineering mindset our testers bring to every project. If you want that level of testing depth, reach out.

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