When to use WPF or UIA?

Technology specific object identification, supported applications, web technologies, and 3rd party controls.
mrt
Posts: 257
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:31 am

When to use WPF or UIA?

Post by mrt » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:27 pm

Dear all,

I wonder what is the best way to decide if one should go by WPF or UIA plugin?

In my AUT objects are recognized with both plugins, although structure and order differ greatly.

When building up the repository, I would want to avoid having to restructure everything at a later stage when I notice I should have gone with the other plugin.

Is a general rule of thumb to check for the shortest path or something like this?

thanks!

IvanF
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2022 8:55 pm

Re: When to use WPF or UIA?

Post by IvanF » Mon Nov 14, 2022 9:20 pm

Hi,

Overall, WPF plugin is recommended for WPF apps because
- it targets elements better. For example, a certain button or textbox can have more attributes which can be used for actions/validations.
- it is also faster since it detects interactive elements.
- there have been issues with the UIA plugin starting with Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 11. They should be at least partially resolved now, but the risk exists.

On the other hand, UIA plugin can be considered more "stable" overall, as it doesn't really depend on versions of technology stack, and it usually doesn't change that much. If there aren't any specific accessibility properties set in your WPF app and/or it is very frequently updated, UIA can be better since it doesn't require that much developer effort.