# Test data profiles

> Create a profile in a folder tree, add parameters and data sets, mask sensitive values, import from XLSX, and drive a test case from the data.

A test data profile is a grid of test data: each column is a parameter, and each row is a data set the test case runs against. Store a thousand credential pairs in one profile, turn on **Data-Driven** in the test case, and one test case covers all of them.

## Prerequisites

- You have a project, and permission to manage test data.

## Folders and subfolders

Profiles sit in a two-level tree of folders and subfolders. A folder covers a functional area of the application, a subfolder groups related profiles inside it, and the profile holds the data.

Folders and subfolders load collapsed, and Testsigma keeps their expanded state when you switch tabs.

Go to **Test Data > Test Data Profiles**. To create a folder, click **+** at the top of the left panel, select **New Folder**, name it, and click **Add**. To create a subfolder, click **+**, select **New Subfolder**, select the parent folder, click **Next**, name the subfolder, and click **Create**.

Search from the bar at the top of the left panel. Results filter as you type, across every folder and subfolder in the project.

## Create a test data profile

1. Go to **Test Data > Test Data Profiles**.

2. Start the profile one of two ways:
   - Click **+** at the top of the left panel, select **New Test Data Profile**, choose the folder and subfolder in **Select Location**, and click **Confirm**. The subfolder you picked shows under **Target Subfolder**.
   - Expand a folder, hover over a subfolder, and click the **+** beside its name. An **Untitled** profile opens, already attached to that subfolder.

3. Enter a name in the **Test Data Profile Info** panel.

4. Click **+** at the top of the grid to add a parameter, and **+** at the bottom to add a data set. Repeat until the grid holds the columns and rows you need.

5. Enter the values.

6. Click **Create**.

Turn on the toggle in the **ETF** (Expected to Fail) column to mark a data set as expected to fail during execution.

![A new test data profile, with the controls that add a row and a column](https://s3.amazonaws.com/website-static-docs.testsigma.com/new_images/projects/Updated_Doc_Images/add_new_row_column_tdp.png)

## Mask sensitive values

Mask a parameter that holds passwords or tokens, so its values show as dots to everyone.

Open the profile, enter the values in the parameter column, click the lock icon in the column header, and click **Update**.

Masking hides the values in the interface only. Execution uses the real values.

![The lock icon on a profile column, warning that encrypting the data conceals the original](https://s3.amazonaws.com/website-static-docs.testsigma.com/new_images/projects/Updated_Doc_Images/Lock_Data_in_TDP.png)

## Import a profile

An import needs an XLSX file carrying three mandatory columns, followed by one column per parameter.

| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the data set in that row |
| Description | A description of that row's data |
| ExpectedToFail | `YES` if you expect the test case to fail on this data, `NO` if you expect it to pass. Shown as ETF in the profile grid |

1. Go to **Test Data > Test Data Profiles** and open **List View**.

2. Click **Import**.

3. Select the folder and subfolder in **Select Location**.

4. Click **Browse File** in **Import Test Data Profile** and choose the file.

5. Enter a **Name** for the profile.

6. Select the columns to encrypt.

7. Click **Import**.

Testsigma emails you when the import finishes. Refresh the page to see the profile in the tree.

![The Import Test Data Profile dialog, with the file, the name, and the columns to encrypt](https://s3.amazonaws.com/website-static-docs.testsigma.com/new_images/projects/Updated_Doc_Images/Details_for_TDP_to_Import.png)

## Replace a profile

Importing a replacement file overwrites the existing profile.

Find the profile from **List View**, click the ellipsis icon (⋮) beside it, and select **Update TDP**. You can also open it from the tree and click **Update**. Then click **Browse File** in **Import Test Data Profile**, choose the replacement, select the columns to encrypt, and click **Import**. Testsigma emails you when it completes.

## Update a value from a test case

A test case can write back into a profile while it runs.

1. Open a test case and add a step using the NLP for updating a test data profile value.

2. Hover over the **test data** placeholder, select **Plain text**, and enter the new value.

3. Hover over the **test data profile** placeholder and select the profile.

4. Hover over the **parameter** placeholder and select the column to update.

5. Click **Run**.

The value is written to the profile when the run succeeds.

## Associate a profile with a test case

1. Open the test case and click **Test Case Settings** in the right navigation bar.

2. Select the profile from the **Test Data Profile** dropdown.

3. Turn on **Data-Driven** to run the test case once per data set.

4. (Optional) Narrow which data sets run, using one of the filters below.

| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Iteration | Filters sequential data sets, with greater than, less than, or between |
| Set Name | Filters non-sequential data sets by name, with equals, contains, starts with, or ends with |
| Parameter | Filters non-sequential data sets by the parameters used in them |

To use a parameter in a step, click **Add new step** and write a step carrying a test data placeholder, such as `Enter test data in the element field`. Click the placeholder, select **@ Parameter**, and pick the parameter from the right panel.

Steps name a parameter directly, as `@Email` for a column called `Email`. Renaming that column breaks the steps rather than following the rename.

![Test Case Settings with Data Driven on and the Filter Type options](https://s3.amazonaws.com/website-static-docs.testsigma.com/new_images/projects/Updated_Doc_Images/Filter_Type_for_Data_Driven_test.png)

## Iterate from a runtime value

A data-driven test runs every data set from start to end. To start and stop at values decided during the run, store them in a prerequisite test case and point the iteration at those variables.

1. Open the test case that runs first, and store the start and end values in the variables `RunTime_TestData_Set_Start` and `RunTime_TestData_Set_End`.

2. Open the data-driven test case and click **Test Case Settings**.

3. Select that test case in the **Prerequisite** dropdown.

4. Turn on **Data-Driven**.

5. Select **Overwrite Test Data Set with a runtime variable** in both **Data Iterates From** and **Data Iterates To**.

6. Write the steps and click **Run**.

Two more things work on a data set name. The `store-iteration-count-test-data-set-name` NLP saves it into a variable for later steps. An add-on uses data set values from the profile inside an if condition.

## Generate a profile with AI

1. Open a test case and go to **Test Case Settings > Test Data Profile**.

2. Click the **Test Data Profile** dropdown.

3. Click **Generate TDP with AI**.

4. Check the **Field Names** in **Test Data Generation** and click **Generate**.

5. Click **Create and Replace** when the generated data looks right.

The test data in your test steps is replaced with the generated data.

![Generate TDP with AI at the foot of the Test Data Profile list in Test Case Settings](https://s3.amazonaws.com/website-static-docs.testsigma.com/new_images/projects/Updated_Doc_Images/TDP_with_AI.png)

## Delete profiles

1. Go to **Test Data > Test Data Profiles** and click the **List View** icon.

2. Select the profiles to delete.

3. Click **Delete**.

4. Enter `Delete` in the **Delete List of Test Data** prompt and click **I understand, delete this test data**.

## FAQs

**A test modifies an Excel file. How do I get the changes back into Testsigma?**

Changes made during a run live on the test machine, not in your upload. Install two addons: **ExcelActions_cloud** to write the value into the file (its NLP takes the upload, row, column, and sheet index, and stores the modified file's path in a runtime variable), then **Upload Latest file to Testsigma Uploads** to push that path back over your upload.