QA Graphic

Random Email Address for testing

If you have Google Mail, there is a cool trick where you can create instant disposable email addresses. Say you have an email address like coolqa@gmail.com. If you append a "plus" sign to your email username, gmail will ignore anything written between the + and @ sign.

This is helpful tool to have when testing functionality that behaves differently when a unique email addresses is inserted, or if you want to track things that get sent to that email address. In Text Expander I have the following snippet setup:

textex_gmail2.jpg

The above screenshot includes the TextExpander shortcut for 'Postion Cursor Here:' |%

I assigned the above "Plain Text Content" type to the'eemail' abbreviation.

Now when I encounter an email text field where I may need to do some later validation, I type in my shortcut and the placeholder text is entered. The cursor is then position for me to type some identifier in after the plus sign. I can type in some text to remind me of what I am doing, or I can remove the plus and keep the general email.

I could have easily have set it up so that random word generated after the plus symbol. However, I have learned that it isn't always practical. More often than not, it's better to have a practical keyword in place so that if I do get an email I'll have some clue on why I got it.

 

About

I find TextExpander, by Smile on My Mac, to be an awesome productivity tool. This past winter, I posted some cool snippets that demonstrate the power of the application. Occasionally, I will post some new snippets that I think will be useful in anyone's TextExpander library.

Schedule

Friday 14 Macintosh
Saturday 15 Internet Tools
Sunday 16 Misc
Monday 17 Media
Tuesday 18 QA
Wednesday 19 Python
Thursday 20 Final Cut Pro