Capture a screenshot at a specific moment in your test
While DoesQA automatically takes screenshots for most steps to help you understand what happened during a run, there are times when you want explicit control over when and what kind of screenshot is captured. The Screenshot step gives you that control.
This allows you to take a full-page or targeted capture at a point of interest in your flow — not just when a step completes — making your results clearer and easier to share or debug.
Why explicit screenshots are useful
Automatic screenshots are helpful for understanding failures or reviewing test behaviour. However, there are situations where you want to capture exactly what the user would see at a particular moment, such as:
At key transition points in a journey
Before or after a visual change
On error states or alerts
For documentation or manual review
To validate visual fidelity
To capture states not covered by automatic screenshots
With explicit control, you decide exactly when the screenshot is taken.
Fullscreen vs step-level captures
Most automatic screenshots are tied to individual node execution and may only focus on the interactive area of that step. The Screenshot step lets you:
Capture the entire viewport
Include dynamic overlays or modals
Capture full pages, including parts outside the initial viewport
Freeze a moment for visual comparison
This is especially useful when paired with visual regression workflows or manual review of critical screens.
Typical use cases
You might use a screenshot step when you want to:
Document a crucial UI state before continuing
Capture a success confirmation screen after a complex flow
Record an intermediate step that doesn’t trigger an automatic capture
Create artifacts for reporting or QA review
Validate that dynamic content appears correctly
Support visual regression debugging
By placing the Screenshot step exactly where you need it, you make your tests more expressive and informative.
Improve clarity in results
Screenshots are one of the fastest ways to understand what happened during a test run. When a failure occurs, seeing the UI at the exact point of impact often reveals:
Layout shifts
Missing elements
Broken styling
Hidden error messages
Incorrect content
By capturing screenshots when you want them, you make debug cycles faster and clearer.
Including a Screenshot step gives you the flexibility to document your test visually at key moments, rather than relying solely on automatic captures taken for technical reasons. This improves readability, reporting, and confidence in how your automation reflects real user experience.