Inaccurate click on Android 4.1.2 phone emulator for small views about android-test-kit HOT 11 CLOSED

And the problem does not happen on 4.3 emulators. It looks like the Android API 
you use to get the screen position of views isn't 100% accurate on 4.1.2, but 
is improved in 4.3

This also happens on larger views, like menu items, just very rare. I just got 
an error after more than 300 runs of my tests that it failed to click on a menu 
item during the test. The problem with it is that the Espresso thinks it has 
completed the click and proceed to the next step, which is almost guaranteed to 
fail. And when this happens, it is very hard to find out the reason of failure. 

It looks like this happens more frequently to views at the top right corner. 
The menu items are at the top right corner, and so does my small view.

Are you following the guidelines for min button 
size?http://developer.android.com/design/style/metrics-grids.html

I am seeing this problem quite frequently on real tablet and occasionally on 
phone emulator. And it's not only for small views. It's the action bar icons 
and overflow menu items. For action bar icons and overflow menu items, they 
should already follow any guidelines that Android has.

Here is the log for one of the problems. The menu was brought up and performed 
click on one of the item, but when I later use check to check whether the 
expected view in expected activity was shown, the view hierarchy indicates that 
it was still in the menu list.

01-10 20:41:48.608 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): EventInjector:Injecting event for 
character (À€) with key code (82) downtime: (100255)

01-10 20:41:48.608 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=10 when=-1ms arg1=3373 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.
01-10 20:41:48.638 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-3ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0
01-10 20:41:48.678 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=6 when=-48ms arg1=1 arg2=1 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.678 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=3 when=-47ms }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.678 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.740 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=1 when=-1ms obj=android.os.AsyncTask$AsyncTaskResult@b3cd4690 }, with 
target: android.os.AsyncTask.InternalHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.740 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.740 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-82ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:48.740 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.740 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=5 when=-67ms arg1=480 arg2=117 
obj=android.view.ViewRootImpl$ResizedInfo@b3cd4720 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.799 D/dalvikvm( 1773): GC_CONCURRENT freed 1503K, 11% free 
14822K/16583K, paused 17ms+2ms, total 116ms

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=1 when=-57ms obj=android.widget.ProgressBar@b3b15cf8 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=1 when=-57ms obj=android.widget.ProgressBar@b3b15cf8 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=6 when=-55ms arg2=1 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-55ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-14ms }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: 
android.widget.Toast$TN$2@b3cd0d38

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.799 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=3 when=0 }, with target: android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, 
callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.799 I/ViewInteraction( 1773): Performing 'single click' action 
on view with string from resource id: <2131362320>[calMenu_edit] value: Edit

01-10 20:41:48.838 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=2 when=-1ms arg1=1 
obj=android.graphics.drawable.AnimatedRotateDrawable@b3b8da18 }, with target: 
android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.849 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-30ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:48.860 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=4 when=-22ms }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.860 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-19ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:48.869 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=0 }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.869 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=0 }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: 
android.widget.Toast$TN$1@b3d8d598

01-10 20:41:48.909 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-41ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:48.969 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-100ms }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.969 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.969 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=2 when=-36ms arg1=1 
obj=android.graphics.drawable.AnimatedRotateDrawable@b3b8da18 }, with target: 
android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.978 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.978 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=107 when=-40ms arg1=-1182164664 }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=129 when=-60ms arg2=2 }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=129 when=-61ms arg1=1 arg2=2 }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=129 when=-61ms }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=100 when=-59ms }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, callback: no 
callback.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=106 when=-58ms }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, callback: no 
callback.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-58ms }, with target: android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, 
callback: android.webkit.ViewManager$2@b39928c8

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:48.998 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-33ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:49.028 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.028 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=5 when=-51ms arg1=158 arg2=77 
obj=android.view.ViewRootImpl$ResizedInfo@b3a2d980 }, with target: 
android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-47ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-33ms }, with target: android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, 
callback: android.view.View$CheckForTap@b3983d08

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=106 when=-16ms }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, callback: no 
callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=129 when=-17ms arg2=2 }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=129 when=-18ms arg1=1 arg2=2 }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=129 when=-17ms }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=131 when=-19ms }, with target: 
android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=125 when=-6ms }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, callback: no 
callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=121 when=-7ms obj=notes://// }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, 
callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/Unknown Source( 1773): WebViewAnnotator:annotate(WebView) 
- start

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=125 when=-7ms }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, callback: no 
callback.

01-10 20:41:49.039 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.059 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-32ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:49.068 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): Barrier detected or task avaliable for 
running shortly.

01-10 20:41:49.068 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-2ms }, with target: android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, 
callback: android.webkit.ZoomManager$PostScale@b3c9cf58

01-10 20:41:49.068 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=4 when=0 }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.068 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=0 }, with target: android.app.ActivityThread.H, callback: 
android.app.LoadedApk$ReceiverDispatcher$Args@b3ad59a8

01-10 20:41:49.098 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=2 when=-12ms arg1=1 
obj=android.graphics.drawable.AnimatedRotateDrawable@b3b8da18 }, with target: 
android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.098 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=105 when=0 obj=android.webkit.WebViewCore$DrawData@b389e368 }, with 
target: android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.109 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-10ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:49.118 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=123 when=-16ms }, with target: android.webkit.CallbackProxy, callback: no 
callback.

01-10 20:41:49.118 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-16ms }, with target: android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, 
callback: android.webkit.ViewManager$3@b3ca03f0

01-10 20:41:49.118 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-12ms }, with target: android.view.ViewRootImpl.ViewRootHandler, 
callback: android.webkit.ZoomManager$PostScale@b3a54b40

01-10 20:41:49.118 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=105 when=0 obj=android.webkit.WebViewCore$DrawData@b3b8f310 }, with 
target: android.webkit.WebViewClassic.PrivateHandler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.118 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-13ms }, with target: android.view.Choreographer.FrameHandler, 
callback: android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver@b3b2eaa0

01-10 20:41:49.139 V/ESP_TRACE( 1773): UiControllerImpl: MessageQueue.next(): { 
what=0 when=-1ms }, with target: android.os.Handler, callback: no callback.

01-10 20:41:49.139 E/ViewAssertions( 1773): 'is displayed on the screen to the 
user' check could not be performed because view 'is displayed on the screen to 
the user' was not found.

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): 
com.google.android.apps.common.testing.ui.espresso.NoMatchingViewException: No 
views in hierarchy found matching: with id: is <2131165564>

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): 

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): View Hierarchy:

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): +>DecorView{id=-1, 
visibility=VISIBLE, width=480, height=117, has-focus=true, has-focusable=true, 
has-window-focus=true, is-clickable=false, is-enabled=true, is-focused=false, 
is-focusable=false, is-layout-requested=false, is-selected=false, 
root-is-layout-requested=false, has-input-connection=false, x=0.0, y=0.0, 
child-count=1} 

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): |

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): +->IconMenuView{id=16908939, 
res-name=icon_menu, visibility=VISIBLE, width=474, height=99, has-focus=true, 
has-focusable=true, has-window-focus=true, is-clickable=false, is-enabled=true, 
is-focused=true, is-focusable=true, is-layout-requested=false, 
is-selected=false, root-is-layout-requested=false, has-input-connection=false, 
x=3.0, y=18.0, child-count=3} 

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): |

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): +-->IconMenuItemView{id=16908310, 
res-name=title, visibility=VISIBLE, width=157, height=99, has-focus=false, 
has-focusable=true, has-window-focus=true, is-clickable=true, is-enabled=true, 
is-focused=false, is-focusable=true, is-layout-requested=false, 
is-selected=false, root-is-layout-requested=false, has-input-connection=false, 
x=0.0, y=0.0, text=Set Alarm, input-type=0, ime-target=false} 

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): |

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): +-->IconMenuItemView{id=16908310, 
res-name=title, visibility=VISIBLE, width=157, height=99, has-focus=false, 
has-focusable=true, has-window-focus=true, is-clickable=true, is-enabled=true, 
is-focused=false, is-focusable=true, is-layout-requested=false, 
is-selected=false, root-is-layout-requested=false, has-input-connection=false, 
x=158.0, y=0.0, text=Edit, input-type=0, ime-target=false} 

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): |

01-10 20:43:43.650 E/cucumber-android( 1773): +-->IconMenuItemView{id=16908310, 
res-name=title, visibility=VISIBLE, width=158, height=99, has-focus=false, 
has-focusable=true, has-window-focus=true, is-clickable=true, is-enabled=true, 
is-focused=false, is-focusable=true, is-layout-requested=false, 
is-selected=false, root-is-layout-requested=false, has-input-connection=false, 
x=316.0, y=0.0, text=Cancel, input-type=0, ime-target=false} 

[deleted comment]

I found that this problem is much more easier to recreate on tablet when 
clicking on action bar icons without text. It happens about every 300~400 
action bar icon clicks. That doesn't sound too frequent, but if you consider 
that tablet tests can click action bar icons dozen times for a test run, that's 
a high frequency of failure. 

Also, I have more than one action bar icon, along with the overflow menu icon. 
It seems to happen more frequently when there are multiple action bar icons, 
some with icon only and some with icon plus text, and click one that has icon 
only in the middle of them.

This is killing me on tablets. It happens more than once per 100 tries for 
action bar icons on tablet. I put some other things in the action bar, like 
using actionBar.setNavigationMode(ActionBar.NAVIGATION_MODE_LIST), or some 
other custom views like notification count. These may make the position 
calculation inaccurate, but they shouldn't.

4px click area is too small for a touch interface - it is likely that your 
users will also not be able to click accurately on the given button (Espresso 
is actually exposing this problem here). Please refer to the Metrics and Grid 
guide: http://developer.android.com/design/style/metrics-grids.html

Well, as I mentioned in the comments, this also happens in larger views, 
especially action bar icons and overflow menu options. If Espresso can fail to 
click on action bar icons and overflow menu options, that looks like a must fix 
to me.