Messages are represented visually in CloudTest as boxes with the operation name and service logo on it.

This visual wrapper has some relevance, since the underlying rules and syntax define the information that messages carry. Whether it is a message that connects to a SOAP service and executes a simple echoString command or something more complex—the rules for connection and response are likely similar. Messages are the raw text or XML that is sent to a web service or web application, but they occur within the context of the rules and syntax that envelope them.

In CloudTest, messages are combined into Test Clips with other test clip components—such as checkpoints and delays--that correspond to the individual test case that the clip represents. Both messages and test clips are defined by their target, upon which they are based, and whose properties they inherit. Messages created from a target using the Available Targets list in the Test Clip Editor inherit the properties defined within that target. Messages added using the Add New Message icon require further editing—beginning with Target selection. Refer to Editing the Inputs of a Message.