How to use XCUIKeyboardKey constants?

Question

Just below the XCUIElementQuery class inside XCTest there are many constants where the documentation note above it states:

    Constants for use with -[XCUIElement typeKey:modifierFlags:],
    representing keys that have no textual representation. These comprise
    the set of control, function, and modifier keys found on most keyboards.

Apparently, it seems there should be a XCUIElement method called typeKey:modifierFlags:, as the note states. However, I can't seem to find this method anywhere in the documentation. I also don't see any method that substitutes this behavior, utilizing the aforementioned constants. Here is a partial list of the constants I'd be interested in using:

let XCUIKeyboardKeyDelete: String
let XCUIKeyboardKeyReturn: String
let XCUIKeyboardKeyTab: String
let XCUIKeyboardKeyCommand: String

Is this code just premature and will likely be completed later, as part of future Xcode 7 releases?

Ultimately, I'd like to be able to type cmd+a then use XCUIKeyboardKeyDelete to delete the contents of the given XCUIElement. If there are good alternatives currently available in Xcode 7 UI Testing, I'd love to learn know.

--> Swift 2.0 beta 4

Answer 1

You can use XCUIElement.typeText(text: String) with XCUIKeyboardKeyDelete.

Example, when a text field is not empty:

textField.tapWithNumberOfTaps(2, numberOfTouches: 1)
app.menuItems["Select All"].tap()
textField.typeText(XCUIKeyboardKeyDelete)

Answer 2

It states in the documentation that the method [XCUIElement typeKey:modifierFlags:] is available on macOS only. See https://developer.apple.com/reference/xctest/xcuielement

I tested this out on Xcode 8.2.1 in a dummy macOS project UI Testing target, and indeed the method is existing. It does not exist on iOS.