Mastering Selenium WebDriver: Tips and Tricks for Testing Web Applications is a complete guide to testing web applications with Selenium WebDriver. In this blog, you will learn about the most important parts of Selenium WebDriver as well as advanced ways to solve common problems and make your test automation work better. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced Selenium user, you’ll find valuable insights and practical tips to help you get the most out of Selenium WebDriver.
What is Selenium webDriver?
Selenium WebDriver is a tool for automating web browser actions. It allows you to write scripts in a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, and others, to control a web browser and perform tasks such as filling out forms, clicking on buttons, and navigating to different pages.
Selenium WebDriver is used for a variety of purposes, including testing web applications, automating web-based tasks, and scraping data from websites. It is particularly useful for testing web applications, as it allows developers and QA engineers to simulate the actions of a real user and verify that the application is functioning correctly.
Selenium WebDriver is part of the Selenium project, which also includes other tools such as Selenium IDE (a browser extension for recording and replaying user actions) and Selenium Grid (a tool for running tests in parallel across multiple machines). Together, these tools provide a powerful and flexible suite of tools for automating web-based tasks.
What is the utility of selenium webdriver?
Selenium WebDriver is a useful tool for automating web browser actions. Some common uses for Selenium WebDriver include:
- Testing web applications: Selenium WebDriver can be used to write automated tests that simulate user actions on a web application and verify that the application is functioning correctly. This can be a time-saving way to catch and fix defects early in the development process.
- Automating web-based tasks: Selenium WebDriver can be used to automate repetitive or time-consuming tasks on the web. For example, you could use Selenium WebDriver to automatically fill out forms or extract data from websites.
- Scraping data from websites: Selenium WebDriver can be used to scrape data from websites that do not provide an API. This can be useful for data analysis or for creating custom reports.
- Testing web applications on different browsers and platforms: Selenium WebDriver supports a wide range of browsers and operating systems, so it can be used to test web applications on different combinations of browsers and platforms.
Overall, Selenium WebDriver is a powerful and flexible tool that can be used for a variety of purposes related to automating web-based tasks.
How to handle hidden elements in Selenium webDriver?
To handle hidden elements in Selenium WebDriver, you can use the following techniques:
- Use JavaScript to set the visibility of the element: One option is to use JavaScript to change the visibility of the element. You can do this by using the
executeScript()
method of theJavascriptExecutor
interface and passing in a script that sets thestyle.display
attribute of the element to"block"
.
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WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("hidden-element")); JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver; js.executeScript("arguments[0].style.display='block';", element); |
- Use the
force
flag withclick()
: Another option is to use theclick()
method with theforce
flag set totrue
. This will tell Selenium to try to click on the element even if it is not visible.
- Use the
Actions
class: You can also use theActions
class to move the mouse to the location of the element and then perform a click. This may be necessary if the element is not visible, but is still present in the DOM and can be clicked if the mouse is moved to the correct location.
Note that these techniques may not always work, as it depends on how the element is implemented and how the page is designed. If none of these techniques work, you may need to consider an alternative approach.
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How to take Screenshot in selenium webDriver?
To take a screenshot in Selenium WebDriver, you can use the getScreenshotAs()
method of the TakesScreenshot
interface. This method takes a screenshot of the current page and returns it as a File
object.
Here is an example of how to use getScreenshotAs()
in Java:
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import org.openqa.selenium.TakesScreenshot; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; public class ScreenshotExample { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com"); // Take screenshot and save to file File screenshot = ((TakesScreenshot)driver).getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE); try { FileUtils.copyFile(screenshot, new File("screenshot.png")); } catch (IOException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } // Close webdriver driver.quit(); } } |
You can also use the getScreenshotAs()
method to capture a screenshot as a BufferedImage
or a base64-encoded string, depending on the OutputType
argument you pass in.
Note that in order to use the TakesScreenshot
interface, your webdriver instance must implement it. Most of the popular webdrivers, such as ChromeDriver, FirefoxDriver, and InternetExplorerDriver, implement TakesScreenshot
, so you should be able to use this method with those drivers.
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How to verify value in selenium Webdriver?
To verify the value of an element in Selenium WebDriver, you can use the getText()
method to retrieve the text content of the element, and then use an assertion to verify that the value is what you expect.
Here is an example of how to verify the value of an element in Java:
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import org.openqa.selenium.By; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; import org.junit.Assert; public class ValueVerificationExample { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com"); // Find the element and get its value WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("my-element")); String value = element.getText(); // Verify the value Assert.assertEquals("Expected value", value); // Close webdriver driver.quit(); } } |
If you are using a different programming language or testing framework, the approach for verifying values will be similar, but the syntax may be different.
Note that the getText()
method only retrieves the visible text content of the element. If the value you want to verify is stored in an attribute of the element, such as the value
attribute of an input field, you will need to use a different method to retrieve it. For example, you can use the getAttribute()
method to retrieve the value of an attribute.
How to upload file in selenium Webdriver using robot class in Mac?
To upload a file in Selenium WebDriver using the Robot class in Mac, you can use the following steps:
- Find the file input element and send it the
Tab
key to give it focus.
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WebElement fileInput = driver.findElement(By.id("file-input")); fileInput.sendKeys(Keys.TAB); |
- Use the
Robot
class to type the path of the file into the file input element.
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String filePath = "/path/to/file.txt"; Robot robot = new Robot(); robot.delay(1000); // Give the element time to focus for (char c : filePath.toCharArray()) { robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.getExtendedKeyCodeForChar(c)); robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.getExtendedKeyCodeForChar(c)); } |
- Use the
Robot
class to press theEnter
key to submit the form.
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robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER); robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER); |
Note that you will need to import the necessary classes, such as Robot
and KeyEvent
, and handle any exceptions that may be thrown.
This approach should work for uploading files in most web browsers on Mac, but it may not work in all cases, as it depends on the specific implementation of the file input element and the web browser. If this approach does not work for your use case, you may need to consider an alternative approach.
How do I pass Sendkeys in selenium Webdriver?
To pass sendkeys in Selenium WebDriver, you can use the sendKeys()
method of the WebElement
class. This method allows you to send a sequence of keystrokes to an element, such as an input field or a textarea.
Here is an example of how to use sendKeys()
in Java:
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import org.openqa.selenium.By; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; public class SendKeysExample { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com"); // Find the element and send keys WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("my-element")); element.sendKeys("Hello, world!"); // Close webdriver driver.quit(); } } |
In this example, the sendKeys()
method is used to send the string “Hello, world!” to the element with the ID “my-element”.
You can also use the sendKeys()
method to send special keys, such as Enter
, Tab
, or Arrow
keys, by using the Keys
class. For example, you can use sendKeys(Keys.ENTER)
to send the Enter
key.
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element.sendKeys("Hello, world!", Keys.ENTER); |
This will send the string “Hello, world!” followed by the Enter
key to the element.
Note that the sendKeys()
method is just one way to interact with elements in Selenium WebDriver. There are other methods available for performing different types of actions, such as click()
for clicking on elements and clear()
for clearing the contents of an input field.
How to test pagination in selenium Webdriver?
To test pagination in Selenium WebDriver, you can follow these steps:
- Navigate to the page that contains the pagination elements.
- Identify the elements that control the pagination, such as buttons or links for navigating to the next or previous page.
- Write a loop that iterates through the pages, using the pagination controls to navigate between pages. You can use the
click()
method to click on buttons or links, or theget()
method to navigate to a specific URL. - Within the loop, add assertions to verify that the correct content is displayed on each page. For example, you could verify that the correct number of items is displayed, or that the correct text or elements are present on the page.
- Optionally, add additional checks to verify that the pagination controls are functioning correctly. For example, you could verify that the “Next” button is disabled on the last page, or that the page numbers are displayed correctly.
Here is an example of how to test pagination in Java:
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import org.openqa.selenium.By; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; import org.junit.Assert; public class PaginationTest { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com/pagination"); // Find the pagination controls WebElement nextButton = driver.findElement(By.id("next-button")); WebElement pageNumber = driver.findElement(By.id("page-number")); int numPages = 10; // Total number of pages for (int i = 1; i <= numPages; i++) { // Verify that the correct number of items is displayed int expectedNumItems = i * 10; int actualNumItems = driver.findElements(By.cssSelector(".item")).size(); Assert.assertEquals(expectedNumItems, actualNumItems); // Verify that the correct page number is displayed Assert.assertEquals(i, Integer.parseInt(pageNumber.getText())); // Click the "Next" button to go to the next page if (i < numPages) { nextButton.click(); } } // Close webdriver driver.quit(); } } |
This example assumes that the pagination controls have the IDs “next-button” and “page-number”, and that the items on each page are represented by elements with the class “item”. The example iterates through 10 pages, verifying that the correct number of items is displayed and that the page number is correct on each page.
Note that this is just one way to test pagination in Selenium WebDriver, and your specific implementation may vary depending on the design of the pagination controls and the content of the pages.
How to handle autocomplete in selenium Webdriver?
To handle an autocomplete feature in Selenium WebDriver, you can follow these steps:
- Identify the input field that triggers the autocomplete and send it the keystrokes that will trigger the autocomplete. You can use the
sendKeys()
method to send keystrokes to the input field. - Wait for the autocomplete options to appear. You can use the
WebDriverWait
class to wait for a specific element to be present on the page before proceeding. - Find the autocomplete options and select one of them. You can use the
findElements()
method to locate the options and theclick()
method to select one of them.
Here is an example of how to handle an autocomplete in Java:
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import org.openqa.selenium.By; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait; public class AutocompleteExample { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com"); // Find the input field and trigger the autocomplete WebElement inputField = driver.findElement(By.id("search-field")); inputField.sendKeys("foo"); // Wait for the autocomplete options to appear WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10); wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.cssSelector(".autocomplete-options"))); // Find the autocomplete options and select the first one List<WebElement> options = driver.findElements(By.cssSelector(".autocomplete-option")); options.get(0).click |
How to save HTML page using selenium Webdriver Java?
To save an HTML page using Selenium WebDriver in Java, you can use the getPageSource()
method to retrieve the HTML source of the page, and then write it to a file using a BufferedWriter
:
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import java.io.BufferedWriter; import java.io.FileWriter; import java.io.IOException; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; public class SaveHtmlExample { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com"); // Get the HTML source of the page String html = driver.getPageSource(); // Write the HTML to a file try (BufferedWriter writer = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter("page.html"))) { writer.write(html); } catch (IOException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } // Close webdriver driver.quit(); } } |
This example retrieves the HTML source of the current page using getPageSource()
and writes it to a file called “page.html” using a BufferedWriter
.
Note that this approach only saves the HTML source of the page, and will not include any resources that are loaded dynamically, such as images or stylesheets. If you want to save a complete copy of the page, including all resources, you may need to use a different approach, such as using a tool like wget or a browser extension like Web Scraper.
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How to Launch Chrome browser in selenium Webdriver using Maven?
To launch Chrome browser in Selenium WebDriver using Maven, you will need to add the Selenium and ChromeDriver dependencies to your Maven project and set up the ChromeDriver executable.
- Add the Selenium dependency to your
pom.xml
file:
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<dependency> <groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId> <artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId> <version>3.141.59</version> </dependency> |
- Add the ChromeDriver dependency to your
pom.xml
file:
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<dependency> <groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId> <artifactId>selenium-chrome-driver</artifactId> <version>3.141.59</version> </dependency> |
- Download the ChromeDriver executable from the Selenium website and place it in a directory on your system.
- Set the
webdriver.chrome.driver
system property to the path of the ChromeDriver executable. You can do this in your Java code by adding the following line:
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System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "/path/to/chromedriver"); |
- Create a new
ChromeDriver
instance and use it to navigate to a webpage:
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WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com"); |
This will launch Chrome browser and navigate to the specified URL.
Note that you may need to adjust the version numbers of the Selenium and ChromeDriver dependencies to match the version of ChromeDriver that you have downloaded. You should also make sure that you have the correct version of ChromeDriver for your system (e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux) and the version of Chrome that you have installed.
How to write reusable functions in selenium Webdriver?
To write reusable functions in Selenium WebDriver, you can create a separate class for your functions and use it in your test scripts.
Here is an example of how to create a reusable function class in Java:
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import org.openqa.selenium.By; import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement; public class ReusableFunctions { public static void login(WebDriver driver, String username, String password) { WebElement usernameField = driver.findElement(By.id("username")); WebElement passwordField = driver.findElement(By.id("password")); WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.id("login-button")); usernameField.sendKeys(username); passwordField.sendKeys(password); loginButton.click(); } } |
This class defines a login()
function that takes a WebDriver
instance, a username, and a password as arguments, and uses them to log in to a website.
To use this function in your test script, you can import the ReusableFunctions
, class and call the login()
function:
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import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; public class TestScript { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up webdriver WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); driver.get("https://www.example.com/login"); // Call the reusable login function ReusableFunctions.login(driver, "username", "password"); // Continue with the test script } } |
This allows you to reuse the same login code in multiple test scripts without having to duplicate the code in each script.
You can create additional reusable functions in the same way, such as functions for searching, adding items to a cart, or filling out forms. Just make sure to design your functions in a way that makes them flexible and easy to use in different contexts.
How to create a text file using selenium Webdriver?
To create a text file using Selenium WebDriver, you can use a combination of Selenium and standard Java file I/O operations.
Here is an example of how to create a text file and write some text to it in Java:
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import java.io.BufferedWriter; import java.io.FileWriter; import java.io.IOException; public class CreateTextFileExample { public static void main(String[] args) { // Set up the file writer try (BufferedWriter writer = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter("file.txt"))) { // Write some text to the file writer.write("Hello, world!"); } catch (IOException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } } } |
This example creates a new file called “file.txt” using a FileWriter
and a BufferedWriter
, and writes the string “Hello, world!” to it. The file is then automatically closed when the try
block ends.
You can use a similar approach in your Selenium test scripts to create a text file and write to it as needed. Just make sure to handle any exceptions that may be thrown, such as IOException
or FileNotFoundException
.
Note that this approach only works for creating and writing to a text file on the local system. If you want to create a file on a remote server or in a different location, you may need to use a different approach, such as using a tool like SFTP or a language-specific API.
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Frequently Asked Questions on Selenium WebDriver
Here are some common questions and answers about Selenium WebDriver:
Q. What is Selenium WebDriver?
Ans. Selenium WebDriver is a tool for automating web browsers. It allows you to write scripts in various programming languages, such as Java, Python, or C#, to interact with web pages and perform tasks such as filling out forms, clicking on elements, and verifying the contents of a page.
Q. How does Selenium WebDriver work?
Ans. Selenium WebDriver works by controlling a web browser through a driver program. The driver program communicates with the browser using a specific protocol, such as the W3C WebDriver protocol, and sends commands to the browser to perform actions, such as clicking on a link or typing in an input field. The browser then executes the commands and returns the results to the driver program.
Q. What are the advantages of using Selenium WebDriver?
Ans. Selenium WebDriver has several advantages, including:
It is open source and free to use.
It supports a wide range of programming languages and operating systems.
It can be used to test web applications on different browsers and platforms.
It has a large and active community of users and developers.
Q. What are the limitations of Selenium WebDriver?
Ans. Some limitations of Selenium WebDriver include:
It can be challenging to set up and configure, especially for complex or large-scale test suites.
It may not be able to handle certain types of elements or interactions, such as Flash or Java applets.
It may be slow or unreliable when running tests on a remote server or in a cloud environment.
It may not be able to handle complex or dynamic pages, such as those generated by JavaScript or AJAX.
Q. What are some alternatives to Selenium WebDriver?
Ans. Some alternatives to Selenium WebDriver include:
Puppeteer: a JavaScript library for controlling a headless Chrome or Chromium browser.
Playwright: a cross-platform library for automating web browsers, similar to Selenium WebDriver.
Cypress
Conclusion
Selenium WebDriver is a powerful tool for automating web browsers and testing web applications. It is open source, supports a wide range of programming languages, and can be used to test applications on different browsers and platforms. However, it can also be challenging to set up and configure, and may not be able to handle certain types of elements or interactions. Despite these limitations, it is widely used by developers and testers due to its extensive feature set and active community of users and developers. Overall, Selenium WebDriver is a valuable tool for automating web browser tasks and testing the functionality of web applications.
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