Browser Commands in Selenium

Introduction

Browser Commands in Selenium play a pivotal role in automating web application testing. As a widely-used open-source testing framework, Selenium offers a comprehensive set of browser commands that allow testers to interact with web browsers programmatically. These commands empower testers to navigate web pages, handle browser windows, manage browser settings, execute JavaScript code, and extract critical information from the browser. By leveraging these commands, testers can efficiently automate browser-related tasks, simulate user interactions, and validate web application behavior across different browsers.

Opening and Closing Browser

To open a browser:

1. Instantiate a WebDriver object for the desired browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

2. Use the get() method to navigate to a specific URL.

The browser window will open and load the specified URL.

To close a browser:

1. Use the close() method to close the current browser window.

To quit the entire browser session:

1. Use the quit() method to terminate the WebDriver session and close all associated browser windows or tabs.

This command ensures that all browser instances opened by the WebDriver are closed, freeing up system resources.

Navigation Commands

1. get(url): Navigates the browser to the specified URL.

2. navigate().to(url): Navigates the browser to the specified URL.

3. navigate().back(): Navigates the browser back to the previous page in the browsing history.

4. navigate().forward(): Navigates the browser forward to the next page in the browsing history.

5. navigate().refresh(): Refreshes the current web page.

Browser Window and Tab Management

1. getWindowHandle(): Retrieves the unique identifier of the current browser window.

2. getWindowHandles(): Retrieves a set of unique identifiers for all open browser windows.

3. switchTo().window(handle): Switches the focus to a specific browser window or tab using its unique identifier.

4. close(): Closes the current browser window or tab.

5. quit(): Quits the entire browser session, closing all associated windows or tabs.

Managing Cookies

Adding Cookies to the Browser

Adding cookies to the browser is a common task in Selenium automation to simulate user sessions or maintain specific states during testing. Selenium provides methods to manage cookies effectively. Let's explore how to add cookies to the browser using Selenium:

1. Create a new Cookie object with the desired name and value:

2. Set additional properties for the cookie, such as domain, path, expiry, etc. (optional):

3. Add the cookie to the browser's current session using the addCookie() method:

Deleting Cookies from the Browser

1. Delete a specific cookie by name:

2. Delete all cookies in the current browser session:

These methods allow testers to remove specific cookies or clear all cookies from the browser's cookie storage. Deleting cookies can be useful when starting a new test case or resetting the browser state between different scenarios.

Handling Session Cookies and Persistent Cookies

In Selenium, session cookies and persistent cookies are two types of cookies that can be handled differently based on their behavior and desired testing requirements. Let's explore how to handle session cookies and persistent cookies in Selenium:

Session Cookies:

1. Adding a session cookie:

   • Create a new Cookie object with the desired name and value.
   • Set additional properties such as the domain and path if necessary.
   • Add the cookie to the browser's current session using the addCookie() method.

2. Deleting a session cookie:

   • Use the deleteCookieNamed() method to delete a specific session cookie by its name.

Persistent Cookies:

1. Adding a persistent cookie:

   • Create a new Cookie object with the desired name and value.
   • Set additional properties such as the domain, path, and expiry date.
   • Add the cookie to the browser's current session using the addCookie() method.

2. Deleting a persistent cookie:

   • Use the deleteCookieNamed() method to delete a specific persistent cookie by its name.

When handling persistent cookies, it's important to note that their expiry date should be set appropriately to ensure they persist across multiple sessions.

To handle cookies effectively:

• Use driver.manage().getCookies() to retrieve all cookies and perform operations accordingly.
• Use driver.manage().deleteAllCookies() to delete all cookies in the current session.

Browser Options and Settings

Modifying Browser Settings

1. Maximize the browser window:

2. Set the size of the browser window:

3. Set the browser's time zone:

4. Set the browser's user agent:

5. Enable or disable browser notifications:

Changing Browser Window Size

Changing the browser window size in Selenium allows testers to simulate different viewport sizes and test the responsiveness of web applications. Selenium provides methods to resize the browser window dynamically. Let's explore how to change the browser window size using Selenium:

1. Set the window size directly using the setSize() method:

2. Maximize the browser window to the maximum available size:

3. Set the window size based on specific screen resolutions:

Handling Browser Notifications and Pop-Ups

1. Handling browser notifications: a) Disable browser notifications:

   b) Accept or dismiss browser notifications:

2. Handling pop-up windows: a) Switch to a pop-up window:

   b) Perform actions on the pop-up window:

   c) Close the pop-up window:

Page Information Retrieval

Retrieving page information in Selenium allows testers to gather valuable data from web pages during automated testing. Selenium provides methods to extract various types of page information.

1. Get the current page title:

2. Get the current page URL:

3. Get the page source code:

4. Get the current window handle:

5. Get a list of all window handles:

Browser Synchronization

Implementing Implicit and Explicit Waits

Implementing implicit and explicit waits in Selenium is crucial for synchronizing test script execution with the web application's dynamic behavior. These waits ensure that the automation script waits for specific conditions to be met before proceeding with further actions.

Implicit Wait:

1. Set the implicit wait time in seconds before performing any actions:

2. The implicit wait will be applied to all subsequent web element searches or interactions. Selenium will wait for the specified time duration for an element to become available before throwing an exception.

Explicit Wait:

1. Create an explicit wait object with a specific timeout duration:

2. Define the expected conditions that need to be met before proceeding:

3. The explicit wait will wait for the specified condition to be met within the given timeout duration. If the condition is not met within the timeout, a TimeoutException will be thrown.

4. Various ExpectedConditions methods are available, such as visibilityOfElementLocated(), elementToBeClickable(), presenceOfElementLocated(), etc., to wait for specific conditions.

Waiting for Page Load Completion

1. Wait for page load using the PageLoadStrategy capability:

By setting the PageLoadStrategy to NORMAL, Selenium will wait for the entire page to load before proceeding.

2. Wait for the page to load using the ExpectedConditions class:

This explicit wait waits until the JavaScript returns the value "complete", indicating that the page has finished loading.

3. Wait for page load using JavaScript executor:

This approach uses JavaScript executor to check the document.readyState and waits until it equals "complete".

Handling AJAX Calls and Dynamic Web Content

• AjaxElementLocatorFactory (for Page Object Model):

  Use the AjaxElementLocatorFactory in combination with the Page Object Model pattern to automatically wait for elements to be present or interactable:

• JavaScript Executor:

  This example waits for all AJAX requests to complete (jQuery.active == 0) before proceeding.

Taking Screenshots in Browser

1. Take a screenshot of the entire web page:

2. Take a screenshot of a specific web element:

3. Capture the screenshot as a base64-encoded string: