Testing is vital in software development to ensure quality and prevent issues. Automation Testing, particularly with Selenium—an open-source platform supporting multiple programming languages—streamlines this process.



The first step in automating web-based tests on a website or web app is choosing which browser to utilize. As a result, before writing test scripts, it&#8217;s important to define the system properties and initializes the browser object. That is the place where the method setProperty() is needed.




Selenium is an open-source automation framework that supports multiple programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, Python, and C#.



The first step in automating tests for a website or web application is deciding which browser to use. Consequently, before writing test scripts, it becomes necessary to define the system properties and initialize the browser object. That&#8217;s where the setProperty() method comes into the picture.



In this blog, we&#8217;ll discuss what this method setProperty() in Selenium is, as well as how it functions 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_System_setProperty_in_Selenium">1 What is System setProperty in Selenium?</a><ul><li><a href="#setProperty_in_Selenium">1.1 setProperty in Selenium</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_use_of_setProperty_method">2 What is the use of setProperty method?</a></li><li><a href="#Demo_Illustrating_setProperty_in_Selenium">3 Demo: Illustrating setProperty in Selenium</a><ul><li><a href="#Code_Explanation">3.1 Code Explanation:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Testsigma_To_The_Rescue">4 Testsigma To The Rescue</a></li><li><a href="#Summary">5 Summary</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">6 Frequently Asked Questions</a><ul><li><a href="#How_can_we_set_the_system_property_for_ChromeDriver">6.1 How can we set the system property for ChromeDriver?</a></li><li><a href="#How_do_you_create_a_system_property">6.2 How do you create a system property?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="h-what-is-system-setproperty-in-selenium">What is System setProperty in Selenium?</h2>



setProperty is a method that implies setting the properties for the browser for creating test cases. This method is considered to be the first step to defining while writing test cases. You will see how it is used in the next section of the blog.



<h3 id="h-setproperty-in-selenium">setProperty in Selenium</h3>



Let’s take a look at the command below to understand what it means



<styled-code>
System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.chrome.driver&#8221;,&#8221;C:\\Data\\ChromeDriver\\chromedriver.exe&#8221;);
</styled-code>



The above command setProperty has two attributes:



<ul><li>Name of the property, and</li><li>Property value</li></ul>



In the above command &#8211; webdriver.chrome.driver is the name of the property. This explains that the <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/automated-login/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium WebDriver</a> is using a Google Chrome Driver to execute the test cases on the Google Chrome Browser.



In case you are using Firefox browsers, the property name will be &#8211; webdriver. gecko.driver. 



Note: Firefox browser uses Gecko driver.



The path &#8211; &#8220;C:\\Data\\ChromeDriver\\chromedriver.exe&#8221; &#8211; represents the property value. This implies that your ChromeDriver executable file is present in that location and you are calling the chrome driver by specifying the path where you have downloaded and saved the driver in your local system. 



Note: This path can vary from person to person. How to configure the Browser drivers can be understood by referring to this blog <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/getting_started/install_drivers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.



As soon as you set the system properties, you need to initialize a browser with the help of the command below. As we are using <a href="https://chromedriver.chromium.org/downloads" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chrome Driver</a>, we will create an object of the Chrome browser.



<styled-code>
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
</styled-code>



The rest of the code or the test methods can be written after instantiating the browser instance. N0w, let’s understand why it is used.



<h2 id="h-what-is-the-use-of-setproperty-method">What is the use of setProperty method?</h2>



While testing with Selenium, the setProperty method is used because the browser doesn’t have a built-in server to run the automation code.&nbsp;You will need a Chrome/IE/Gecko driver server to communicate your Selenium code to the browser.



In simple words, to set the path of the driver for the respective browser, you will need the system.setProperty.With the help of setProperty method, server communication can be achieved. I’ve explained how to do that below.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image_ef48aac1aa4ec849de32f44413c36f18_2000.png" alt="setproperty-setproperty-in-selenium" width="600" height="300"/></figure></div>



Let’s now take a small example for Chrome Browser and understand how this method is used and how it works.



<h2 id="h-demo-illustrating-setproperty-in-selenium">Demo: Illustrating setProperty in Selenium</h2>



<styled-code>
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
public class Demo_browser {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Here I am setting the system properties of chrome driver and specifying the path to it.
System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.chrome.driver&#8221;, &#8220;Path_to_your_chrome_driver&#8221;);
// Creating an object to instantiate the browser driver
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
//Navigating through a particular website
driver.get(&#8220;https://www.google.com&#8221;);
//Locating elements using name locator for search box
driver.findElement(By.name(&#8220;g&#8221;)).sendKeys(&#8220;Testsigma&#8221;);
WebElement searchIcon = driver.findElement(By.name(&#8220;btnk&#8221;)).click():
}
}
</styled-code>



 <h3 id="h-code-explanation">Code Explanation:</h3>



When you execute the above code, it will launch the Google.com website in Google Chrome using ChromeDriver, where the initialization of the driver is handled by system.setProperty method. This has to be the first line of code that needs to be executed in your Selenium script before any test method to initialize the driver. That’s how it works. If you wish to use Firefox Browser and Gecko Driver, you can use them accordingly.



This will also search for the Testsigma keyword in Google Chrome and click on the search icon. This is achieved through the locators, sendkeys method, and click button. 



One can check the complete list of available browser drivers on the <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/downloads/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">official site</a> of Selenium. Once the driver is downloaded for a specific browser, QAs need the setProperty()method to define the path for that driver before writing any test cases.



When using Selenium, the System.setProperty() method forms the basis for test case automation on any browser. Naturally, QAs must understand how to use this fundamental method for all automation purposes in <a href="https://testsigma.com/comparison-automated-testing-tools-selenium-testsigma" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium</a>.



To write any test case, the first step is to set the system properties for a specific browser or web application. To execute the test case, you need to have a specific browser driver configured into the system. This is a complex process, as one needs to have strong coding skills, understand the problem statement, configure all the dependencies, and execute the test cases.



Just imagine how it would be if you were asked to carry out testing without the coding knowledge and all the other technical aspects. Sounds Interesting!



Yes, that’s exactly what <a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> does. The next section talks about how Testsigma can help you create and run test cases with ease.



Note: You can also compare the difference between Selenium and Testsigma and how <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-vs-testsigma-which-is-the-best-automation-testing-tool/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma takes an edge over Selenium</a>.



<h2 id="h-testsigma-to-the-rescue">Testsigma To The Rescue</h2>



Testsigma is a cloud-based test automation tool built to address the challenges that came with traditional tools. Some of the major problems that Testsigma aims to solve are huge initial time, cost and resources, Slow test development speed, High maintenance cost, Less or no Reusability of test cases, support for Collaboration, and many more.



Testsigma offers several features including:



<ul><li>Codeless automation, not just limited to basic tests</li><li>Lets everyone on your team automate testing &#8211; including QAs &amp;SMEs</li><li>Platform with all the essential elements for continuous testing</li><li>Enhance the platform’s automation capabilities for all your custom needs</li><li>In sprint test automation for fast-faced Agile and DevOps teams</li><li>Customizable object spy for every application that makes your tests robust</li><li>AI to reduce maintenance and improve the team’s efficiency</li><li>Reduce regression testing from weeks to minutes</li><li>Increased maintainability and reusability and reliability</li></ul>



This brings us to the end of the blog on system setProperty in Selenium.



<h2 id="h-summary">Summary</h2>



In this blog, we understood the system setProperty in Selenium and why it is necessary. As mentioned earlier, there are various web browser drivers for every browser. Here, we learned how to set system properties for Chrome Driver. Similarly, we can set the system properties for Firefox browser using Gecko Driver, Microsoft Edge driver for Edge browser, etc. 



As Selenium supports multiple browsers and browser versions, so is the reason for various browser drivers. These drivers are necessary to establish a connection to the server. That’s where system setProperty in Selenium is used.



<h2 id="h-frequently-asked-questions">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



<h3 id="h-how-can-we-set-the-system-property-for-chromedriver">How can we set the system property for ChromeDriver?</h3>



To set the system setProperty for ChromeDriver, take a look at the below 



<styled-code>
System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.chrome.driver&#8221;,&#8221;Path to the chromedriver.exe&#8221;);
// The above command sets the system property of webdriver.chrome.driver and the path is necessary to be given to locate the chrome driver.
// Next create an instance of the chrome driver using the below syntax
Webdriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
</styled-code>



<h3 id="h-how-do-you-create-a-system-property">How do you create a system property?</h3>



<ul><li>You can set system properties programmatically by using Java. java.lang.System.setProperties() method is used to create the system properties.</li> <li>The -D option of the java command can be used.</li> <li>The jt400.properties file can also be used to create system property.</li> <li>Using a Properties class.</li></ul>

What is System setProperty in Selenium? How does it work?

Uploading a file is a common factor for most scenarios. There are many instances, like uploading a resume for your job portal, uploading your identity proof for your passport, etc. When multiple files need to be uploaded and tested at once, it becomes necessary to ensure that there are no errors to automate the test cases. Why? This avoids human intervention as it’s time-consuming. 



This is where Automation testing comes into the picture. <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium</a> is the most popularly used framework to automate the test cases. Through this blog, let’s understand how to upload a file using Selenium.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Quick_look_at_Automation_Testing">1 Quick look at Automation Testing</a></li><li><a href="#Introduction_to_Selenium">2 Introduction to Selenium</a><ul><li><a href="#Features_of_Selenium">2.1 Features of Selenium:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#How_to_Upload_a_File_Using_Selenium">3 How to Upload a File Using Selenium</a><ul><li><a href="#Selenium_into_Action">3.1 Selenium into Action</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Test_Script">4 Test Script</a><ul><li><a href="#Explanation">4.1 Explanation:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Testsigma_to_the_Rescue">5 Testsigma to the Rescue</a><ul><li><a href="#Features_of_Testsigma">5.1 Features of Testsigma</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">6 Conclusion</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="h-quick-look-at-automation-testing">Quick look at Automation Testing</h2>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Automation testing </a>is a type of testing that uses programs and scripts to run test cases. It is a software testing technique in which testers leverage automated software tools for executing test cases. 



Automating the test suite helps in saving time and effort required in performing repetitive and resource-heavy tasks that are difficult to perform manually.



<h2 id="h-introduction-to-selenium">Introduction to Selenium</h2>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-based-automated-testing/#Selenium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium</a> is a set of libraries and tools that automates web browser actions. It automates the actions carried out on web applications. In simple words, Selenium offers the tools and functionalities to interact with the browser to automate the browser actions, like clicking, inputting, navigating, selecting, etc., with the help of scripts. 



It is open source and freely available. To download and configure, you can refer to the blog on <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/getting_started/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium Tutorial. </a>It offers a range of features that simplify the implementation of Automating Browser Testing. It helps testers perform tests across various browsers efficiently and seamlessly.



<h3 id="h-features-of-selenium">Features of Selenium:</h3>



<ul><li>It is flexible and extensible.</li> <li>It widely supports multiple programming languages, operating systems, browsers, and browser versions.</li> <li>The current stable version of Selenium is Selenium 4. Know more about this through the help of this blog.</li></ul>



Now that you are aware of <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Automation testing</a> and Selenium, let’s understand how to upload a file using Selenium.



<h2 id="h-how-to-upload-a-file-using-selenium">How to Upload a File Using Selenium</h2>



There are various methods to upload a file using <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-based-automated-testing/#Selenium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium</a>. You can use locators, page object models, etc., to upload a file. In this case, let’s use locators and sendkeys method to upload a file. 



Let’s take a scenario where you would like to upload a file to your Google mail account.



 Step 1: Login into your <a href="https://accounts.google.com/v3/signin/identifier?dsh=S1225345330%3A1673409110332214&amp;continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F&amp;rip=1&amp;sacu=1&amp;service=mail&amp;flowName=GlifWebSignIn&amp;flowEntry=ServiceLogin&amp;ifkv=AeAAQh4DjxZLNGSv3-JWm5KIOD6KBQVceZDdzd6ZqzcJhxp1kJeqd_EucKtlxkKoEt0qJMRMEGtugg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gmail</a> account.



Step 2: Click on Compose button to compose an email.



Step 3: Add a recipient 



Step 4: Click the attach button to upload the file as shown in the below screenshot.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image_79fcf01b3fc61303995593c852d6f0d7_2000.png" alt="file-upload-upload-afile-using-selenium" width="600" height="400"/></figure></div>



These are the manual steps carried out to upload a file.



Now let’s see how Selenium plays a vital role in testing the upload file functionality for a web application.



<h3 id="h-selenium-into-action">Selenium into Action</h3>



Let’s use locators in Selenium to locate the attachment button. In this case, I will be using XPath locator. 



Step 1: Create a driver instance. In this case, I’d use <a href="https://chromedriver.chromium.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChromeDriver</a>. 



Note: Download the ChromeDriver compatible with your Google Chrome browser version. To configure ChromeDriver, refer to this blog on <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/chromedriver-for-selenium/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChromeDriver for Selenium</a>.



Below command is used to create a Google Chrome browser instance.



<styled-code>
ebdriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
</styled-code>



Step 2: Navigate to the Gmail account. Using the driver object, we will assign the path to 



Gmail.driver.get(”<a href="https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin/identifier?service=mail&amp;passive=1209600&amp;osid=1&amp;continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2Fu%2F0%2F&amp;followup=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2Fu%2F0%2F&amp;emr=1&amp;ifkv=AeAAQh67qi67hERgy55hxwzyPbJokf2lAcZ8FsAKJ6EZ4ZMZmtgAMpzA4Y81SUo67izHbxBUdmqznw&amp;flowName=GlifWebSignIn&amp;flowEntry=ServiceLogin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.gmail.com</a>”)



Step 3: Enter your credentials and login to your Gmail account. In this case, let’s use the id and name locators to locate the username and password. Here I am using Sendkeys method to send the values to the respective email and password field.



<styled-code>
Web element username = 
driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;identifierId”).sendkeys(”your_username”);
</styled-code>



<styled-code>
Web element password = 
driver.findElement(By.password(&#8220;Passwd”).sendkeys(”your_password”);
</styled-code>



Step 4: Now let’s click on the Compose email field. In this case, let’s use XPath locator to locate the Compose button. Here we use the click action to click on the button.



Note: The value for the XPath locator can be fetched by inspecting the specific web element on the web page. In this case, we are using Relative XPath. The value is shown below for the Compose button.



Learn the fundamentals of XPath locator by referring to <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/xpath-locators-cheat-sheet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this cheatsheet</a>.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img loading="lazy" src="https://images.storychief.com/account_36412/image_d31761c9da0437d745a51269301f6131_2000.png" alt="Testsigma - Test automation platform" width="400" height="400"/></figure></div>



 



<styled-code>
Web element compose= 
driver.findElement(By.xpath(&#8220;//div[contains(text(),&#8217;Compose&#8217;)]”).click();
</styled-code>



Step 5: As a next step, we need to upload the file. Let’s write the <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/xpath-locators-cheat-sheet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Relative Xpath locator</a> for attachment button. Here also click action is used to click on the attachment button to attach the file.



<styled-code>
Web element compose= 
driver.findElement(By.xpath(”//div[@id=&#8217;:1dp&#8217;]”).click();
</styled-code>



Step 6: Let’s use the add file method to add the file.



addFile.sendKeys(&#8220;&lt;FILE_PATH>&#8221;);// FILE_PATH is the path to the file you want to upload



driver.findElement(By.linkText(&#8220;Upload a file&#8221;)).click(); // We are assuming that there is a link with text “Upload a file”, that will initiate the file upload.



Step 7: Next step is to verify if the file is uploaded. Refer to the below script to verify. The XPath locator value might differ. So it is better to inspect the uploaded file and then write the relative XPath for the same.



<styled-code>
if(driver.findElement(By.xpath(&#8220;//div[@id=&#8217;:1md&#8217;]&#8221;)).isDisplayed()) {
assertTrue(true, &#8220;File is Uploaded&#8221;);
}else {
assertTrue(false, &#8220;File not Uploaded&#8221;);
}
}
</styled-code>



<h2 id="h-test-script">Test Script</h2>



<styled-code>
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver;
import org.testng.annotations.AfterClass;
import org.testng.annotations.BeforeClass;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;
public class fileupload {
private RemoteWebDriver driver;
@BeforeClass
public void setUp() throws Exception {
System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.chrome.driver&#8221;, &#8220;Path of the chrome driver&#8221;);
Webdriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(20, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
}
@Test
Web element username = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;identifierId”).sendkeys(”your_username”);
Web element password = driver.findElement(By.password(&#8220;Passwd”).sendkeys(”your_password”);
Web element signin = driver.findElement(By.linkText(&#8220;Next”).click();
Web element compose= driver.findElement(By.xpath(&#8220;//body/div[7]/div[3]/div[1]/div[2]/div[2]/div[1]/div[1]/div[1]/div[1]”).click();
// Add file method 
addFile.sendKeys(&#8220;Add Path to the file&#8221;);// For uploading the file
driver.findElement(By.linkText(&#8220;Upload a file&#8221;)).click(); // You need to mention your own locator as it will vary due to dynamic in nature.
driver.findElement(By.linkText(&#8220;Set new profile picture&#8221;)).click();
Thread.sleep(2000);// Image name can be of your choice
if(driver.findElement(By.xpath(&#8220;//div[@id=&#8217;:1md&#8217;]&#8221;)).isDisplayed()) {
assertTrue(true, &#8220;File is Uploaded&#8221;);
}else {
assertTrue(false, &#8220;File not Uploaded&#8221;);
}
}
@AfterClass
public void tearDown() throws Exception {
driver.quit();
}
}
</styled-code>



<h3 id="h-explanation">Explanation:</h3>



In the above program, we have used TestNG annotations for Before Test, @Test and After test. In the before test method, we are setting up the system properties of the ChromeDriver and launching the WebDriver instance to instantiate the browser. Next, we will navigate to the Gmail account.



As a next step, we will use locators to locate the web elements on the web page and upload a file. 



The last step is to verify if the file has been uploaded. In this case, I am using assert function to display true and false. Finally, use driver.quit() command to quit the driver instance.



This is how we need to write the script for uploading a file using Selenium. As demonstrated above, uploading a file with Selenium is a relatively easy process. 



But, as it is a user action, it needs to be tested frequently to make sure that the website offers a flawless user experience. 



Let’s now understand how Testsigma eases the process of writing such a test case and how it is helpful to make the task of a test engineer easy.



<h2 id="h-testsigma-to-the-rescue"><a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> to the Rescue</h2>



There are already widely used tools and frameworks in the industry, such as Selenium. They also provide vivid features that aid in the performance of Automated testing. To make the best use of these frameworks, a user with a strong understanding of programming is required. 



Finding and keeping good resources is a major challenge for most businesses today. Another cost in the recent trends is training resources needed to perform automated testing using these frameworks. This highlights the need for a tool that is highly simplified and does not require a high level of technical knowledge to use. This is where Testsigma comes into the picture.



<h3 id="h-features-of-testsigma">Features of Testsigma</h3>



Testsigma is a cloud-based platform for unified test automation. It simplifies and accelerates automated testing for web applications, mobile applications, and APIs. Even someone with no or limited coding skills can easily learn how to use this platform. 



This is basically a codeless platform for you to execute the test cases with ease. Automated test suites can be created quickly and with minimal technical overhead. 



How does Testsigma assist you in accomplishing this?



<ul><li>It employs simple English commands supported by an NLP (Natural Language Processing) engine, allowing the user to create test cases in minutes. Most of the teams with limited coding knowledge can achieve sprint test automation with minimal effort using NLP and integrated API testing capabilities.</li> <li>Maintaining multiple servers, operating systems, and mobile devices is no longer a problem with Testsigma. This is because Testsigma offers a cloud version too where all of this available on the cloud.</li> <li>End-to-end tests for web, mobile apps, and APIs can be built 5 times faster with English scripts that self-heal, allowing for maintenance-free testing.</li> <li>Parallel tests can be run on multiple operating systems, browsers, and browser versions. Testsigma provides access to over 200 Android and iOS operating systems for testing.</li> <li>With a few clicks, you can <a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sign up for our Cloud-hosted platform.</a> Testsigma cloud requires no setup and can easily integrate many features supported by the automated testing process. Refer to this <a href="https://testsigma.com/docs/getting-started/setup/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">documentation on Testsigma</a> for more details.</li> <li>Testsigma is not a record and playback tool. It has all the flexibility of an enterprise-class test automation tool/framework, yet the simplest to write automated test scripts.</li> <li>Testsigma’s community-powered marketplace provides <a href="https://testsigma.com/addons" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">add-ons</a> for automated actions and data generators that can be accessed instantly or customized to match your use case.</li></ul>



Know the similarities and differences between Selenium and Testsigma with the help of the blog on <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-vs-testsigma-which-is-the-best-automation-testing-tool/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium vs Testsigma.</a> This blog also helps you understand how Testsigma is a better test automation tool with many advanced features employed.



With this, we come to the end of this article on How to Upload a file in Selenium.



<h2 id="h-conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



In the modern era, customers have minimal tolerance for a bad user experience. Gone are those days when customers would entertain multiple iterations and changes to the software. Therefore, delivering top notch quality software which meets the users’ expectations and caters to their timelines is highly essential. This basically leads to short release cycles, and the testing approach needs to be effective and with wide coverage of test cases.



With raging competition and ever-changing requirements of the end users, it is necessary that organizations deliver high-quality software at the earliest. Using test automation at the right place at the right time can really help improve the quality while also keeping the testing cycle time to a minimum.



<a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> is a fully-managed test automation platform that provides enhanced security, a large test lab, review management, and powerful reporting capabilities, among other things. You should consider using Testsigma to ensure a smooth and comprehensive testing process, particularly for automation of your web, mobile, desktop, and API testing.

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Top 6 iOS Automation Testing Tools & Frameworks with Code Examples

When you build a web application, it must work well across various OS platforms and browsers. In simple terms, verifying the web application&#8217;s performance and compatibility is necessary. In recent trends, automation testing is a top-notch framework that automates the effort of manual testing. Selenium is one such tool that fits well in this scenario. In this blog post, let&#8217;s understand how to perform cross browser testing using Selenium WebDriver.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Overview_of_Cross_Browser_Testing_using_Selenium">1 Overview of Cross Browser Testing using Selenium</a></li><li><a href="#Cross_Browser_Testing_using_Selenium">2 Cross Browser Testing using Selenium</a></li><li><a href="#How_to_Perform_Cross_Browser_Testing_using_Selenium">3 How to Perform Cross Browser Testing using Selenium?</a><ul><li><ul><li><a href="#Requirements">3.0.1 Requirements:</a></li><li><a href="#Flow">3.0.2 Flow:</a></li><li><a href="#Code">3.0.3 Code:</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Best_Practices_to_do_Cross_Browser_Testing_in_Selenium">4 Best Practices to do Cross Browser Testing in Selenium</a></li><li><a href="#Testsigma_to_the_Rescue">5 Testsigma to the Rescue</a></li><li><a href="#Cross_Browser_Testing_in_Selenium_8211_How_Testsigma_can_help">6 Cross Browser Testing in Selenium &#8211; How Testsigma can help?</a></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">7 Conclusion</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">8 Frequently Asked Questions</a><ul><li><a href="#How_do_you_test_cross-browser_compatibility_using_Selenium">8.1 How do you test cross-browser compatibility using Selenium?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="73jp0">Overview of Cross Browser Testing using Selenium</h2>



It&#8217;s not fair to ask users to access your application with a specific browser. To reach out to the maximum number of users, you need to cater to all the devices and platforms they use. Since there are various web browsers in the market, the choice of usage should be left to the user. Different users use different browsers based on their comfort. It’s the job of the test engineer to ensure that the application works well on all the widely used browsers. This urges the need for testing the application code on different platforms. This is where <a href="https://testsigma.com/cross-browser-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cross browser testing</a> comes into the picture, the type of testing which verifies that a website works accurately in all browsers. 



The main goal is to verify that the website you’re developing runs perfectly on all targeted browsers and operating systems. Testers can either run manual tests or use automated tools like Selenium WebDriver. It helps save you time, as you need not reinstall your browsers multiple times.



<h2 id="9o12o">Cross Browser Testing using Selenium</h2>



As mentioned earlier, Selenium is the most popular automated testing tool for various functions. Browser testing is one of the many features supported by Selenium.



<ol type="1"><li>Selenium WebDriver enables you to automate test cases on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari browsers.</li><li>You can integrate the TestNG framework with Selenium WebDriver to run your test cases on different browsers.</li><li>You can analyze performance for cross-browser compatibility.</li></ol>



Read on <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-based-automated-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium Based Automation Testing</a> to gain deeper insights into the various components of Selenium.



Next, let’s see how to perform cross browser testing using Selenium.



<h2 id="a85to">How to Perform Cross Browser Testing using Selenium?</h2>



Let’s write a simple code to understand how it works.



<h4 id="5v555">Requirements:</h4>



<ol type="1"><li>Java Installation</li><li>Integrated Development Environment (IDE) installed. In this case, let’s use Eclipse IDE</li><li><a href="https://www.selenium.dev/downloads/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium Server</a> Configuration</li><li>TestNG integration</li><li>Browser Drivers for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.</li></ol>



<h4 id="e0jm7">Flow:</h4>



In the below program, let’s log in to the <a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> website.



The task here is to check for cross-browser compatibility on 3 different browsers. They are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. To do this, let’s set the system properties for all the 3 browsers as shown below. Finally, using locators allows you to perform actions on the website.



<h4 id="1tr63">Code:</h4>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>package test;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
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.edge.EdgeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;
import org.testng.annotations.BeforeTest;
import org.testng.annotations.Parameters;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>public class TestScript {
WebDriver driver;

@BeforeTest
@Parameters("browser")
public void create(String browser) throws Exception{
//Checking for 'firefox' parameters
if(browser.equalsIgnoreCase("firefox")){
//creating firefox instance
System.setProperty("Add the path to the firefox/gecko driver");
driver = new FirefoxDriver();
}
//Checking for 'chrome' parameters
else if(browser.equalsIgnoreCase("chrome")){
//Creating chrome instance
System.setProperty("Add the path to chrome driver");
driver = new ChromeDriver();
}
else if(browser.equalsIgnoreCase("Edge")){
//Creating edge instance
System.setProperty("Add the path to edge driver”);
driver = new EdgeDriver();
}
else{
//If the browser is not passed then throw the below exception
throw new Exception("Invalid browser");
}
driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
}
@Test
public void testParameterWithXML() throws InterruptedException{</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>driver.get("https://www.testsigma.com");
WebElement Signin = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Login"));
//Hit login button
Signin.click();
Thread.sleep(4000);
WebElement uname = driver.findElement(By.id("loginUsername"));
//Fill user name
uname.sendKeys("your email id");
Thread.sleep(4000);
WebElement pwd = driver.findElement(By.name("password"));
//Fill password
pwd.sendKeys("your password");
Thread.sleep(6000); 
WebElement = driver.findElement(By.linkText("SIGN IN));
//Hit search button
Next.click();
}</code></pre>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>@AfterTest
public void quit(){
driver.close();
}
}</code></pre>



To execute the above test script, you need a TestNG XML file that contains the dependencies of the above class file. In this case, I have created an XML file to reference the above parameters.



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>&lt;?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?&gt;
&lt;!DOCTYPE suite SYSTEM "http://testng.org/testng-1.0.dtd"&gt;
&lt;suite name="TestSuite" thread-count="2" parallel="tests" &gt;
&lt;test name="ChromeBrowser_Test"&gt;
&lt;parameter name="browser" value="Chrome"/&gt;
&lt;classes&gt;
&lt;class name="test.TestScript"&gt;
&lt;/class&gt;
&lt;/classes&gt;
&lt;/test&gt;
&lt;test name="FirefoxBrowser_Test"&gt;
&lt;parameter name="browser" value="Firefox" /&gt;
&lt;classes&gt;
&lt;class name="test.TestScript"&gt;
&lt;/class&gt;
&lt;/classes&gt;
&lt;/test&gt;
&lt;test name="EdgeBrowser_Test"&gt;
&lt;parameter name="browser" value="Edge" /&gt;
&lt;classes&gt;
&lt;class name="test.TestScript"&gt;
&lt;/class&gt;
&lt;/classes&gt;
&lt;/test&gt;
&lt;/suite&gt;</code></pre>



On executing this code as TestNG Test, browser drivers will instantiate the respective browsers and perform the login action on the Testsigma website.



This is how it works. Now let us understand how Testsigma eases the process of writing automated test code.



<h2 id="best-practices-to-do-cross-browser-testing-in-selenium">Best Practices to do Cross Browser Testing in Selenium</h2>



Here are some recommended best practices to follow when conducting cross-browser testing with Selenium:



<ol><li>Be careful when selecting libraries and frameworks: The most recent CSS or JS frameworks might not be compatible with all browsers. This is important to remember while creating web apps because browsers have various rendering engines. Before using these libraries or frameworks, check browser recommendations to discover if they support them.</li><li>Employ relevant JavaScript libraries and task runners: Because JavaScript is a crucial component of web app development, it is critical to employ the appropriate JavaScript resources that fulfill site needs and provide consistent browser compatibility.</li><li>Identify and analyze your browser&#8217;s OS configuration: To do effective cross-browser testing with Selenium, you must know the required browser versions and operating systems. We recommend prioritizing combinations likely to be used by the largest segments of your audience.</li><li>Optimized for Internet Explorer: Internet Explorer does not support advanced CSS styles and frameworks, which can distort design elements. To solve this problem, create a separate style sheet for IE and add some hacks to the doctype.&nbsp;</li></ol>



By following these best practices, testers can ensure that their web application behaves consistently across different browsers and operating systems.&nbsp;



<h2 id="6hnb2">Testsigma to the Rescue</h2>



Modern teams need automation testing to build and deploy bug free applications efficiently. Achieving test automation is complicated due to multiple framework setups, complex coding, etc.



Testsigma, a unified test automation platform on a cloud, simplifies and accelerates automation testing for web applications, mobile applications, and APIs. With Testsigma, test engineers, QA team, and business users can create, run and maintain automated tests easily. Simply put, anyone can test high-quality software with zero coding skills.



Using simple English commands powered by NLP (Natural Language Processing) engine, you can write tests in minutes. With NLP and Integrated <a href="https://testsigma.com/guides/api-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">API testing</a> capabilities, teams can achieve in-sprint test automation with minimum effort. With Testsigma, maintaining different servers, operating systems, and mobile devices is no longer a problem.



It comes in two versions. One is free for a lifetime and meant for basic apps. The second one is the pro version which is free for 21 days and later charges a monthly fee.



<h2 id="9a1de">Cross Browser Testing in Selenium &#8211; How Testsigma can help?</h2>



One can run tests in parallel on different operating systems, browsers, and browser versions. Testsigma offers more than 200 Android and iOS operating systems to run tests. This is how the platform replaces the effort of coding with simple English instructions and built-in functionality.



Since Testsigma offers over 200 operating systems and browsers, you can perform <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-cross-browser-testing-tool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Automated cross-browser testing</a> with just a few clicks. This reduces time consumption and increases performance.



Why wait? <a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sign up</a> for a trial version of Testsigma and kickstart your Cross-Browser automation journey.



<div class="cta-banner-v2">
<div class="title-with-description ">
Automate your cross-browser tests, 10x faster, with Testsigma
</div>
<a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" class="cta-btn-v1" rel="noopener">Try for free now</a>
</div>



<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



Cross browser testing lets you check for website compatibility. Selenium is one such automated testing tool, which serves this purpose. It’s up to the developers to deliver an end-user experience that’s consistently delightful across a multitude of browsers and devices.



Testsigma is a fully-managed test automation platform that includes all the core features of the open-source platform, without any infra-requirements. It offers enhanced security, extensive test lab, project and review management, powerful reporting capabilities, etc. Organizations can therefore consider using Testsigma to have a hassle-free and extensive testing process, especially as a <a href="https://testsigma.com/cross-browser-testing-tools" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cross browser testing tool</a>.



Thus, this brings us to the end of our post on Cross Browser Testing using Selenium WebDriver. If you have any questions or suggestions, drop them in the comment section below.







<h2 id="frequently-asked-questions">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



<h3 id="how-do-you-test-cross-browser-compatibility-using-selenium">How do you test cross-browser compatibility using Selenium?</h3>



To test cross-browser compatibility with Selenium, you must write a test script using Selenium WebDriver, which supports multiple browsers. You can write test cases for each browser individually or use a testing framework such as TestNG to run tests on multiple browsers simultaneously. It&#8217;s crucial to ensure that your application&#8217;s functionality and user interface are consistent across all tested browsers and their versions. You can also use Selenium Grid to run your tests in parallel on multiple machines to speed up your tests. The best option would be going for an end-to-end automation platform like Testsigma.

Cross Browser Testing using Selenium WebDriver