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Selenium SendKeys: A Detailed Usage Guide

Are you looking to automate your cross browser tests using the <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium web automation framework</a>? If so, you must understand <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/webdriver/elements/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Web Elements</a> and how to handle them in Selenium. Whether it’s locating Web Elements in Selenium or performing actions on them, interacting with Web Elements is a key part of any automated test script.&nbsp;



In this article, we&#8217;ll discuss everything you need to know about Web Element handling in Selenium. We will also cover different strategies for handling dynamic Web Elements in Selenium and ways to improve your code&#8217;s execution time by avoiding unnecessary waits.&nbsp;



So let&#8217;s get started!



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_Web_Element">1 What is Web Element?</a><ul><li><a href="#Syntaxnbsp">1.1 Syntax&nbsp;</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Common_Selenium_WebDriver_Commands_for_Web_Elements">2 Common Selenium WebDriver Commands for Web Elements</a></li><li><a href="#Operations_performed_on_the_WebElements">3 Operations performed on the WebElements</a></li><li><a href="#Locators_In_Selenium_WebDriver">4 Locators In Selenium WebDriver</a></li><li><a href="#Final_Words">5 Final Words</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">6 Frequently Asked Questions:</a><ul><li><a href="#What_are_the_types_of_Web_Elements">6.1 What are the types of Web Elements?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_purpose_of_WebElement">6.2 What is the purpose of WebElement?</a></li><li><a href="#Is_size_a_WebElement_method">6.3 Is size() a WebElement method?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="h-what-is-web-element">What is Web Element?</h2>



Web page components such as text boxes, checkboxes, buttons, drop-downs, radio buttons, web forms, etc. are called web elements. These can be identified by attributes like id, classname, name, or XPath.



Via Selenium, you can interact with these web elements to perform tasks like clicking a button or filling in text boxes.



<h3 id="h-syntax">Syntax&nbsp;</h3>



The syntax for interacting with a text box is given below:



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;TextBox&#8221;));

element.sendKeys(&#8220;stqatools&#8221;);



Or



driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;TextBox&#8221;)).sendKeys(&#8220;stqatools&#8221;);



<h2 id="h-common-selenium-webdriver-commands-for-web-elements">Common Selenium WebDriver Commands for Web Elements</h2>



Let us learn in-depth about the commonly used commands for common web elements on a web page in Selenium &#8211; 



1. Clear Command



The clear() command in Selenium is used to clear the text from a text box or text area. It is equivalent to selecting the contents of the element and pressing the DELETE or BACKSPACE key.



Method &#8211; clear() : void&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.clear();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;&nbsp;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)); 
element.clear(); 
 
//Or can be written as 
 
driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)).clear();



2. Sendkeys Command



The Sendkeys command in Selenium simulates the keyboard input of a user. It is used to type text into input boxes, text areas, and any Web Element allowing text input. It also simulates pressing special keys such as Enter, Tab, and other function keys.



Method &#8211; sendKeys(CharSequence? KeysToSend) : void&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.sendKeys(&#8220;text&#8221;);&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;&nbsp;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)); 
element.sendKeys(&#8220;JavaTpoint&#8221;); 
 
//Or can be written as 
 
driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)).sendKeys(&#8220;JavaTpoint&#8221;);



3. Click Command



The Click command in Selenium is a user action that simulates a mouse click on an element, typically a button or a link, which can open a new page, submit a form, or perform other actions on the web page.



Method &#8211; click() : void&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.click();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;&nbsp;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.linkText(&#8220;javaTpoint&#8221;)); 
element.click(); 
 
//Or can be written as 
 
driver.findElement(By.linkText(&#8220;javaTpoint&#8221;)).click();



4. IsDisplayed Command



The IsDisplayed command in Selenium determines if an element is currently visible on the page or hidden from view. Depending on the element&#8217;s visibility, it will return a Boolean value (true or false). This ensures that elements are visible on the page before continuing with a test.



Method &#8211; isDisplayed() : boolean&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.isDisplayed();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;&nbsp;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)); 
boolean status = element.isDisplayed(); 
 
//Or can be written as 
 
boolean staus = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)).isDisplayed();



5. IsEnabled Command



The IsEnabled command in Selenium is used to check whether the specified element is enabled or not. It returns true if the element is enabled and false if the element is disabled. It is used to verify the state of the web page elements.



Method &#8211; isEnabled() : boolean&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.isEnabled();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;&nbsp;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)); 
boolean status = element.isEnabled(); 
 
//Or can be written as 
 
boolean staus = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;UserName&#8221;)).isEnabled();



6. IsSelected Command



The IsSelected command in Selenium determines whether an element has been selected or not. This command returns a boolean value of True or False depending on the state of the element. This command is mainly used for checkboxes, radio buttons, and options in a select element.



Method &#8211; isSelected() : boolean&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.isSelected();&nbsp;&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;&nbsp;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;Sex-Male&#8221;)); 
boolean status = element.isSelected();



7. Submit Command



The submit command in Selenium is used to submit a form. One can use it on any element that is a descendant of a form element.



Method &#8211; submit() : void&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.submit();&nbsp;&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)); 
element.submit(); 
 
//Or can be written as 
 
driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)).submit();



8. GetText Command



GetText is a command in Selenium used to retrieve the innerText of an element. It retrieves the text from a drop-down list, a paragraph, a list item, a button, etc.



Method &#8211; getText() : String&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.getText();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath(&#8220;anyLink&#8221;)); 
String linkText = element.getText();



9. GetTagName Command



The GetTagName command in Selenium retrieves the tag name of an element. It returns a string containing the tag name of the element on which this command is being called.



Method &#8211; getTagName() : String&nbsp;&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.getTagName();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)); 
String tagName = element.getTagName(); 
 
 //Or can be written as 
 
 String tagName = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)).getTagName();



10. getCssValue Command



The getCssValue command in Selenium is a method used to retrieve the value of a given CSS property of an element on a webpage. It is useful for verifying the attributes of an element, such as its font size, color, or visibility.



Method &#8211; getCssvalue() : String&nbsp;&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.getCssValue();&nbsp;&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.find_element_by_css_selector(&#8220;body&#8221;)
bg_color = element.value_of_css_property(&#8220;background-color&#8221;)



11. getAttribute Command



The getAttribute command in Selenium is a method used to retrieve the value of an attribute of a Web Element. It checks the value of an attribute of an element, such as its ID, class, name, title, etc. It can also be used to check the state of a checkbox or radio button.



Method &#8211; getAttribute(String Name) : String&nbsp;&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.getAttribute();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)); 
String attValue = element.getAttribute(&#8220;id&#8221;); //This will return &#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;



12. getSize Command



The getSize command in Selenium is used to return the width and height of an element. It returns a dictionary object with two keys, width, and height, which contain the width and height of the element, respectively.



Method &#8211; getSize() : Dimension&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.getSize();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)); 
Dimension dimensions = element.getSize(); 
System.out.println(&#8220;Height :&#8221; + dimensions.height + &#8220;Width : &#8220;+ dimensions.width);



13. getLocation Command



The getLocation command in Selenium is used to retrieve the current URL of the page that is currently loaded in the browser. This command can be used to verify that the page has loaded correctly and that the URL matches the expected URL.



Method &#8211; getLocation() : Point&nbsp;



Command &#8211; element.getLocation();&nbsp;



Code Syntax &#8211;



WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;SubmitButton&#8221;)); 
Point = element.getLocation(); 
System.out.println(&#8220;X coordinate : &#8221; + point.x + &#8220;Y coordinate: &#8221; + point.y);



 <h2 id="h-operations-performed-on-the-webelements">Operations performed on the WebElements</h2>



Working with Web Elements in Selenium can be complex and challenging. However, there are several operations that can be performed on Web Elements to be identified by their attributes like id and name, or they can be located with the help of XPath or CSS selectors.&nbsp;



Furthermore, Web Element states can also be inspected in terms of whether they are enabled or disabled, visible or hidden on the page. As a result, all these operations make Web Elements in Selenium an incredibly useful <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test automation</a> tool for web applications.



Some basic operations performed on the WebElement are &#8211;



<ul><li>Browser Operations &#8211; Launch, navigate, maximize, minimize, refresh and exit.</li><li>Web Page Operations &#8211; Get the title of the page, URL of the page</li><li>Link Operations &#8211; Click on the Link, Return to the home page, and return to the link name</li><li>Edit Box Operations &#8211; Enter a value, get a new value, delete</li><li>Button Operations &#8211; Enable/disable button status, display status update</li><li>Text Operations &#8211; Capture or return messages/texts on the webpage</li><li>Image Operations &#8211; General image display, clickable image function, redirecting image link</li><li>Frame Operations &#8211; Switch to a specific web page frame from the top window and vice versa</li><li>Checkbox Operations &#8211; Tick and undo</li><li>Drop Down Operations &#8211; Click on the drop-down menu, select and get the count</li></ul>



<h2 id="h-locators-in-selenium-webdriver">Locators In Selenium WebDriver</h2>



Selenium WebDriver supports many different locators to help you find Web Elements and interact with them. The basic locators include id, className, name, linkText, partialLinkText, tagName and XPath. Each of these is used in a slightly different way to provide you with the capability to locate Selenium Web Elements quickly and accurately.&nbsp;



Id is one of the most popularly used locators. It helps locate an element based on its unique ID assigned by web developers, while className can help select Web Elements that follow the same style. The name helps identify Web Elements that have the same name tag, and linkText is apt for Web Elements in Selenium with text hyperlinks associated with it.&nbsp;



Similarly, partialLinkText uses part of the text string with Web Elements, and tagName allows you to <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/element-locators-automated-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">locate Web Elements</a> using its HTML tag, while XPath helps to parse through the web pages or XML documents for Web Elements.



<h2 id="h-final-words">Final Words</h2>



While we use Selenium to automate our cross browser tests, scripting all the user actions is possible only with the help of supported programming languages like JAVA, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, C# or .NET. This means that to work with Selenium, you need to have expertise in one programming language at least.This is where Testsigma can help. <a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> low-code test automation platform. Here, you can automate even you complex test scenarios without needing to code. Testsigma lets you automate your end-to-end UI tests for web, mobile, desktop and APIs, from the same. And, the test automation and execution is 5x faster.



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



<h3 id="what-are-the-types-of-web-elements">What are the types of Web Elements?</h3>



Web Elements are the objects that comprise a web page. They can be divided into a number of categories, such as windows, web browsers, web forms, and web objects.&nbsp;



Web forms consist of web elements like text fields, buttons, and checkboxes used to extract information from end users. Last but not least are web elements which include images, videos, hyperlinks, and documents like PDFs.&nbsp;



<h3 id="what-is-the-purpose-of-webelement">What is the purpose of WebElement?</h3>



WebElement (an HTML element) is the interface that allows the Selenium code to interact with various elements on web pages. It allows users to manipulate and assert Web Elements on web pages by selecting, clicking, entering data, etc.



<h3 id="is-size-a-webelement-method">Is size() a WebElement method?</h3>



No, size() is not a WebElement method. It is a method of the built-in Java class java. util.Collection.

The Complete Guide to Handling Web Elements in Selenium

Page Object Model and Page Factory in Selenium WebDriver

Page Factory and Page Object Model in Selenium WebDriver

A Firefox Driver for Selenium is a web driver for the Firefox browser that allows you to programmatically interact with a web page in a Firefox browser using Selenium. It helps you automate various actions as if you were interacting with the website manually. This can be useful for tasks such as web scraping, <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automated testing</a>, and automating repetitive tasks on a website.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#The_Significance_of_using_GeckoDriver">1 The Significance of using GeckoDriver</a><ul><li><a href="#A_Step-by-Step_Walkthrough_to_setting_up_GeckoDrivernbsp">1.1 A Step-by-Step Walkthrough to setting up GeckoDriver&nbsp;</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Run_Tests_using_Selenium_Firefox_Driver">2 Run Tests using Selenium Firefox Driver</a></li><li><a href="#How_can_I_use_Selenium_WebDriver_to_configure_a_proxy_in_Firefox">3 How can I use Selenium WebDriver to configure a proxy in Firefox?</a></li><li><a href="#Summing_Up">4 Summing Up</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">5 Frequently Asked Questions:</a><ul><li><a href="#Is_Firefox_or_Chrome_better_for_Selenium">5.1 Is Firefox or Chrome better for Selenium?</a></li><li><a href="#Can_a_website_detect_when_you_are_using_Selenium_with_Firefox">5.2 Can a website detect when you are using Selenium with Firefox?</a></li><li><a href="#Which_Firefox_version_is_best_for_Selenium">5.3 Which Firefox version is best for Selenium?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="h-the-significance-of-using-geckodriver">The Significance of using GeckoDriver</h2> 



<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/45ZJZvCqJMIhJx6crCQQm_ScshgzaMqgIMjQj6d53-n_IqI3CAv_DV68ovmC486GVN0mDiY1AKAHgNlfSXJEgF7hhmJ_gj_pJzrn5B4Tjc_Enk55Jrso3WWvpuxrkHA6WxhQMa_ubPJN" style="width: 600px;">



<a href="https://www.toolsqa.com/selenium-webdriver/selenium-geckodriver/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Source </a>



GeckoDriver is used as a proxy between Selenium and the Firefox browser for your automated browser tests. The protocol followed for communication here is the <a href="https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/testing/marionette/Intro.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marionette automation protocol.</a>&nbsp;



Since Selenium is designed to be cross-browser compatible, GeckoDriver enables Selenium to interact with Firefox in a similar way it interacts with other browsers like Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge, etc.



<h3 id="h-a-step-by-step-walkthrough-to-setting-up-geckodriver">A Step-by-Step Walkthrough to setting up GeckoDriver&nbsp;</h3>



Here are the steps to set up GeckoDriver for use with Selenium WebDriver:



<ol><li>Download the latest version of GeckoDriver from the official GitHub release page.</li></ol>



<ol start="2"><li>Extract the downloaded archive to a location on your system. The executable file inside the archive is the GeckoDriver.</li></ol>



<ol start="3"><li>Add the location of the GeckoDriver executable to your system&#8217;s PATH environment variable. This will allow the Selenium WebDriver to locate and communicate with the GeckoDriver.</li></ol>



<ol start="4"><li>In your Selenium script, import the Selenium WebDriver library and use the FirefoxDriver class, which is provided by the Selenium WebDriver to interact with the Firefox browser.</li></ol>



<ol start="5"><li>Finally, use the FirefoxDriver to create a new instance of the WebDriver for Firefox. You can now interact with the Firefox browser using Selenium WebDriver commands.</li></ol>



After you&#8217;ve instantiated the FirefoxDriver, you can use it to interact with web pages just as you would with other web drivers like Chrome or Edge driver. For example, you can navigate to a web page using the get() method, find elements on the page using the find_element_by_*() method, and interact with those elements using methods like click() and send_keys().



It&#8217;s worth noting that Mozilla has been working to implement the WebDriver protocol in Firefox directly, and there is a plan to deprecate GeckoDriver. From Firefox ver 79 onwards, you no longer need to download and set the path for GeckoDriver; Firefox itself includes the implementation of the WebDriver protocol.



<h2 id="h-run-tests-using-selenium-firefox-driver">Run Tests using Selenium Firefox Driver</h2>



Here&#8217;s how you can use Selenium with GeckoDriver to launch Firefox:



Keep in mind that it&#8217;s a good practice to put the ‘driver initialization’ and ‘quit’ in the ‘try’ and ‘finally’ blocks. This is to make sure that the driver is closed and resources are freed no matter what happens.



<styled-code>
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxOptions;

public class FirefoxExample {
 public static void main(String[] args) {
 // Specify the path of the GeckoDriver executable
 System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.gecko.driver&#8221;, &#8220;/path/to/geckodriver&#8221;);

 // Create a new instance of the Firefox driver
 FirefoxOptions options = new FirefoxOptions();
 WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(options);

 try {
 // Navigate to a web page
 driver.get(&#8220;http://www.yourwebsite.com&#8221;);

 // Interact with elements on the page
 driver.findElement(By.name(&#8220;q&#8221;)).sendKeys(&#8220;Firefox Driver for Selenium&#8221;);
 driver.findElement(By.name(&#8220;q&#8221;)).submit();
 } finally {
 // Close the browser
 driver.quit();
 }
 }
}
</styled-code>



It&#8217;s important to note that you need to download the GeckoDriver executable, put it in your machine and specify the path of the executable in the code.



On Windows, this path should use forward slashes &#8216;/&#8217; or double backslashes &#8216;\&#8217; instead of single backslashes &#8221;, also need to prefix the path with &#8216;r&#8217; for example, r&#8217;C:\path\to\geckodriver.exe&#8217;



<h2 id="h-how-can-i-use-selenium-webdriver-to-configure-a-proxy-in-firefox">How can I use Selenium WebDriver to configure a proxy in Firefox?</h2>



You can set a proxy using the FirefoxDriver for Selenium by creating a FirefoxOptions object, setting the proxy information in the object, and then passing the object to the FirefoxDriver constructor.



Here is the code for how you can set a proxy in Firefox using Selenium WebDriver:



<styled-code>
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxOptions;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.GeckoDriverService;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;

// Create a FirefoxOptions object
FirefoxOptions options = new FirefoxOptions();

// Set the proxy information
options.setPreference(&#8220;network.proxy.type&#8221;, 1);
options.setPreference(&#8220;network.proxy.http&#8221;, &#8220;proxy_host&#8221;);
options.setPreference(&#8220;network.proxy.http_port&#8221;, 8080);
options.setPreference(&#8220;network.proxy.ssl&#8221;, &#8220;proxy_host&#8221;);
options.setPreference(&#8220;network.proxy.ssl_port&#8221;, 8080);

// Set the path to the GeckoDriver executable
System.setProperty(GeckoDriverService.GECKO_DRIVER_EXE_PROPERTY, &#8220;/path/to/geckodriver&#8221;);

// Create a WebDriver for Firefox
FirefoxDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(options);

// Navigate to a web page
driver.get(&#8220;http://www.examplewebsite.com&#8221;);

// Close the browser
driver.quit();
</styled-code>



Here, &#8220;network.proxy.type&#8221; is set to 1 to indicate that a proxy should be used. &#8220;network.proxy.http&#8221; and &#8220;network.proxy.http_port&#8221; is set to the host and port of the HTTP proxy, and &#8220;network.proxy.ssl&#8221; and &#8220;network.proxy.ssl_port&#8221; are set to the host and port of the SSL proxy.



Please make sure to provide the correct host and port of the proxy you would like to use.



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<h2 id="h-summing-up">Summing Up</h2>



Selenium is great for testing web applications and pages. However, this tool requires technical expertise and programming skills. Besides, it is hard to maintain or modify tests in Selenium; this is where Testsigma comes in.



<a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> is a no-code test automation tool that can help you write automated tests up to 5 times faster, without the need to learn to code. The platform lets you execute your tests for <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-web-application-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">web applications</a>, mobile applications and APIs. It is much more simpler and intuitive to handle tests and manage test reports with Testsigma. Thus, you can execute your tests on different types of browsers including Firefox.&nbsp;



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



<h3 id="h-is-firefox-or-chrome-better-for-selenium">Is Firefox or Chrome better for Selenium?</h3>



The choice between Firefox and Chrome for Selenium testing can depend on a variety of factors, and ultimately it is up to the individual or team using Selenium to decide which browser is the best fit for their specific needs. In general, Chrome is the most preferred browser (<a href="https://www.w3schools.com/browsers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">79.9% market share as of October 2022</a>) for all kinds of tasks.



<h3 id="h-can-a-website-detect-when-you-are-using-selenium-with-firefox">Can a website detect when you are using Selenium with Firefox?</h3>



It is possible for a website to detect when you are using the Firefox Driver for Selenium, it automates a real web browser, and the browser&#8217;s user agent string will be the same as if a real user were browsing the site.



Website administrators can use browser fingerprinting techniques to detect Selenium by looking at the browser&#8217;s characteristics, such as browser version, installed fonts, screen resolution, plugins, and more. Each request sends these characteristics as HTTP headers, so a website can use JavaScript or server-side code to read these headers and detect Selenium automation. However, this technique is not 100% accurate, as there may be many legitimate reasons why a browser&#8217;s characteristics would match those of a Selenium-controlled browser.



<h3 id="h-which-firefox-version-is-best-for-selenium">Which Firefox version is best for Selenium?</h3>



The best version of Firefox to use with Selenium depends on the specific requirements of your project, as well as the versions of Selenium and the Firefox browser you are using. Selenium supports a wide range of Firefox versions, but the most recent version of Firefox is recommended as it will have the latest features and bug fixes. It&#8217;s also important to note that the version of Firefox you are running your tests on should be compatible with the version of Selenium WebDriver you are using. You can check <a href="https://www.selenium.dev/categories/releases/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium&#8217;s release notes</a> for the version compatibility matrix.

A Simple Guide to using Firefox Driver for Selenium to Run your Tests

A Comprehensive Guide to Automating Clicks using Selenium

Selenium Click | How to Automate Clicks Using Selenium?

Remember that time when you were browsing a website and got caught by a pop-up asking you to download a guide? Just because you could not find a button to escape that pop-up, you ended up leaving it!



Imagine this happens to your application. You might end up losing potential users. As a website owner, this is the worst thing that could happen to you. Thus testing such alerts and popups is essential every time you make a release. A quicker way to do this is to <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automate your tests</a>.&nbsp;



Selenium is a widely used solution for testing every aspect of your web application, including alerts and popups.



In this article, we will explore how to automate your tests for alerts and popups.&nbsp;



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_an_AlertPopup">1 What is an Alert/Popup?</a></li><li><a href="#What_are_the_different_types_of_alertspopups_that_you_might_encounter">2 What are the different types of alerts/popups that you might encounter?</a></li><li><a href="#How_you_should_handle_an_Alert_in_Selenium_WebDriver">3 How you should handle an Alert in Selenium WebDriver</a></li><li><a href="#How_should_you_handle_web_dialog_boxespopup_windows_using_Selenium">4 How should you handle web dialog boxes/popup windows using Selenium?</a></li><li><a href="#An_easier_alternative_to_Selenium_to_test_popups_8211_Testsigma">5 An easier alternative to Selenium to test popups &#8211; Testsigma</a></li><li><a href="#Summary">6 Summary</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">7 Frequently Asked Questions:</a><ul><li><a href="#How_many_types_of_popups_can_be_tested_via_Selenium">7.1 How many types of popups can be tested via Selenium?</a></li><li><a href="#How_to_write_code_for_popups_in_Selenium">7.2 How to write code for popups in Selenium?</a></li><li><a href="#Can_we_automate_popups_in_Selenium">7.3 Can we automate popups in Selenium?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="h-what-is-an-alert-popup">What is an Alert/Popup?</h2>



An alert inside a browser is a small window that appears on a web page and displays a message to users.&nbsp;



A &#8220;popup&#8221; usually refers to a separate window or tab that opens in a web browser. Popups can be triggered by various user actions, such as clicking a link or button or by JavaScript code running on a web page.



<h2 id="h-what-are-the-different-types-of-alerts-popups-that-you-might-encounter">What are the different types of alerts/popups that you might encounter?</h2>



 <ul><li>Simple Alerts: These are simple notifications that display a message and an &#8220;OK&#8221; button. They are used to inform the user about something. Some real-world examples of simple alerts are:<ul> <li>A reminder on your calendar app, </li><li>A warning saying “site not trusted”</li><li>An error message saying “invalid username or password”</li><li>A software alerting that an update is available for the same.</li></ul> 



<ul><li>Confirmation Alerts: These are used to confirm an action with the user. They have a message and two buttons: &#8220;Confirm&#8221; and &#8220;Cancel.&#8221; Here are a few real-life experiences of you facing confirmation alerts:<ul> <li>An alert on an app asking you to confirm if you want to grant an app permission to access your device&#8217;s camera or microphone</li><li>A message asking if you&#8217;re sure you want to navigate away from a web page with unsaved changes</li><li>A message asking you if you want to close the streaming platform when an audio or a video is in play</li><li>A dialog box asking you if you want a website to access your location</li><li>A website asking you if you want to allow all cookies</li></ul></li></ul> 



<ul><li>Prompt Alerts: These will ask the user for input. They have a message and a text field, as well as &#8220;OK&#8221; and &#8220;Cancel&#8221; buttons. Some general prompt alerts include:<ul> <li>A prompt asking you to enter a password to unlock your device or application</li><li>A dialog box asking you to enter a search query</li><li>A prompt asking you to enter a new username or password when you’re on a website trying to create a new account</li><li>A prompt asking you to enter the SSID of a wireless network. </li></ul></li></ul> 



<ul><li>Authentication Alerts: These alerts ask the user for a username and password. They are commonly used in web applications that are protected by a login. Real-world authentication alerts may include:<ul> <li>A dialog box asking you for a username and password to access a protected API</li><li>A message asking you for a username and password to log into a VPN</li><li>A prompt asking for your username and password to log into a netbanking portal</li></ul></li></ul> 



<ul><li>Warning/Error Alerts: These alerts display warning or error messages to the user. They usually have a message and an &#8220;OK&#8221; button. You get warning/ error alerts when working on a digital device. Some warning/error alerts include:<ul> <li>Your device is running low on storage</li><li>You’ve exceeded the number of login attempts on a website</li><li>You’ve entered a wrong UPI pin</li><li>You are trying to delete a critical system file</li></ul></li></ul> 



<h2 id="h-how-you-should-handle-an-alert-in-selenium-webdriver">How you should handle an Alert in Selenium WebDriver</h2>



This example demonstrates how to switch to the alert, get the text of the alert, and interact with it by either accepting it, dismissing it, or sending a text to it. The code below is written using Java and Selenium WebDriver:



<styled-code>
import org.openqa.selenium.Alert;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

public class AlertExample {
 public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
 // Setting the path of chrome driver
 System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.chrome.driver&#8221;, &#8220;Example Path&#8221;);

 // Creating an instance of chrome webdriver
 WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

 // Navigating to the website
 driver.get(&#8220;http://eg.com/alerts&#8221;);

 // Finding the element that triggers the alert
 driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;alertButton&#8221;)).click();

 // Switching to the alert
 Alert alert = driver.switchTo().alert();

 // Getting the text of the alert
 String alertText = alert.getText();
 System.out.println(&#8220;Alert text: &#8221; + alertText);

 // Clicking the OK button
 alert.accept();

 // Clicking the Cancel button
 alert.dismiss();

 // Sending a text to the alert
 alert.sendKeys(&#8220;Example text to the alert&#8221;);

 // Close the browser
 driver.quit();
 }
}
</styled-code>



 <h2 id="h-how-should-you-handle-web-dialog-boxes-popup-windows-using-selenium">How should you handle web dialog boxes/popup windows using Selenium?</h2>



There are a few different ways to test a dialog box or a popup in Selenium.



1. Dismissing the dialog box or popup window: You can use the dismiss() method to dismiss an alert or confirm the dialog box. You can also use the send_keys() method to send a text to a prompt dialog box before dismissing it.



<styled-code>
// Dismiss an alert
Alert alert = driver.switchTo().alert();
alert.dismiss();

// Dismiss a confirm dialog
Alert confirm = driver.switchTo().alert();
confirm.dismiss();

// Dismiss a prompt dialog
Alert prompt = driver.switchTo().alert();
prompt.sendKeys(&#8220;Text to Prompt&#8221;);
prompt.dismiss();
</styled-code>



2. Accepting the dialog box or popup window: You can use the accept() method to accept an alert or confirm the dialog box. The send_keys() function can also be used to enter text into a prompt dialogue box before closing it.



<styled-code>
// Accept an alert
Alert alert = driver.switchTo().alert();
alert.accept();

// Accept a confirm dialog
Alert confirm = driver.switchTo().alert();
confirm.accept();

// Accept a prompt dialog
Alert prompt = driver.switchTo().alert();
prompt.sendKeys(&#8220;Text to Prompt&#8221;);
prompt.accept();
</styled-code>



3. Handling dialog boxes or popup windows that appear unexpectedly: You can use the ExpectedConditions() and the until() method of the WebDriverWait class to wait for a dialog box or popup window to appear and then handle it as described below:



<styled-code>
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.Alert;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;

public class AlertHandlingExample {
 public static void main(String[] args) {
 WebDriver driver = &#8230;; // create an instance of the web driver

 // Wait for an alert to appear, and then dismiss it
 WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
 Alert alert = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.alertIsPresent());
 alert.dismiss();

 // Wait for a confirm dialog to appear, and then accept it
 wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id(&#8220;confirm-dialog&#8221;)));
 alert = driver.switchTo().alert();
 alert.accept();

 // Wait for a prompt dialog to appear, enter some text, and then accept it
 wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id(&#8220;prompt-dialog&#8221;)));
 alert = driver.switchTo().alert();
 alert.sendKeys(&#8220;Enter the text&#8221;);
 alert.accept();
 }
}
</styled-code>



 <h2 id="h-an-easier-alternative-to-selenium-to-test-popups-testsigma">An easier <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-alternatives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alternative to Selenium</a> to test popups &#8211; Testsigma</h2>



Selenium, sometimes, can be time-consuming and tough for beginners. It requires knowledge of code and a lot of setup at your end. If you are looking for an open-source tool that is very easy to set up and reduces most of your test creation and maintenance time, then you should try Testsigma.&nbsp;



For a detailed comparison between Testsigma and Selenium, check here: <a href="https://testsigma.com/comparison-automated-testing-tools-selenium-testsigma" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://testsigma.com/comparison-automated-testing-tools-selenium-testsigma</a>&nbsp;



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



Here, we covered the various types of alerts and pop-ups that you might encounter while testing your web application. We also discussed the best way to automate them using Selenium.



While Selenium is widely used for web browser automation, it can sometimes become challenging for a team that is not well-versed in coding. <a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> is a low code test automation tool that lets you automate your tests for web, mobile, desktop and APIs, 10x faster, and from the same place. You can author, maintain and execute your tests &#8211; all from the same platform.&nbsp;



<div class="cta-banner-v2">
<div class="title-with-description ">
 Explore Testsigma to achieve a better test automation ROI, faster. [ 
</div>
<a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" class="cta-btn-v1" rel="noopener">Start here</a>
</div>



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



<h3 id="h-how-many-types-of-popups-can-be-tested-via-selenium">How many types of popups can be tested via Selenium?</h3>



There are mainly six types of popups that you can test using Selenium. They are:



<ul><li>Alert popups</li><li>Confirm popups</li><li>File upload popups</li><li>Hidden division popups</li><li>Prompt popups</li><li>New window popups&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h3 id="h-how-to-write-code-for-popups-in-selenium">How to write code for popups in Selenium?</h3>



To handle alerts in Selenium, you can use the ‘Alert class’. Here is an example of how to carry out a simple alert popup handling in Selenium using Java:



<styled-code>
import org.openqa.selenium.Alert;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

public class AlertPopup {

 public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
 System.setProperty(&#8220;webdriver.chrome.driver&#8221;, &#8220;path/to/chromedriver&#8221;);

 WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

 driver.get(&#8220;http://www.example.com/alert&#8221;);

 driver.findElement(By.id(&#8220;alert-button&#8221;)).click();

 Alert alert = driver.switchTo().alert();

 String alertText = alert.getText();
 System.out.println(&#8220;Alert text: &#8221; + alertText);

 alert.accept();

 driver.quit();
 }
}
</styled-code>



You can modify this code as needed to handle different types of popups or perform various actions. For example, you can use alert.dismiss() to dismiss the alert instead of accepting it.



<h3 id="h-can-we-automate-popups-in-selenium">Can we automate popups in Selenium?</h3>



Yes, you can automate a popup in Selenium using the ‘Alert’ class.

How to test Alerts and Popups in Selenium: The Ultimate Guide

Action Class in Selenium: Its Method and Implementation

Testing is an essential process of software development. There are many things that can go wrong if you do not test a software application. Therefore, double check on the developed software is a good practice to ensure it meets the quality demands.



As you are aware, today’s IT world depends on the Automation Testing of an application. Why? It’s just because of the features, frameworks, performance, and quality test results. This is also possible if we have a tool or a framework that caters to the above needs. One such framework is <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-4-automation-engineer-expect/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Selenium</a>. 



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, let’s understand what setProperty in Selenium is and how it works.



<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. 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://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?