Selenium WebDriver WebElement Commands

Automated testing is a critical aspect of software development as it ensures that the software meets the required standards and functions as expected. One of the widely used tools for web automation testing is Selenium WebDriver. WebDriver is a popular open-source framework that allows testers to automate web applications across different browsers and platforms. WebDriver provides a comprehensive set of commands to interact with web elements on a web page. These commands are called WebElement commands and are essential for building effective and reliable automated tests. In this article, we will explore some of the most commonly used WebDriver WebElement commands.

Getting Started with WebDriver

Before we dive into the WebElement commands, we need to understand the basics of setting up WebDriver in our environment. WebDriver requires a browser-specific driver to interact with the browser. Therefore, the first step is to download the appropriate driver for the browser you want to test.

For example, if you want to test with Google Chrome, you need to download the ChromeDriver executable file. Once you have downloaded the driver, you need to add it to your system’s PATH environment variable. This will allow WebDriver to find the driver when it needs to interact with the browser.

Next, you need to install the Selenium WebDriver library for your programming language. Programming languages including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript are supported by WebDriver. This essay will make use of Java.

To use WebDriver in Java, you need to add the following dependency to your project’s pom.xml file if you are using Maven:

<dependency>
 <groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId>
 <artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId>
 <version>3.141.59</version>
</dependency>

Once you have set up your environment, you can start using WebDriver to automate your web tests.

Selenium WebElement Commands

WebDriver provides a comprehensive set of commands to interact with web elements on a web page. These commands are called WebElement commands and are essential for building effective and reliable automated tests.

Here are some of the most commonly used WebElement commands in WebDriver:

1. findElement():

This command is used to locate a single web element on the web page using a specified locator strategy. The command takes a By object as an argument, which specifies the locator strategy and the locator value.

Here is an example of using the findElement() command to locate a text input field on a web page:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("username"));

2. findElements():

This command is used to locate multiple web elements on the web page using a specified locator strategy. The command takes a By object as an argument, which specifies the locator strategy and the locator value.

Here is an example of using the findElements() command to locate all the links on a web page:

List<WebElement> links = driver.findElements(By.tagName("a"));

3. sendKeys():

This command is used to send a text to an input field or text area. The command takes a string as an argument, which is the text to be sent.

Here is an example of using the sendKeys() command to send a text to a text input field:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("username"));
element.sendKeys("johndoe");

4. click():

This command is used to click on a web element. The command does not take any arguments.

Here is an example of using the click() command to click on a button:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("submit"));
element.click();

5. getText():

This command is used to get the text content of a web element. The command does not take any arguments.

Here is an example of using the getText() command to get the text of a heading element:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.tagName("h1"));
String text = element.getText();
System.out.println(text);

6. getAttribute():

This command is used to get the value of a specified attribute of a web element. The command takes a string as an argument, which is the name of the attribute.

Here is an example of using the getAttribute() command to get the value of the “href” attribute of a link element:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.tagName("a"));
String href = element.getAttribute("href");
System.out.println(href);

7. isSelected():

This command is used to check whether a checkbox or radio button is selected. The command returns a boolean value.

Here is an example of using the isSelected() command to check whether a checkbox is selected:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("checkbox"));
boolean selected = element.isSelected();
System.out.println(selected);

8. isEnabled():

This command is used to check whether a web element is enabled or disabled. The command returns a boolean value.

Here is an example of using the isEnabled() command to check whether a button is enabled:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("button"));
boolean enabled = element.isEnabled();
System.out.println(enabled);

9. isDisplayed():

This command is used to check whether a web element is displayed on the web page. The command returns a boolean value.

Here is an example of using the isDisplayed() command to check whether an image is displayed on the web page:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.tagName("img"));
boolean displayed = element.isDisplayed();
System.out.println(displayed);

10. submit():

This command is used to submit a form. The command does not take any arguments.

Here is an example of using the submit() command to submit a form:

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.tagName("form"));
element.submit();

11. clear():

In Selenium WebDriver, the clear() command is a WebElement command that is used to clear the text of an input field or text area. It is commonly used to prepare an input field for entering new text.

For example, if we have a text input field with existing text, we can use the clear() command to remove the existing text before entering new text:

WebElement inputField = driver.findElement(By.id("inputField"));
inputField.clear();
inputField.sendKeys("new text");

The clear() command removes any text that is currently in the input field. Once the input field is cleared, we can use the sendKeys() command to enter new text.

Note that the clear() command only works on input fields that accept text input. It will not work on other types of elements, such as checkboxes, radio buttons, or dropdown lists.

12. getTagName():

In Selenium WebDriver, the getTagName() command is a WebElement command that is used to retrieve the tag name of an element.

For example, if we have a button element on a web page, we can use the getTagName() command to retrieve the tag name of the button:

WebElement buttonElement = driver.findElement(By.id("button"));
String tagName = buttonElement.getTagName();
System.out.println("Tag name of button element is: " + tagName);

The getTagName() command returns a string that represents the tag name of the element. For example, if the element is a button, the getTagName() command will return the string “button”. If the element is a div, the getTagName() command will return the string “div”.

The getTagName() command can be useful in situations where we need to check the type of element we are dealing with. For example, we can use it to differentiate between buttons, links, and other types of elements on a web page.

13. getCSSValue():

In Selenium WebDriver, the getCSSValue() command is a WebElement command that is used to retrieve the value of a specified CSS property of an element.

For example, if we have a button element on a web page with a specified background color. It can be used to getCSSValue() command to retrieve the background color:

WebElement buttonElement = driver.findElement(By.id("button"));
String bgColor = buttonElement.getCssValue("background-color");
System.out.println("Background color of button element is: " + bgColor);

The getCSSValue() command returns a string that represents the value of the specified CSS property. In the example above, the getCSSValue() command retrieves the value of the “background-color” CSS property of the button element.

The getCSSValue() command can be useful in situations where we need to retrieve and compare the values of different CSS properties of an element. For example, we can use it to compare the background colors of different elements on a web page.

14. getAttribute():

In Selenium WebDriver, the getAttribute() command is a WebElement command that is used to retrieve the value of a specified attribute of an element.

For example, if we have a link element on a web page with a specified href attribute. We can use the getAttribute() command to retrieve the value of the href attribute:

WebElement linkElement = driver.findElement(By.id("link"));
String hrefValue = linkElement.getAttribute("href");
System.out.println("Href value of link element is: " + hrefValue);

The getAttribute() command returns a string that represents the value of the specified attribute. In the example above, the getAttribute() command retrieves the value of the “href” attribute of the link element.

The getAttribute() command can be useful in situations where we need to retrieve and compare the values of different attributes of an element. For example, we can use it to compare the href values of different link elements on a web page.

15. getSize():

In Selenium WebDriver, the getSize() command is a WebElement command that is used to retrieve the size of an element.

For example, if we have an image element on a web page with a specified width and height. We can use the getSize() command to retrieve the size of the image:

WebElement imageElement = driver.findElement(By.id("image"));
Dimension imageSize = imageElement.getSize();
System.out.println("Size of image element is: " + imageSize);

The getSize() command returns a Dimension object that represents the size of the element. The Dimension object has two properties: width and height. In the example above, the getSize() command retrieves the size of the image element and assigns it to the imageSize variable.

The getSize() command can be useful in situations where we need to retrieve and compare the sizes of different elements on a web page. For example, we can use it to compare the sizes of different images or buttons.

16. getLocation():

n Selenium WebDriver, the getLocation() command is a WebElement command that is used to retrieve the location of an element.

For example, if we have a button element on a web page with a specified position on the page. We can use the getLocation() command to retrieve the location of the button:

WebElement buttonElement = driver.findElement(By.id("button"));
Point buttonLocation = buttonElement.getLocation();
System.out.println("Location of button element is: " + buttonLocation);

The getLocation() command returns a Point object that represents the location of the element. The properties x and y of the Point object are two. In the example above, the getLocation() command retrieves the location of the button element and assigns it to the buttonLocation variable.

The getLocation() command can be useful in situations where we need to retrieve and compare the locations of different elements on a web page. For example, we can use it to compare the positions of different buttons or links.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WebDriver WebElement commands are essential for building effective and reliable automated tests. These commands provide a comprehensive set of tools to interact with web elements on a web page. It allows testers to automate their testing processes across different browsers and platforms.

In this article, we have explored some of the most commonly used WebElement commands in WebDriver, along with code examples. By using these commands, testers can create robust and maintainable automated tests that ensure the quality of their software.