Selenium WebDriver: Exploring sendKeys Usage

How to use sendKeys in Selenium WebDriver?

Oh, absolutely! Using sendKeys in Selenium WebDriver is like second nature to me now. Let me elaborate a bit further. When typing text into a field, it’s crucial to ensure you’ve located the right element using the driver.findElement(By.locator) method. Once you’ve got that, sending keys is a breeze. Just invoke sendKeys and input the text you want to type within quotes. Here’s a handy example:


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

element.sendKeys("Text to be typed");

Building upon what my colleague mentioned, mastering special keys can truly enhance your Selenium game. The Keys class is your best friend here, offering a plethora of special keys like Enter, Tab, and Escape. Need to simulate pressing Enter? No problem. Just use sendKeys(Keys.ENTER), and voila! You’ve triggered an Enter key press. Here’s a quick snippet for clarity:


element.sendKeys(Keys.ENTER); // Pressing the Enter key

It’s these little shortcuts that make Selenium testing a breeze.

The beauty of combining key presses! It’s like conducting an orchestra of actions in Selenium. Ever found yourself needing to perform intricate keyboard maneuvers, like pressing Ctrl+A to select all text? Fear not, for Keys.chord is here to save the day. Take a look at this snippet:


element.sendKeys(Keys.chord(Keys.CONTROL, "a"), Keys.DELETE); // Select all text and delete it

With this, you can seamlessly perform multiple key presses in a precise sequence, ensuring your tests cover all the bases. Happy testing indeed!