WebDriver
This page is still a work in progress.
The W3C WebDriver API is a platform and language-neutral interface and wire protocol allowing programs or scripts to control the behavior of a web browser.
Introduction
WebDriver API
WebDriver enables developers to create automated tests that simulate user interaction. This is different from JavaScript unit tests because WebDriver has access to functionality and information that JavaScript running in the browser doesn't, and it can more accurately simulate user events or OS-level events. WebDriver can also manage testing across multiple windows, tabs and webpages in a single test session.
WebDriver UDF
The WebDriver UDF allows to interact with any browser that supports the W3C WebDriver specifications. Supporting multiple browsers via the same code base is now possible with just a few configuration settings.
Requirements
(Last modified: 2019/12/29)
The following UDFs need to be installed - independent of the Browser you try to automate:
One of the following Drivers needs to be installed - depending on the Browser type and version you try to automate:
Browser | Download Link | Latest Version / Date | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Chrome | 80.0.3987.16 / 2019.12.19 | Follow this link to select the correct version depending on the Chrome version you run! | |
Edge | Microsoft | 81.0.370.0 | |
FireFox | github | 0.26 / 2019.10.12 | Firefox version ≥ 60 is recommended Note: You must still have the Microsoft Visual Studio redistributable runtime installed on your system for the binary to run. This is a known bug in version 0.26 which the authors weren't able fix for this release. |
Internet Explorer | Microsoft | ||
Opera | github | 78.0.3904.87 - 2019.11.14 | The versioning of OperaDriver matches the Chromium version on which Opera browser is based on. |
Limitations
Not all WebDriver functions have been implemented by each browser. To check the status goto the corresponding website below:
Big Picture
How the browser independent and browser dependent parts fit together:
Used Terms
(Last modified: 2020/01/03)
You will find the following terms when using WebDriver. We try to shed some light onto this subject here:
Firefox
Marionette
Marionette is an automation driver for Mozilla’s Gecko engine. It can remotely control either the UI or the internal JavaScript of a Gecko platform, such as Firefox. It can control both the chrome (i.e. menus and functions) or the content (the webpage loaded inside the browsing context), giving a high level of control and ability to replicate user actions. In addition to performing actions on the browser, Marionette can also read the properties and attributes of the DOM.
Marionette consists of two parts: a server which takes requests and executes them in Gecko (the Marionette server ships with Firefox), and a client (the Marionette client ships with the GeckoDriver exe). The client sends commands to the server and the server executes the command inside the browser.
For details please visit this site.
Installation
(Last modified: 2019/12/30)
The following steps are needed to install everything you need to automate your browser:
- Download the files listed in section "Requirements"
- Move the UDFs to a directory where SciTE and Autoit can find them:
- Json.au3 and BinaryCall.au3 from the JSON UDF
- wd_Core.au3 and wd_helper.au3 from the WebDriver UDF
- WinHttp.au3 and WinHttpConstants.au3 from the WinHttp UDF
- Move the browser dependent WebDriver to the same directory:
- chromedriver.exe for Chrome
- geckodriver.exe for Firefox
- msedgedriver.exe for Edge (Chromium) or MicrosoftWebDriver.exe for Edge (EdgeHTML)
- Run the installation test script (WD_Demo.au3) and select "DemoNavigation" to validate the installation.
The result (for Firefox) displayed in the DOS window should be similar to the following:
1577745813519 geckodriver DEBUG Listening on 127.0.0.1:4444
1577745813744 webdriver::server DEBUG -> POST /session {"capabilities": {"alwaysMatch": {"browserName": "firefox", "acceptInsecureCerts":true}}}
1577745813746 geckodriver::capabilities DEBUG Trying to read firefox version from ini files
1577745813747 geckodriver::capabilities DEBUG Found version 71.0
1577745813757 mozrunner::runner INFO Running command: "C:\\Program Files\\Mozilla Firefox\\firefox.exe" "-marionette" "-foreground" "-no-remote" "-profile" "C:\\Users\\xy\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\rust_mozprofileaWURpD"
1577745813783 geckodriver::marionette DEBUG Waiting 60s to connect to browser on 127.0.0.1:55184
1577745817392 geckodriver::marionette DEBUG Connection to Marionette established on 127.0.0.1:55184.
1577745817464 webdriver::server DEBUG <- 200 OK {"value":{"sessionId":"925641bf-6c5d-4fe2-a985-02de9b1c7c74","capabilities":{"acceptInsecureCerts":true,"browserName":"firefox","browserVersion":"71.0","moz:accessibilityChecks":false,"moz:buildID":"20191202093317","moz:geckodriverVersion":"0.26.0","moz:headless":false,"moz:processID":50220,"moz:profile":"C:\\Users\\xy\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\rust_mozprofileaWURpD","moz:shutdownTimeout":60000,"moz:useNonSpecCompliantPointerOrigin":false,"moz:webdriverClick":true,"pageLoadStrategy":"normal","platformName":"windows","platformVersion":"10.0","rotatable":false,"setWindowRect":true,"strictFileInteractability":false,"timeouts":{"implicit":0,"pageLoad":300000,"script":30000},"unhandledPromptBehavior":"dismiss and notify"}}}
Debugging
Debug the WebDriver setup
FireFox
(Last modified: 2019/12/28)
Problem | Solution | Reference |
---|---|---|
The installation testing script does not start up FireFox and does not display the DOS window for geckodriver. When you manually run the geckodriver in a DOS window you get message "geckodriver: error: An invalid argument was supplied. (os error 10022)" |
Run the gecko driver from a local HDD. | Stackoverflow |
Debug your Script
FAQ
(Last modified: 2019/12/30)
A: That's described (for Firefox, but should work similar for other browsers) in this post or in the Github wiki.
Tools
The following tools will help you to automate your browser:
- ChroPath plugin: Makes finding an element by XPath, ID or CSS incredibly easy (Chrome, Firefox, Opera)
References
(Last modified: 2019/12/31)
Further information sources:
- W3C: https://www.w3.org/TR/webdriver/
- AutoIt WebDriver threads:
- Danp2's thread in the Example Scripts forum
- Danp2's thread in the General Help and Support forum
- WebDriver Exe documentation