• Selenium Video Tutorials

Selenium WebDriver - Handle Special Keys

Previous
Next

Selenium Webdriver can be used to handle special keys while creating the automation tests. This is done using the Actions class and sendKeys() method in Selenium. The operations like key up/down using the keyUp() and keyDown() methods are mostly used to work with special keys. In case we are using sendKeys() method we would need to pass Key.chord as a parameter to this method.

Example 1 - Copy and Paste With Special Keys

Let us now discuss the identification of elements where the copy and paste operations are to be performed on a web page as shown in the below image. First, right click on the below web page, and then click on the Inspect button in the Chrome browser. For investigating both the source and destination elements, click on the left upward arrow, at top of the HTML code.

Selenium Handle Special Keys 1

Let us take an example on the below page, where we would first enter the text - JavaSelenium beside the Full Name: label. Then copy and paste the same text in another input box beside the Last Name: label.

Selenium Handle Special Keys 2

Code Implementation

package org.example;

import org.openqa.selenium.*;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;

public class CopyPasteAction {
   public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {

      // Initiate the Webdriver
      WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

      // adding implicit wait of 15 secs
      driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(15, TimeUnit.SECONDS);


      // Opening the webpage where we will identify an element
      driver.get("https://www.tutorialspoint.com/selenium/practice/register.php");

      // Identify the first input box with xpath locator
      WebElement e = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[@id='firstname']"));

      // enter some text
      e.sendKeys("Selenium");

      // chose the key as per platform
      Keys k = Platform.getCurrent().is(Platform.MAC) ? Keys.COMMAND : Keys.CONTROL;

      // object of Actions class to copy then paste
      Actions a = new Actions(driver);
      a.keyDown(k);
      a.sendKeys("a");
      a.keyUp(k);
      a.build().perform();

      // Actions class methods to copy text
      a.keyDown(k);
      a.sendKeys("c");
      a.keyUp(k);
      a.build().perform();

      // Action class methods to tab and reach to next input box
      a.sendKeys(Keys.TAB);
      a.build().perform();

      // Actions class methods to paste text
      a.keyDown(k);
      a.sendKeys("v");
      a.keyUp(k);
      a.build().perform();

      // Identify the second input box with xpath locator
      WebElement s = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[@id='lastname']"));

      // Getting text in the second input box
      String text = s.getAttribute("value");
      System.out.println("Value copied and pasted: " + text);

      // Closing browser
      driver.quit();
   }
}

Output

Value copied and pasted: JavaSelenium

Process finished with exit code 0

In the above example, we had first entered the text JavaSelenium in the first input box and then copied and pasted the same text in the second input box then obtained the entered text in the second input box as a message in the console - Value copied and pasted: JavaSelenium.

Finally, the message Process finished with exit code 0 was received, signifying successful execution of the code.

Example 2 - Copy and Paste With Special Keys

Let us take the same above example, and implement the same without using the Actions class.

package org.example;

import org.openqa.selenium.*;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;

public class CopyPaste {
   public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {

      // Initiate the Webdriver
      WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

      // adding implicit wait of 15 secs
      driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(15, TimeUnit.SECONDS);

      // Opening the webpage where we will identify an element
      driver.get("https://www.tutorialspoint.com/selenium/practice/register.php");

      // Identify the first input box with xpath locator
      WebElement e = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[@id='firstname']"));

      // Identify the second input box with xpath locator
      WebElement s = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[@id='lastname']"));

      // chose the key as per platform
      Keys k = Platform.getCurrent().is(Platform.MAC) ? Keys.COMMAND :  Keys.CONTROL;

      // enter some text
      e.sendKeys("JavaSelenium");

      // select the whole entered text
      e.sendKeys(Keys.chord(k, "a"));

      // copy the whole entered text
      e.sendKeys(Keys.chord(k, "c"));

      // tab and reach to next input box
      e.sendKeys(Keys.TAB);

      // paste the whole entered text
      s.sendKeys(Keys.chord(k, "v"));

      // Getting text in the second input box
      String text = s.getAttribute("value");
      System.out.println("Value copied and pasted: " + text);
      
      // Closing browser
      driver.quit();
   }
}

Output

Value copied and pasted: JavaSelenium

In the above example, we had first entered the text JavaSelenium in the first input box and then copied and pasted the same text in the second input box using the sendKeys() and Key.chord() methods. Finally, we had obtained the entered text in the second input box as a message in the console - Value copied and pasted: JavaSelenium.

Example 3 - Input Text in Upper Case With Special Keys

Let us take another example, where we would enter text AUTOMATION in capital letters using the special keys. Please note that, while sending the value to the sendKeys() method, we would pass automation and pressing SHIFT keys.

package org.example;

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;

public class KeyAction {
   public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
      // Initiate the Webdriver
      WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

      // adding implicit wait of 15 secs
      driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(15, TimeUnit.SECONDS);

      // Opening the webpage
      driver.get("https://www.tutorialspoint.com/selenium/practice/text-box.php");

      // Identify the first input box with xpath locator
      WebElement e = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[@id='fullname']"));

      // Actions class
      Actions a = new Actions(driver);

      // moving to an input box and clicking on it
      a.moveToElement(e).click();

      // key UP and DOWN action for SHIFT
      a.keyDown(Keys.SHIFT);
      a.sendKeys("automation").keyUp(Keys.SHIFT).build().perform();

      // get value entered
      System.out.println("Text entered: " + e.getAttribute("value"));

      // Closing browser
      driver.quit();
   }
}

Output

Text entered: AUTOMATION

Process finished with exit code 0

In the above example, we had entered the text automation along with SHIFT key press and then obtained the entered text in upper case with the message in the console - Text entered: AUTOMATION.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Selenium Webdriver Handle Special Keys. We’ve started with describing an example of copying and pasting text taking help of special keys like CONTROL, SHIFT, TAB, CONTROL + A, CONTROL + V, CONTROL + C, and so on, and illustrating how to input text in upper case with Selenium. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of handling special keys in Selenium Webdriver. It is wise to keep practicing what you’ve learned and exploring others relevant to Selenium to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.

Print Page
Previous
Next
Advertisements