How to Run Selenium Tests on the Chrome Browser: Using the Selenium ChromeDriver

 The window that gives you access to the Internet is called a web browser. It is the software application needed to visit a local or global website. It is undeniably of enormous benefit. There are numerous web browsers available for users to choose from. Additionally, the majority of popular browsers provide a variety of helpful features that let users personalise their browsing. With a market share of roughly 65–67%, Google Chrome is the industry leader in this area and one of the most popular web browsers. It is essential to test web applications and websites on the Chrome browser given its widespread usage and worldwide reach. Selenium Automation Testing, a leading automation testing tool, is recommended in this regard because it provides cross-browser capabilities for testing purposes. The Selenium ChromeDriver makes this possible. The ChromeDriver, made available by Google Chrome, aids in connecting the browser to Selenium WebDriver. You can run Selenium tests on the Chrome browser after configuring ChromeDriver.

We'll examine Selenium ChromeDriver in this blog. The specifics of downloading, setting up, and configuring ChromeDriver for Windows will be covered. We will now look at how to conduct Selenium tests on the Chrome browser.

What is ChromeDriver for Selenium?

What conditions must be met before using Selenium ChromeDriver?

How is ChromeDriver installed and configured on Windows?

The best way to run Selenium tests on Chrome

Conclusion

 

What is ChromeDriver for Selenium?

The ChromeDriver is a tool that makes it possible to perform Selenium tests on the Chrome browser. The open-source Selenium WebDriver Chromium Protocol is carried out using the Selenium ChromeDriver, a standalone server. The interaction of the Selenium tests with the ChromeDriver via the JsonWireProtocol facilitates the translation of the Selenium commands into purposeful actions on the browser. It is clear that running Selenium tests in the browser requires the ChromeDriver Selenium. This can be done by creating an instance of the ChromeDriver object and assigning it to a WebDriver object. By using the following command, the ChromeDriver's object can be initialised.

ChromeDriver new = WebDriver new

 

What conditions must be met before using Selenium ChromeDriver?

Prior to starting the Selenium test execution process or even starting the ChromeDriver, your system must meet a few prerequisite requirements.

Java/JDK/JRE

The Java Development Kit, sometimes known as JDK, is necessary for creating Java programmes. It includes the JRE as well as other development tools including a compiler and debugger. JDK must be present because the focus of this article is on developing Java-based Selenium tests.

You can either go to the website by clicking this link, https://www.oracle.com/in/java/technologies/javase-downloads.html, or you can perform a Google search for "Download Java Oracle." You need to click "JDK Download" on the website.

You will be taken to the Java SE 16-Downloads Page after clicking the download link. A collection of categorised Java Development Kits is provided on the website. You must select the option that most closely matches the setup of your system. You won't need to download and install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) separately because this JDK version includes JRE.

Simply clicking on the specific file will launch Java on your machine. As a result, your system will successfully install JDK.

IDE Eclipse

Integrated Development Environment is referred to as IDE. It functions as an editor and provides capabilities that make users' programming needs easier. Here, we're referring to the Eclipse IDE, which is available for download on the company's main website.

You can either click on the provided URL, https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/, or perform a Google search for "Download Eclipse IDE Packages." A page displaying the Eclipse IDE 2021-06 R Packages will be opened for you. You must scroll down, look for "Eclipse IDE for JAVA Developers," and download it based on your operating system's version and compatibility (32 bit or 64 bit).

WebDriver for Selenium

The installation of Selenium WebDriver is one of the crucial prerequisites for Selenium ChromeDriver.

Refer to our blog post titled "Selenium Download: A Complete Tutorial" to gain a detailed grasp of how to download, install, and set up Selenium.

How is ChromeDriver installed and configured on Windows?

We've already seen how crucial Selenium ChromeDriver is for running Selenium tests on Chrome. It's critical to pay attention to the precise version of your Chrome browser in order to effectively download, install, and configure ChromeDriver. This is crucial because the ChromeDriver's compatibility with your browser depends on its version.

·         Click on the three dots in the top right corner of your browser to reveal the version of your browser.

·         Select Help from the drop-down menu, then select About Google Chrome.

·         You can find out more about the Chrome version on the page that opens next.

You must download the appropriate ChromeDriver version after you are certain of the version of your browser. Depending on the version of your browser, you can click the link to the official ChromeDriver website and download a suitable version of ChromeDriver.

https://chromedriver.chromium.org/downloads

The ChromeDriver 99.0.4844.51 link will take you to the ChromeDriver index page because the browser version in this case is 99. Depending on your operating system, you will find several versions of ChromeDriver in this section. For Windows, you can select the Win32 version.

Once the download of the particular version is finished, you can unzip the zip file and install the "chromedriver.exe" file at a specific spot on your computer.

Once the ChromeDriver has been downloaded, you must set it up and configure it before you can use it to run Selenium tests.

Using System Properties in Environment Variables is one technique to install and set up ChromeDriver. To accomplish that, adhere to the instructions below:

·         To access the Properties option in the drop-down menu, go to My Computer and right-click to do so.

·         Select the Advanced tab by going to Change Settings. Environment Variables can be chosen on the Advanced Tab.

·         You will be presented with a list of choices, from which you must select Path, and then click on Edit.

·         Your browser will take you to the Edit Environment Variable page. Click the New button on the pop-up menu. You must paste the path to your ChromeDriver file here before selecting "OK."

 

The best way to run Selenium tests on Chrome

We will go into more detail about how to run Selenium tests on the Chrome browser in this section. The prerequisites for Selenium ChromeDriver and the steps to download, install, and configure ChromeDriver have already been covered. We may move on to running the tests after setting up Selenium ChromeDriver is complete.

Step 1: Continue with the Eclipse IDE installation and add each of the Selenium dependencies to the project directory.

Step 2: You must indicate the type of driver to be used and the location of its storage location when setting the properties.

Step 3: You must initialise the ChromeDriver object in this step, which is step three. With this, the Chrome browser opens.

The driver is step four.

Step 4: To access to a certain URL, utilise the get() method function.

Step 5: Using the specific locators provided by Selenium, many web components can be located. Locating elements in Selenium is made easier with the help of XPath. Please visit our blog post, "XPath with Selenium: A Complete Tutorial," if you want to know more about this subject.

Example:

We are thinking about an example test scenario where we wish to carry out three phases.

·         Start the Chrome browser

·         Visit www.google.com

·         Type Facebook into the search field

See the sample of code below.

import timeunit from java.util.concurrent;

the import of "org.openqa.selenium.By"

import ChromeDriver from org.openqa.selenium;

open-source class ChromeExample

(String[] args) public static void main

/Configuring ChromeDriver's system properties

"C:/Selenium-java syntax/chromedriver win32/chromedriver.exe," System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver");

/Creating a ChromeDriver object

ChromeDriver() new WebDriver driver;

driver.manage().window().maximize();

/Eliminating all cookies

driver.manage().deleteAllCookies();

/Determining page

Implicit wait and LoadTimeout

driver.manage()

pageLoadTimeout(40, TimeUnit.SECONDS); timeouts();

driver.manage()

timeouts()

timeUnit.SECONDS); implicitlyWait(30);

/starting the designated URL

driver.get("https://www.google.com/");

/Using name locator to locate the elements for the text box.

driver.findElement(By.name("q")).

sendKeys("Facebook");

Google search button with a name locator

SearchIcon for the WebElement is driver.findElement(By.name("btnK"));

searchIcon.click();

}

}

The Selenium ChromeDriver assists in running the Chrome browser, opening the Google page, and typing the word "Facebook" into the search box after the aforementioned code has been run. This is how ChromeDriver-based Selenium tests are executed on Chrome.

 

Conclusion

It has become essential to test web applications on the Chrome browser due to its immense importance as a web browser. Selenium Automated Testing ChromeDriver, which enables automated browser testing of Chrome applications, makes this possible. The prerequisites for Selenium ChromeDriver, the download, installation, and configuration procedures, as well as the steps to run Selenium tests on the Chrome browser, have all been addressed in this blog.