Title

How to Interact with Hoverable and Clickable Elements on Websites using Selenium in Python

What will you learn?

In this tutorial, you will learn advanced techniques to interact with elements on a website that have hover properties and are clickable but not directly accessible through Chrome’s “inspect” option using Selenium in Python. You’ll discover how to overcome common challenges faced by web automation testers when dealing with hidden or difficult-to-reach elements.

Introduction to the Problem and Solution

When automating web interactions with Selenium, elements like dropdown menus or tooltips may only be visible on hover actions, making them hard to access through traditional methods like inspecting the HTML code. This poses a challenge for automation testers as identifying and interacting with these elements becomes tricky. To address this issue, we can utilize advanced techniques provided by Selenium combined with Python programming skills to effectively handle these hidden or difficult-to-reach elements during our automated testing scenarios.

Code

# Importing necessary libraries
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.action_chains import ActionChains

# Create a new instance of Google Chrome driver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()

# Open the webpage where the element is located
driver.get("https://example.com")

# Locate the parent element which activates hover behavior 
element_to_hover_over = driver.find_element_by_id("parentElementID")

# Hover over the element using ActionChains class 
ActionChains(driver).move_to_element(element_to_hover_over).perform()

# Click on the target element that appears after hovering (e.g., a submenu item)
target_element = driver.find_element_by_id("targetElementID")
target_element.click()

# Close the browser window
driver.quit()

# Copyright PHD

Note: For more helpful resources and tutorials, visit our website PythonHelpDesk.com

Explanation

In-depth Explanation of the solution and concepts:

Step	Description
Import Libraries	Imported necessary libraries for Selenium WebDriver functionality.
Create WebDriver Instance	Created a new instance of Chrome WebDriver.
Open Webpage	Accessed the targeted webpage using get() method.
Hover Over Element	Utilized ActionChains to hover over a specific parent element triggering its hover behavior.
Click Target Element	Located and clicked on the desired element that appeared after hovering (e.g., a submenu item).
Browser Closure	Closed down the browser session gracefully using quit().

How do I handle inaccessible elements during web scraping?

To handle inaccessible elements during web scraping, you can try using alternative locators or wait for the element to become accessible before interacting with it.

Can I simulate keyboard inputs using Selenium in Python?

Yes, you can simulate keyboard inputs using Selenium in Python by utilizing methods like send_keys() provided by Selenium WebDriver.

Is it possible to capture network traffic data while running automated tests?

Yes, it is possible to capture network traffic data while running automated tests by integrating tools like BrowserMob Proxy with Selenium.

What are some best practices for writing reliable test scripts with Selenium?

Some best practices for writing reliable test scripts with Selenium include creating robust locators, implementing explicit waits, handling exceptions effectively, and maintaining clean test structures.

How can I deal with dynamic content loading issues when testing websites?

To deal with dynamic content loading issues when testing websites, you can use implicit or explicit waits to ensure that necessary elements are loaded before interacting with them.

Conclusion

Enhancing your proficiency as an automation tester involves mastering interaction techniques for challenging web elements. By efficiently leveraging features like ‘hover’ actions within your test scripts, you ensure robustness across various website functionalities. Remember that practice makes perfect when it comes to web automation testing!