Why Handling Multiple Browser Windows is Important in Web Automation Testing

Modern web applications frequently use pop-ups, new windows, or tabs for features like payment, gateways, user authentication, or displaying additional information. Without proper window handling, our automation script might fail to interact with the correct browser window or tab, leading to test failures.

Prerequisites Before Continuing This Article

Please make sure you have the following environment setup before proceeding:

• Installed Ruby on your system
• Selenium WebDriver gem is installed (To install: gem install selenium-webdriver)
• A browser driver like GeckoDriver or ChromeDriver compatible with your current browser version

Opening and Handling a New Browser Window

Let’s start with some basic examples. Suppose you have a web page with a link that opens a new tab or window when clicked. Let’s see how we can handle it step-by-step.

Initialize the Browser

require 'selenium-webdriver'

# Initialize the browser
driver = Selenium::WebDriver.for :chrome

This is the very first step. Without browser initialization, we cannot navigate to any websites to perform operations.

Navigate to the Website

driver.navigate.to 'https://example.com'

Store your Current Window Handle

Storing your current window handle is a very important part. After completing tasks in a new window, you may need to switch back to the original window. Keeping the default window handle ensures a smooth transition after you complete the task in new windows or tabs.

# Store the current window handle
default_window = driver.window_handle

Click the Element That Opens a New Window or Tab

# Click the link that opens a new window
driver.find_element(:link_text, 'Open New Window Element Locator').click

Get All Present Window Handles

In Ruby, Selenium window_handles is used to fetch all the present windows. With this, we can interact with desired windows when needed.

# Get all window handles
all_windows = driver.window_handles

Switching to The New Window

You can switch to any Windows as you need. switch_to method is used to switch to another browser window. Manipulate windows as per your need when more than two windows are present.

# Switch to the new window
new_window_handle = (all_windows - [default_window]).first
driver.switch_to.window(new_window_handle)

Perform Actions in the New Window

# Perform actions in the new window
driver.find_element(:id, 'new_window_element').click

Close the New Window After Actions are Completed

# Close the new window
driver.close

When we complete our task, then it’s not necessary to keep it open. Some windows close automatically when we perform our task. We can also verify this behavior by checking all the present window handles.

It’s Time to Switch Back to The Main Window

# Switch back to the main window
driver.switch_to.window(main_window)

Quit the Browser After Test Compelted

driver.quit

Let’s Review the Key Concepts

Managing Multiple Tabs with Selenium WebDriver

The Window Handles method returns an array of all the available browser tabs or windows. By comparing the current window handle with the list, you can identify new windows easily and perform tasks on it.

Working With Windows in Selenium

The switch_to.window(handle) method allows you to focus on a specific window to perform operations. After switching, any Selenium commands will interact with the new active browser window.

Ruby Automation

Using Ruby’s syntax is simple, and managing browser tabs becomes intuitive. The ability to store window handles and switch between them makes Ruby an excellent choice for Selenium.

Best Practices for Handling Windows

• Always store the default or main window handle
• Use dynamic waits instead of hard sleep to handle loading time efficiently
• Close unnecessary windows after tasks are completed. This prevents resource leakage and improves performance.

Conclusion

Handling a new browser window with Selenium WebDriver in Ruby is straightforward once you understand how to manage window handles. By Practicing techniques for managing multiple tabs with Selenium, working with multiple Windows or Tabs in Selenium, and Ruby automation for browser tab or Windows control, you can build robust automation scripts that handle complex web applications seamlessly.

Hello readers, today in this article we will learn about Handling a new browser window or tab in Watir. Watir stands for Web Application Testing in Ruby. Using the window class, you can handle new browser tabs or windows that open during the test. The window class allows us to switch between different browser windows or tabs. Let’s see how you can handle new browser tabs in Watir Ruby.

Handling a new browser window in Ruby.

Handling a new browser window in Ruby is not so hard, During the test when you click a link or perform an action that opens a new browser tab or window, you have to switch to that new tab to interact with its elements or contents. For that first, you need to save the identifiers of new open windows and then switch to the new tab.

require 'watir'

# Initialize the browser
browser = Watir::Browser.new :chrome

# Open a webpage
browser.goto 'https://www.example.com'

# Click a link that opens a new tab/window
browser.link(id: 'link_element_id').click

# Store the handles of all open windows/tabs
original_window = browser.window

# Switch to the new tab/window
new_window = browser.window(title: 'New Tab web page title')
new_window.use

# Perform actions in the new tab/window
# ...

# Switch back to the original tab/window
original_window.use

# Close the browser
browser.close

Switching Between Tabs

To switch to the new browser tab or window you can use use method

# Switch to a specific window/tab by its title
browser.window(title: 'New Tab web page title').use

# Switch back to the original window/tab
original_window.use

Handling Multiple Tabs

If you have multiple new tabs in your web browser and you want to switch between them based on their order, you can simply use windows method.

# Get an array of all open windows/tabs
all_windows = browser.windows

# Switch to the first window
all_windows[0].use

# Switch to the second window
all_windows[1].use

Closing a Browser Tab

To close the browser tab/window you can use close method.

# Close the current tab/window
browser.window.use.close

Remember that the above code snippets are only for example and might need to be adapted to your specific use case and website structure. Also, Watir provides different attributes to locate browser windows, for example, by title, URL, and index, so you can choose any of these based on your testing needs. If you are interested in exploring more on Browser Window in Ruby Watir, you can simply read the documentation provided by Watir.