Selenium WebDriver Basic Methods You Should Know

 

🔍 Selenium WebDriver Basic Methods You Should Know

Now that your setup is ready, let’s explore some basic Selenium WebDriver methods in Java that you’ll use all the time. These methods help you interact with web elements, navigate between pages, and control the browser like a pro.

🚗 1. get(String url)

Opens a web page in the browser.

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

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📄 2. getTitle()

Returns the title of the current web page.

String title = driver.getTitle();
System.out.println("Page title: " + title);

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🔗 3. getCurrentUrl()

Gets the current page URL.

String currentUrl = driver.getCurrentUrl();

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🧱 4. findElement(By locator)

Finds a single web element using a locator (like ID, name, XPath, etc.).

WebElement searchBox = driver.findElement(By.name("q"));
searchBox.sendKeys("Selenium WebDriver");

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🧮 5. findElements(By locator)

Finds multiple elements that match the locator and returns them as a list.

List<WebElement> links = driver.findElements(By.tagName("a"));
System.out.println("Total links: " + links.size());

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🎯 6. click()

Clicks on a button, link, checkbox, etc.

driver.findElement(By.id("submitBtn")).click();

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🖊 7. sendKeys(String text)

Enters text into an input field or textarea.

driver.findElement(By.name("username")).sendKeys("myUser123");

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↩ 8. navigate().back(), navigate().forward(), navigate().refresh()

Used for browser navigation, like the back and forward buttons.

driver.navigate().back();    // Go back to the previous page
driver.navigate().forward(); // Move forward in browser history
driver.navigate().refresh(); // Refresh the current page

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📷 9. getPageSource()

Returns the full HTML source of the current page.

String source = driver.getPageSource();

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🛑 10. quit() vs. close()

• quit() closes all browser windows and ends the WebDriver session.

• close() closes only the current browser window.

driver.close(); // Just the active tab
driver.quit();  // Entire browser session

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🧠 Quick Tip: Locators You’ll Use Often

By.id("id")
By.name("name")
By.className("className")
By.tagName("tagName")
By.linkText("full link text")
By.partialLinkText("partial text")
By.cssSelector("css selector")
By.xpath("xpath expression")

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✅ Practice Makes Perfect

Using these basic methods, you can:

• Open a browser

• Search on Google

• Click links

• Fill login forms

• Navigate back and forth

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