Now record your first test with Selenium IDE

Now record your first test with Selenium IDE

We are going to record our first test using Selenium IDE. To start recording the tests we will
need to start Mozilla Firefox. Once it has been loaded, you will need to start Selenium IDE.
You will find it under the Tools dropdown menu in Mozilla Firefox or in the Web Developer
dropdown menu. Once loaded it will look like the next screenshot. Note that the record
button is engaged when you first load the IDE.

To start recording your tests let us do the following:
1. When in record mode, navigate to http://site.testing.com
2. On the Web Application do the following:
a. Click on the radio button.
b. Select another value from the drop-down box, for example,
Selenium RC.
c. Click on the Home Page link.

3. Your test has now been recorded and should look like the previous screenshot. Click
the play button that looks like this:

4. Once your test has completed it will look like this:

Terms Use For Selenium IDE

Terms Use For Selenium IDE

‹‹ 1. Base URL: This is the URL that the test will start at. All open commands will be
relative to the Base URL unless a full path is inserted in the open command.
‹‹ 2. Speed Slider: This is the slider under the Fast and Slow labels on the screen.
‹‹ 3. Run all the tests in the IDE.
‹‹ 4. Run a single test in the IDE.
‹‹ 5. Pause a test that is currently running.
‹‹ Step through the test once it has paused.
‹‹ 6. This is the record button. This will be engaged when the test is recording.
‹‹ 7. The Command select box has a list of all the commands that are needed to
create a test. You can type into it to use the auto complete functionality or use
it as a dropdown.
‹‹ 8. The Target text box allows you to input the location of the element that you want to
work against.
‹‹ 9. The Find button, once the target box is populated, can be clicked to highlight the
element on the page.
‹‹ 10. The Value text box is where you place the value that needs to change. For example,
if you want your test to type in an input box on the web page, you would put what
you want it to type in the value box.
‹‹ 11. The Test table will keep track of all your commands, targets, and values. It has been
structured this way because the original version of Selenium was styled on FIT tests.
12. FIT was created by Ward Cunningham and means Framework for Integrated Testing.
The tests were originally designed to be run from HTML files and the IDE keeps this
idea for its tests.
13. ‹‹ If you click the Source tab you will be able to see the HTML that will store the test.

The area below the Value text box will show the Selenium log while the tests are

running. If an item fails, then it will have an [error] entry.

This area will also show help on Selenium Commands when you are working in the

Command selectbox. This can be extremely useful when typing commands into

Selenium IDE instead of using the record feature.

‹‹ The Log tab will show a log of what is happening during the test. The Reference tab

gives you documentation on the command that you have highlighted.

Now Getting Started with Selenium IDE

Started with Selenium IDE

Testing automation is growing in popularity over the years because teams do
not have the time or money to invest in large test teams to make sure that
applications work as they are expected. Developers also want to make sure
that the code they have created works as they expect it to.
Selenium is one of the most well known testing frameworks in the world that
is in use. It is an open source project that allows testers and developers alike to
develop functional tests to drive the browser. It can be used to record workflows
so that developers can prevent future regressions of code. Selenium can work
on any browser that supports JavaScript, since Selenium has been built using
JavaScript.

Very Important preliminary points.

Before we start working through this chapter we need to make sure that Mozilla Firefox

is installed on your machine. If you do not have Mozilla Firefox installed you will need to

download it.

What Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE was developed to allow testers and developers to record their actions as they

follow the workflow that they need to test. 

Selenium IDE is a Firefox Add-on developed originally by Shinya as a way to use the

original Selenium Core code without having to copy Selenium Core onto the server. Selenium

Core is the key JavaScript modules that allow Selenium to drive the browser. It has been

developed using JavaScript so that it can interact with DOM (Document Object Model) using

native JavaScript calls.

Easy installing Selenium IDE

Now that we understand what Selenium IDE is, it is a good time to install it. At the end of

these steps, you will have successfully installed Selenium IDE on to your computer:

1. Go to http://seleniumhq.org/download

2. Click on the download link for Selenium IDE. You may see a message appear saying

Firefox prevented this site (seleniumhq.org) from asking you to install software on

your computer. If you do, click the Allow button.

3. A Firefox prompt will appear, as shown in the following screenshot:

4. You will then be asked if you would like to install Selenium IDE and the exporter

add-ons. These have been made pluggable to the IDE by the work that Adam

Goucher did. You will see a screen like the following appear:

5. Once the countdown has finished on the Install button, it will become active; click it.

This will now install Selenium IDE and formatters as Firefox Add-ons.

6. Once the install process is complete it will ask you to restart Firefox. Click the Restart

Now button. Firefox will close and then re-open. If you have anything open in another

browser it might be worth saving your work, as Firefox will try to go back to its original

state but this cannot be guaranteed.

7. Once the installation is complete, the Add-ons window will show the Selenium IDE

and its current version: