Automation testing Using Selenium IDE
The agile software development methodology focuses on testing speedily, especially when it comes to weekly or bi-weekly releases. If manual testing is applied, it will become a cumbersome process, and the QA team needs to put in a lot of effort to get the work done. For solving this purpose, Selenium can be used especially when it comes to web applications, wherein actions are automated. Selenium IDE is one such tool that can be used rewardingly. In this article, you will get to know the process of performing automation testing using Selenium IDE.
What is Selenium IDE?
The popular record and playback tool of Selenium IDE is well-known to QA engineers using the Selenium tool suite. Earlier, selenium IDE was available as a Firefox add-on and later it got deprecated because of the latest Firefox versions being introduced. With the inclusion of Selenium 4, the IDE has been updated and is now available for two of the most popular browsers Chrome and Firefox.
For ease of understanding, Firefox has been referred to as the preferred browser in this article.
Record and playback tests can be used by implementing IDE as a Firefox extension. The tests can not only be recorded but, test scripts can be edited and the commands can move around and debug. The tests can be authored by a tester without the need to learn a test scripting language.
Selenium IDE Installation:
First, open the Mozilla Firefox browser then the IDE needs to be downloaded from the Selenium HQ downloads page. The browser needs to restart once the add-on has been installed. After the system reboots, under the Firefox Tools menu, IDE will be listed.
Test recording:
In order to initiate the recording process, the “Start Recording” button needs to be clicked, then the necessary steps need to be taken in order to test the application. Based on the actions, the commands will automatically be inserted by the IDE in the test case. The list of commands can be viewed in the test case panel. Once the different flows in the application have been gone through, the “Stop recording” button needs to be clicked. The commands can be reordered or the values can be edited in the test case.
The most common commands that are being used are type, click, clickAndWait and select. Commands like verifyTextPresent and verifyElementpresent can be used for verification and assertion.
The process of running the tests:
At the top of the Selenium-IDE window, the Base URL field is considered to be very useful, so that test cases can be allowed to run across various domains. When the URL is changed for the purpose of pointing to production or beta environments, the same test can be played back by the tester on the respective environments.
In order to run/play the test, the “Run” button needs to be clicked. The Speed control slider can be adjusted in order to control the test speed. The moment the process of running tests gets started, the commands will be executed in a systematic manner. When the tests are being run, the test can also be stopped/paused at any point, and it can be played back again.
When the test case is being run, the progress is shown through information messages and error messages and is displayed in the Log pane automatically, even if the Log tab is not selected first. These messages can be used for test case debugging.
The value of Test Suites:
Multiple test cases can be created and then saved as a test suite. Through this functionality, a group of test cases can be executed together. Once the tests are successfully created, they can run against various browsers by using a simple command-line interface through which the Selenium-RC server is invoked.
Conclusion:
If you are looking forward to implementing selenium testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a professionally acclaimed software testing services company that will provide you with tactical testing solutions in line with your project specific requirements.
About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. I strive to provide well-researched information on the leading market savvy technologies.