How to Open a New Tab in Selenium?

Overview

Selenium is a powerful automation tool widely used for web testing and browser automation. One common requirement in web automation is the ability to open and manage multiple tabs within a browser session. In this article, we will explore how to open new tabs, switch between them, and close tabs using Selenium. We will provide syntax examples along with detailed explanations to help you understand and implement these operations effectively.

Introduction

Tabs play a crucial role in modern web applications, providing users with a convenient way to navigate between different sections or functionalities within a single browser window. When automating web tasks with Selenium, it becomes essential to replicate these tab-based interactions accurately. By opening new tabs programmatically, we can mimic user behaviour and effectively test the functionality of web applications. By leveraging Selenium's capabilities, we can seamlessly perform various actions across multiple tabs, enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of our test scripts.

How to Open New Tab in Selenium?

To open a new tab using Selenium, we need to follow a series of steps. Let's explore the syntax and provide an example to illustrate the process.

Syntax:

Code:

Explanation:

Import the necessary modules: We import the webdriver module from Selenium and the Keys module for simulating keypress events.
Instantiate the browser driver: Here, we initialize the browser driver, specifically the Chrome driver. Make sure you have the correct driver executable in your system's PATH.
Open a new tab: By sending the key combination CTRL + t to the browser window, we simulate the user action of opening a new tab.
Switch to the new tab: Using the driver.switch_to.window() method, we switch the focus to the newly opened tab. driver.window_handles[-1] refers to the most recently opened tab.
Load a URL in the new tab: We can then load a specific URL or perform other actions, on the new tab using the driver.get() method.

Example:

Let's take a practical example to open a new tab and load a website:

Code:

Explanation:

This example demonstrates how to open a new tab and navigate to Scaler Topics website in the newly opened tab. You can modify the URL as per your requirements.

More Examples:

To further illustrate the usage of new tabs in Selenium, let's consider a few more scenarios:

Opening Multiple Tabs Sequentially:

In this example, we open three new tabs in succession, each loading the same URL.

Code:

Explanation:

The for loop is used to iterate three times, as specified by range(3), indicating that we want to open three new tabs.
Inside the loop, we first use driver.find_element_by_tag_name('body') to locate the <body> element of the current page.
We then simulate the user action of opening a new tab by sending the key combination CTRL + t to the browser window using send_keys(Keys.CONTROL + 't').
After opening the new tab, we use driver.switch_to.window(driver.window_handles[-1]) to switch the focus to the newly opened tab. This ensures that the subsequent actions will be performed on the new tab.
Finally, we use driver.get("https://www.example.com") to load the URL "https://www.example.com" in the new tab. This step can be modified to load different URLs if desired.

Opening a Link in a New Tab:

Here, we identify a link element on the page and open it in a new tab using the send_keys() method.

Code:

Explanation:

We first locate the link element on the page using driver.find_element_by_link_text("Click here"). This method searches for an anchor element <a> containing the specified link text, "Click here".
Next, we use link_element.send_keys(Keys.CONTROL + Keys.RETURN) to simulate the user action of opening the link in a new tab. By sending the key combination CTRL + RETURN, we instruct the browser to open the link in a new tab.
After opening the link in a new tab, we switch the focus to the newly opened tab using driver.switch_to.window(driver.window_handles[-1]). This step ensures that subsequent actions will be performed on the new tab.

Switching Windows or Tabs

The switch_to.window() method is a useful method provided by the Selenium WebDriver to switch the focus or control from the current window or tab to another window or tab. It allows you to interact with elements or perform actions on the newly switched window or tab.

The syntax for using the switch_to.window() method is as follows:

Explanation:

Here, driver refers to the instance of the WebDriver, and window_handle is the handle or identifier of the target window or tab to which you want to switch. The window_handle parameter is typically obtained from the window_handles property, which returns a list of handles for all open windows or tabs.

By switching to a different window or tab, you can perform actions on elements or navigate within that specific context. , For example,, you may want to switch to a new tab to interact with elements on that tab or retrieve information from it.

After switching to the desired window or tab, any subsequent Selenium commands or actions will be applied to that window. You can find elements, click buttons, fill out forms, or perform any other operations specific to that window or tab.

How to Close Tab in Selenium?

Closing a tab in Selenium involves a few straightforward steps. Let's see how we can achieve this.

Syntax:

Explanation:

To close the current tab, we use the driver.close() method. This action effectively closes the tab and returns the focus to the previous tab.
If there are remaining tabs open, we can switch to the first tab (index 0) or any desired tab using the driver.switch_to.window() method.

Conclusion

Opening and managing new tabs in Selenium allows for seamless navigation and interaction with multiple web pages within a single browser instance.
Selenium provides the capability to open new tabs using key combinations such as CTRL + t, enabling the simulation of real-world browsing scenarios.
The driver.switch_to.window() method in Selenium allows for easy switching between different tabs, ensuring accurate control over the active tab.
Loading specific URLs in new tabs using driver.get() facilitates targeted testing and interaction with different web pages.
Sequentially opening multiple tabs using loops provides automation flexibility and allows for the efficient execution of repetitive tasks.
Efficient tab management through driver.close() and switching to other tabs using driver.switch_to.window() optimizes resources and streamlines automation workflows.