Learning Selenium... Selenium IDE - Pat Walsh IT Services

Learning Selenium… Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE is a Firefox add-on, which allows simple record and playback of browser interaction. Tests are recorded as scripts in Selenese, a special test scripting language for Selenium.

The easiest way to understand how Selenium IDE works is to download it and install it in Firefox. Once installed, you turn it on via the Firefox Tools menu, Selenium IDE option. The IDE will then appear, as shown below.

Selenium IDE Screenshot

The main parts of this window are:

The Menu options – File, Edit, Actions, Options, Help
The Base URL input
The Playback and Record buttons row
Then under this, to the left, the Test Case list
To the right, the Command window, listing the Commands in the current script, with focus on the current Command also shown
Then at the bottom, the Log/Reference/UI-Element/Rollup area

Selenium IDE – Recording

To start recording a script, first set the Base URL e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Then press the big red Record button to the right.

From this point, any actions made within the Firefox Browser will be saved and added to your script. To end recording, press the same red Record button.

Selenium IDE – Playback

To playback a script, you can either playback the current script, using the ‘Play current test case’ button or use the same option name in the Action menu. The script will playback and the resulting actions will be performed in the Firefox browser and results shown on the IDE screen (e.g. any errors highlighted in red)

Selenium IDE – Commands Window

The actions you made while in the Firefox browser, will then be added to the Commands window list, as Selenese commands.

These Selenese commands are represented with three separate elements – Command, Target and Value.

Some example entries:-

Command             Target                Value
open                /search 
clickAndWait        css=span.tl > h3.r > a.l
verifyTextPresent   verifyTextPresent

In the Command list, you can edit the entries as required and also use the self-explanatory right-click options Insert New Command and Insert New Comment.

Selenium IDE – File Menu Options

Using the File menu, you can save Test Cases and Test Suites (a collection of Test Cases) to HTML files.

A great option is Export Test Case As… which allows you to export your Test Case commands out to which ever programming language / scripting language you’re using, including Java, Python, C# and Ruby.

Selenium IDE – Example Script Output

Below is a simple script in HTML format (basically a HTML table) and followed by the same script in Python.

Selenium IDE – HTML Format Script Output

Selenium IDE – Python Format Script Output

We hired Pat to help with QA of a music streaming app. We needed someone with that magic “6th sense” of where the bugs are lurking; the ones which developers tend to miss. Pat more than fulfilled this need, with highly methodical approach and a great eye for detail.

Subsequently Pat has provided QA services for a personal app project of mine, finding a significant issue which had been lurking for some time.

Pat is a real asset to any team – highly competent technically but also easy going and a great guy to work with. Highly recommended!

Andrew Ebling, Head of App Development, Composed

Pat Walsh fixed my site within hours of my contacting him – his WordPress website fix service clearly works!

Douglas Green, Douglas Software

Pat performs comprehensive website testing for us, across all the main browsers and platforms, including mobile devices. His flexible approach to testing and clear feedback enable us to have confidence that the business end of our website is still working smoothly after system updates and changes.

Steve Liu, Manager, Wicked Lasers

Pat Walsh provided Kingston Valdes with a professional and personable service that was excellent value. The site was built and tested quickly, we are delighted with the results, and we have already had positive feedback from some of our clients. If you’re thinking of building a new site or adapting an existing one, I’d certainly recommend speaking with Pat about it.

Kathy Valdes, Kingston Valdes

Pat is an excellent one-stop-shop for testing Apps and Websites. He is a self-starter who just knows what needs to be done and gets on with it, and is responsive to requests for any specific testing requirements. He provides test plans and reports as a matter of course and was a pleasure to work with. I will definitely be working with Pat again if the opportunity arises.

Andrew Birley, PM, Storythings

Couldn’t recommend Pat highly enough. He goes beyond what you’d expect of a QA tester, commenting more broadly on user experience and even design. He’s quick, efficient and thorough – couldn’t ask for any more.

Rob Calvert, Director, Click

Pat came to Composed to respond to our (increasingly urgent) need of QA on mobile and web and I can testify he more than fulfilled the task. On the Android side, his very structured approach (first exploratory testing, then focus on defining test plans for a variety of scopes) and his clear knowledge of the latest mobile technologies have quickly paid off. He was involved directly with the developers (including myself) and this very dynamic relationship enabled us to annihilate bugs swiftly and efficiently.

David Ferrand, Android Developer, Composed

We’ve worked with Pat Walsh on a number of very different projects, from interactive video projects to mobile apps. His work is very thorough and has quickly become an essential and important phase of all the production work we do at Storythings. He’s thorough, diligent, and a pleasure to work with.

Matt Locke, Director, Storythings

Pat has been absolutely incredible at testing each of our projects he works on. He’s very professional, organised and diligent. I look forward to using him again in the future.

Oliver Thurtle, Director of Technology, Drum

Learning Selenium… Selenium IDE