One solution for File Upload using Java Robot API with Selenium WebDriver by Java

Question

I saw that lots of people have Problems uploading a file in a test Environment with Selenium WebDriver. I use the selenium WebDriver and java, and had the same problem. I finally have found a solution, so i will post it here hoping that it helps someone else.

When i need to upload a file in a test, i click with Webdriver in the button and wait for the window "Open" to pop. And then i copy the path to the file in the clipboard and then paste it in the "open" window and click "Enter". This is working because when the window "open" pops up, the focus is always in the "open" button.

You will need these classes and method:

import java.awt.Robot;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.datatransfer.StringSelection;


public static void setClipboardData(String string) {
   StringSelection stringSelection = new StringSelection(string);
   Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getSystemClipboard().setContents(stringSelection, null);
}

And that is what i do, just after opening the "open" window:

setClipboardData("C:\\path to file\\example.jpg");
//native key strokes for CTRL, V and ENTER keys
Robot robot = new Robot();
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_V);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_V);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);

And that´s it. It is working for me, i hope it works for some of you.

Polychaete

Answer 1

Actually, there is an in-built technique for this, too. It should work in all browsers and operating systems.

Selenium 2 (WebDriver) Java example:

// assuming driver is a healthy WebDriver instance
WebElement fileInput = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@type='file']"));
fileInput.sendKeys("C:/path/to/file.jpg");

The idea is to directly send the absolute path to the file to an element which you would usually click at to get the modal window - that is <input type='file' /> element.

Hauberk

Thanks, the problem is that "sendKeys" is not working for me cause i upload the file through an ajax call before i send the form. But maybe it helps others. :) – Polychaete

But. It just fills in the path, any ajax calls should be resolved after the <input> loses focus (which means that after the sendkeys() call, you need to click outside the <input> or start filling some other one for onchange scripts to trigger). – Rf

Yes, you are right, but the fileupload that i use, uses a fake input field that only shows the name of the file uploaded. The ajax is not triggered when this field loses the focus. It is not really an easy process and can´t be tested like that, tho i would much prefer it was that way. – Polychaete

Fun. I'd really be interested to see the internals of that. Hopefully I won't :). – Rf

Id like to add, you may want to use C:\\path\\to\\file.jpg instead of C:/path/to/file.jpg. – Ferree

Yeah I could only get it to work using C:\\path\\to\\file.jpg or file:/C:/path/to/file.jpg, the file:/ was key for me. – Coagulum

thanks much! That worked like a charm for me . But the only thing I had to do is to find 'input' element on a sublayout withing which I were working - gyazo.com/8e4ad312d13d57a0d371087882ec0ce0 . It was not the same with the element calling modal attach file popup. And also it's worth mentioning that I've used CSS selector div#addDetailImageModal input[type="file"] and absolute path represented in the following form: "C:\\Selenium\\emenu_food.png" . + upvote from me ;-) – Marillin

Answer 2

Thanks Alex,

Java Robot API helped me for uploading file. I was fedup with File Upload using WebDriver. Following is the code I used (Small modification to yours):

Robot robot = new Robot();
robot.delay(1000);

robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_V);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_V);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);
robot.delay(1000);

Laroche

Im glad to hear it helped you :) – Polychaete

Answer 3

Thanks Alex! I needed this since I could not get the sendKeys function to work when used via Play framework 2.1 (fluentlenium wrapper). I am testing over Firefox [17.0.7] for Mac and had to make a few mods to get it working. Below is an approximation of the final snippet I used.

    val file = new File(PATH_TO_IPA)
    val stringSelection: StringSelection = new StringSelection(file.getAbsolutePath)
    Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit.getSystemClipboard().setContents(stringSelection, null)
    val robot: Robot = new Robot()
    // Cmd + Tab is needed since it launches a Java app and the browser looses focus
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_META)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_META)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_TAB)
    robot.delay(500)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_META)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_SHIFT)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_G)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_META)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_SHIFT)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_G)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_META)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_V)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_META)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_V)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER)
    robot.delay(500)
    robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER)
    robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER)

Toilette

Happy to hear it. ah! and thanks for sharing your solution :) – Polychaete

Hey Mashhood could you help me with converting your version of the keypress file upload on mac for use with the python bindings of selenium: selenium.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/docs/api/py/webdriver/…. I too couldn't get sendKeys to work properly for my use case. – Herakleion

Answer 4

The switching of application on Mac is much better to do with AppleScript. AppleScript is integrated to system, so it will be always functional and does not depend on order of apps on Cmd+Tab. Your test/app will be less fragile. https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/AppleScript/Conceptual/AppleScriptLangGuide/reference/ASLR_cmds.html

You need only detect you are on mac and has name of the application.

Runtime runtime = Runtime.getRuntime();
            String[] args = { "osascript", "-e", "tell app \"Chrome\" to activate" };
            Process process = runtime.exec(args);

Goethe