Selenium IDE

Brief Introduction Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is the simplest tool in the Selenium Suite. It is a Firefox add-on that creates tests very quickly through its record-and-playback functionality. This feature is similar to that of QTP. It is effortless to install and easy to learn.

Because of its simplicity, Selenium IDE should only be used as a prototyping tool - not an overall solution for developing and maintaining complex test suites.

Though you will be able to use Selenium IDE without prior knowledge in programming, you should at least be familiar with HTML, JavaScript, and the DOM (Document Object Model) to utilize this tool to its full potential. Knowledge of JavaScript will be required when we get to the section about the Selenese command "runScript".

Selenium IDE supports autocomplete mode when creating tests. This feature serves two purposes:

• It helps the tester to enter commands more quickly.
• It restricts the user from entering invalid commands.

Note on Browser and Environment Support for IDE

• Browser - Mozilla Firefox
• Operating System – Windows , MAC OS X , Linux

When to Choose Selenium IDE?

•                     To learn about concepts on automated testing and Selenium, including:

•                     Selenese commands such as type, open, clickAndWait, assert, verify, etc.

•                     Locators such as id, name, xpath, css selector, etc.

•                     Executing customized JavaScript code using runScript

•                     Exporting test cases in various formats.

•                     To create tests with little or no prior knowledge in programming.

•                     To create simple test cases and test suites that you can export later to RC or WebDriver.

•                     To test a web application against Firefox only.

 How to Install Selenium IDE?

Launch Firefox and navigate to http://seleniumhq.org/download/. Under the Selenium IDE section, click on the link that shows the current version number.\

For security, a Firefox notification will pop up. Click on "Allow."

Wait until Firefox completes the download and then click "Install Now."

Wait until installation is completed. In the pop-up window, click "Restart Now."

 After Firefox has restarted, launch Selenium IDE using either of two ways:

·         By pressing Ctrl+Alt+S

·         By clicking on the Tools >  Selenium IDE