Employ WebDriver to automate Microsoft Edge

  • Commodity
  • 9 minutes to read

WebDriver allows you lot to automate Microsoft Edge by simulating user interaction. WebDriver tests and simulations differ from JavaScript unit tests in the following means:

  • WebDriver accesses functionality and information that'southward not available to JavaScript running in browsers.

  • WebDriver simulates user events or Bone-level events more accurately than JavaScript unit tests.

  • WebDriver manages multiple windows, tabs, and webpages in a unmarried test session.

  • WebDriver runs multiple sessions of Microsoft Edge on a specific motorcar.

Relationship between WebDriver and other software

To automate Microsoft Edge with WebDriver to simulate user interaction, you need three components:

  • Microsoft Edge.
  • Microsoft Edge Commuter.
  • A WebDriver testing framework.

The functional human relationship between these components is as follows:

Engineering Part
WebDriver A W3C standard for a platform- and linguistic communication-neutral wire protocol. This protocol allows out-of-process programs to remotely instruct the behavior of web browsers.
Microsoft Edge Driver Microsoft's implementation of the WebDriver protocol specifically for Microsoft Edge. Examination authors write tests that use WebDriver commands that Microsoft Edge Commuter receives. Microsoft Border Commuter is and so responsible for communicating that control to the browser.
A WebDriver testing framework Test authors use a testing framework to write end-to-end tests and automate browsers. Provides a linguistic communication-specific interface that translates your code into commands that are sent to Microsoft Border Driver. WebDriver testing frameworks exist for all major platforms and languages. One such framework is Selenium.
Internet Explorer Driver An open-source implementation of the WebDriver protocol specifically for Cyberspace Explorer. To run legacy end-to-end tests for Cyberspace Explorer Fashion, we recommend using Cyberspace Explorer Commuter.

The following sections describe how to go started with WebDriver for Microsoft Border.

Download Microsoft Border Driver

To begin writing automated tests, make certain the Microsoft Edge Commuter version you install matches your browser version, equally follows:

  1. Go to edge://settings/aid and note your version of Microsoft Edge.

    The build number for Microsoft Edge on April 15, 2021.

  2. Go to Microsoft Edge Commuter.

  3. In the Get the latest version section of the page, select a platform in the channel that matches your version number of Microsoft Edge.

    The `Get the latest version` section of the Microsoft Edge Driver webpage.

  4. Afterward the download completes, extract the msedgedriver executable to your preferred location. Add the binder where the executable is located to your PATH surround variable.

Choose a WebDriver testing framework

Subsequently downloading Microsoft Edge Driver, the concluding component you must download is a WebDriver testing framework. Exam authors use WebDriver testing frameworks to write end-to-end tests and automate browsers. A WebDriver testing framework provides a language-specific interface that translates your code into commands that Microsoft Edge Driver runs in Microsoft Edge. WebDriver testing frameworks exist for all major platforms and languages, such as Python, Java, C#, Reddish, and JavaScript.

This article provides instructions for using the Selenium framework, but you can apply any library, framework, and programming language that supports WebDriver. To accomplish the same tasks using a WebDriver testing framework other than Selenium, consult the official documentation for your framework of choice.

Using Selenium 4

Selenium WebDriver is an open up-source testing framework that tin can be used on any platform, and provides linguistic communication bindings for Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript.

The Microsoft Edge team recommends Selenium 4, because Selenium iv has built-in support for Microsoft Border (Chromium). To install Selenium 4, see Installing Selenium libraries.

Upgrading from Selenium 3

The Microsoft Border team recommends upgrading existing Selenium three tests to Selenium 4, because the Selenium project no longer maintains Selenium 3. To larn more than about upgrading to Selenium 4, see Upgrade to Selenium 4.

If you're using Selenium Tools for Microsoft Edge to add Microsoft Edge (Chromium) support to your Selenium 3 browser tests, update your tests equally follows:

  1. Remove Selenium Tools for Microsoft Edge from your project. You don't need to use Selenium Tools for Microsoft Edge with Selenium four, because Selenium iv already has built-in support for Microsoft Border (Chromium).

  2. Update your tests to apply the born EdgeDriver and related classes that Selenium four provides instead.

  3. Remove all usages of the EdgeOptions.UseChromium holding. This property no longer exists in Selenium iv, because Selenium iv supports but Microsoft Edge (Chromium).

Automate Microsoft Border with WebDriver

To automate a browser using WebDriver, y'all must commencement kickoff a WebDriver session by using a WebDriver testing framework. A WebDriver session is a single running instance of a browser that'south controlled through WebDriver commands.

First a WebDriver session to launch a new browser instance. The launched browser instance remains open until you shut the WebDriver session.

The following section walks you through using Selenium 4 to start a WebDriver session with Microsoft Border.

Note

This commodity provides instructions for using the Selenium framework, but y'all can utilise any library, framework, and programming language that supports WebDriver. To accomplish the aforementioned tasks using another framework, consult the documentation for your framework of choice.

Automate Microsoft Edge

Selenium uses the EdgeDriver class to manage a Microsoft Edge session. The following lawmaking:

  1. Starts a Microsoft Edge session.
  2. Instructs Microsoft Border to go to Bing.
  3. Searches for "WebDriver".
  4. Sleeps for a few seconds and then you can encounter the results.

To go started automating Microsoft Border with WebDriver, copy and paste the lawmaking snippet for your preferred language:

  • C#
  • Python
  • Java
  • JavaScript 
                  using OpenQA.Selenium; using OpenQA.Selenium.Edge; using System.Threading;  namespace EdgeDriverSample {     grade Program     {         static void Primary(cord[] args)         {             var driver = new EdgeDriver();             endeavour             {                 driver.Url = "https://bing.com";                  var element = driver.FindElement(Past.Id("sb_form_q"));                 element.SendKeys("WebDriver");                 element.Submit();                  Thread.Slumber(5000);             }             finally             {                 driver.Quit();             }         }     } }

Manage and configure the Microsoft Edge Driver service

When you create a new EdgeDriver object to start a Microsoft Edge session, Selenium launches a new Microsoft Edge Driver process that the EdgeDriver object communicates with. The Microsoft Edge Commuter process is closed when you call the EdgeDriver object'due south Quit method. Letting each EdgeDriver object manage its ain driver process can be inefficient if y'all accept many tests, because each examination must wait for a new commuter procedure to launch. Instead, y'all can create a unmarried Microsoft Edge Driver process so reuse it for multiple tests.

Selenium uses the EdgeDriverService class to manage a Microsoft Edge Driver process. Yous tin can create an EdgeDriverService once before running your tests, and then pass this EdgeDriverService object to the EdgeDriver constructor when creating a new EdgeDriver object. When y'all pass an EdgeDriverService to the EdgeDriver constructor, the EdgeDriver object will use this EdgeDriverService, instead of creating a new i.

Yous can also use EdgeDriverService to configure command-line options for the Microsoft Edge Driver procedure, as shown below.

The following snippet creates a new EdgeDriverService and enables verbose log output:

  • C#
  • Python
  • Coffee
  • JavaScript 
                  var service = EdgeDriverService.CreateDefaultService(); service.UseVerboseLogging = true;  var driver = new EdgeDriver(service);

Configure Microsoft Edge Options

Y'all can pass an EdgeOptions object to the EdgeDriver constructor to configure extra options for the Microsoft Edge browser process. The following section shows how to use EdgeOptions for some mutual scenarios. For a full list of options that are supported, see Capabilities and EdgeOptions.

Choose Specific Browser Binaries

Yous can start a WebDriver session with specific Microsoft Edge binaries. For example, you can run tests using the Microsoft Border preview channels, such as Microsoft Border Beta, Dev, or Canary.

  • C#
  • Python
  • Java
  • JavaScript 
                  var options = new EdgeOptions(); options.BinaryLocation = @"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Border Beta\Application\msedge.exe";  var driver = new EdgeDriver(options);

Pass extra control-line arguments

Y'all can utilise EdgeOptions to configure command-line arguments that will be passed to the Microsoft Border browser procedure when a session is created. For example, you tin can configure the browser to run in headless fashion.

  • C#
  • Python
  • Java
  • JavaScript 
                  var options = new EdgeOptions(); options.AddArgument("headless");  var driver = new EdgeDriver(options);

Other WebDriver installation options

Docker

If you lot utilise Docker, run the following command to download a pre-configured image that has Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Edge Commuter pre-installed.

              docker run -d -p 9515:9515 mcr.microsoft.com/msedge/msedgedriver

For more information, see the msedgedriver container on Docker Hub.

Application Guard

Trusted sites that use Microsoft Defender Application Guard can be automated using Microsoft Edge Driver. Microsoft Defender Awarding Guard is also called Application Guard, for brusque.

Untrusted sites that use Application Guard cannot be automated or manipulated using Microsoft Border Commuter. Application Guard launches untrusted sites in a container, and this container doesn't expose the remote debugging port that Microsoft Edge Commuter needs to communicate with the site.

Your enterprise administrator defines what are trusted sites, including cloud resources and internal networks. Sites that aren't in the trusted sites list are considered untrusted. Microsoft Edge Driver can automate both InPrivate windows, and sites in the trusted sites list.

For more data virtually Awarding Guard, see:

  • Microsoft Edge support for Microsoft Defender Application Baby-sit.
  • Microsoft Defender Awarding Guard overview.

Opt out of diagnostic data collection

Past default, Microsoft Edge Commuter sends diagnostic data such as the status of the New Session WebDriver command to Microsoft. To plough off diagnostic data collection for Microsoft Edge Commuter, set the MSEDGEDRIVER_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT environment variable to 1. For more information about the information that Microsoft Edge Driver collects, see the Microsoft Edge Privacy Whitepaper.

Troubleshooting

These are troubleshooting considerations when using WebDriver to automate Microsoft Edge.

Developer Tools Availability policy

If your Information technology admin has set the DeveloperToolsAvailability policy to two, Microsoft Edge Driver is blocked from driving Microsoft Edge, because the driver uses Microsoft Border DevTools. To automate Microsoft Edge, make certain the DeveloperToolsAvailability policy is set up to 0 or 1.

Upgrading from Selenium 3 to Selenium 4

If you utilize Selenium 4, you don't need to utilize Selenium Tools for Microsoft Edge. Selenium Tools for Microsoft Edge are for Selenium iii only. If you try to use Selenium four with Selenium Tools for Microsoft Border and try to create a new EdgeDriver instance, you become the following error: System.MissingMethodException: 'Method not institute: 'OpenQA.Selenium.Remote.DesiredCapabilities OpenQA.Selenium.DriverOptions.GenerateDesiredCapabilities(Boolean)'.

If you're using Selenium 4 and get this mistake, remove Microsoft.Edge.SeleniumTools from your projection, and make sure you're using the official EdgeOptions and EdgeDriver classes from the OpenQA.Selenium.Edge namespace.

See as well

  • Selenium documentation - Data nigh WebDriver in the context of Selenium, and how to write automatic WebDriver tests using Selenium.
  • Contact the Microsoft Edge DevTools team to send feedback about using WebDriver, WebDriver testing frameworks (such as Selenium), and Microsoft Edge.