Selenium Python Tricks

Last Updated : 04 Apr, 2023

Selenium: Selenium Python bindings provide a convenient API to access Selenium Web Driver like Firefox, Chrome, etc.

What is webdriver?
Selenium WebDriver is an automation testing tool. When I say automation, it means it automates test scripts written in Selenium.

Webdriver Install

Chrome:    https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/chromedriver/downloads

Library Imported

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
import time

(i) Selenium library:
– Used for Automation
– Control Webdriver
– Perform actions like – element clicks, refresh page, goto website link, etc
(ii) Time library:
-For using sleep function because selenium works only when all the elements of the page is loaded.

Trick 1: How to increase view count on a website?

#Note: This will not work on all websites, like youtube.
What we would be learning is to refresh the webpage again and again after a particular interval of time.

Python

#!/usr / bin / env python
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
import time
 
# set webdriver path here it may vary
browser = webdriver.Chrome(
    executable_path="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\chromedriver.exe")
 
website_URL = "https://www.google.co.in/"
browser.get(website_URL)
 
# After how many seconds you want to refresh the webpage
# Few website count view if you stay there
# for a particular time
# you have to figure that out
refreshrate = int(15)
 
# This would keep running until you stop the compiler.
while True:
    time.sleep(refreshrate)
    browser.refresh()

Trick2: How to login on a website, here we take example of Zomato

Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
# For using sleep function because selenium
# works only when all the elements of the
# page is loaded.
import time
# webdriver path set
browser = webdriver.Chrome(
    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\chromedriver.exe")
 
# To maximize the browser window
browser.maximize_window()
 
# zomato link set
browser.get('https://www.zomato.com / ncr')
 
time.sleep(3)
# Enter your user name and password here.
username = "test"
password = "test"
 
 
# signin element clicked
browser.find_element(By.XPATH, "//a[@id ='signin-link']").click()
time.sleep(2)
 
# Login clicked
browser.find_element(By.XPATH, "//a[@id ='login-email']").click()
 
# username send
a = browser.find_element(By.XPATH, "//input[@id ='ld-email']")
a.send_keys(username)
 
# password send
b = browser.find_element(By.XPATH, "//input[@id ='ld-password']")
b.send_keys(password)
 
# submit button clicked
browser.find_element(By.XPATH, "//input[@id ='ld-submit-global']").click()
 
print('Login Successful')
browser.close()

Trick 3: Instagram Login automation script.
We know that Instagram is discontinuing its Legacy API from 29 June, 2020.
So it’s probably a better idea to learn automation scripting.

Python3

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
# time.sleep() function is required because
# selenium needs a page to be fully loaded first
# otherwise errors may occur
import time
# Usage time.sleep(x) Where x is time in seconds and
# may vary according to your connection
 
# I have made class so that extra methods can be added later on
# if required
 
 
class instagramBot:
    def __init__(self, username, password):
        # these lines will help if someone faces issues like
        # chrome closes after execution
        self.opts = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
        self.opts.add_experimental_option("detach", True)
        self.driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=self.opts)
 
        # Username and password
        self.username = username
        self.password = password
 
        # Opens Instagram login page
        self.driver.get("https://instagram.com")
        time.sleep(2)  # 1 Second Wait
 
        # Automatically enters your username and
        # password to instagram's username field
        self.driver.find_element(
            By.XPATH, "//input[@name = 'username']").send_keys(self.username)
        self.driver.find_element(
            By.XPATH, "//input[@name = 'password']").send_keys(self.password)
 
        # Clicks on Log In Button
        self.driver.find_element(
            By.XPATH, "//div[contains(text(), 'Log In')]").click()
        time.sleep(2)
 
        # Bonus: Automatically clicks on 'Not Now'
        # when Instagram asks to show notifications
        self.driver.find_element(
            By.XPATH, "//button[contains(text(), 'Not Now')]").click()
 
 
# Testing Your Code
instagramBot('Sample Username', 'Sample Password')