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Browser Management in QWeb

While QWeb handles driver downloads and management automatically you often need to customize how the browser launches, handle multiple tabs, or manage cookies.

1. Opening & Configuring Browsers (OpenBrowser)

Basic usage:

OpenBrowser    https://example.com    chrome

Beyond this, OpenBrowser supports powerful configuration options.

1.1 Using Chrome Preferences (prefs=)

Chrome allows fine-grained configuration via preference settings.

Example: Download PDFs instead of opening in browser

OpenBrowser    about:blank    chrome
...    prefs=download.prompt_for_download: False, plugins.always_open_pdf_externally: True

Useful when:

  • Testing file downloads
  • Preventing in-browser PDF viewer from intercepting files

Example: Disable Chrome Autofill Dialogs

OpenBrowser    about:blank    chrome
...    prefs="autofill.profile_enabled":false, "autofill.credit_card_enabled":false

Useful when:

  • Testing checkout flows
  • Avoiding browser popups interfering with automation

1.2 Controlling Window State

Window Size

By default, Chromium-based browsers open maximized.

To disable automatic maximization:

OpenBrowser    about:blank    chrome    maximize=False

This is useful when:

  • Testing responsive layouts
  • Running controlled viewport tests

You can also change the window size during runtime using SetConfig:

SetConfig    WindowSize     1920x1080

Headless mode

To open browser in headless mode, use:

OpenBrowser   about:blank   Chrome   headless=True

# alternative
OpenBrowser   about:blank   Chrome   --headless

1.3 Mobile Emulation

Simulate mobile devices without external tools.

Named device profile

OpenBrowser    http://google.com    chrome    emulation=iPhone SE

Custom resolution

OpenBrowser    http://google.com    chrome    emulation=375x812

Useful for:

  • Responsive UI testing
  • Mobile layout validation

1.4 Running on Selenium Grid (remote_url=)

Execute tests remotely via Selenium Grid.

OpenBrowser    http://google.com    chrome    remote_url=http://127.0.0.1:4444/wd/hub
OpenBrowser    http://google.com    safari    remote_url=http://127.0.0.1:4444/wd/hub

Useful when:

  • Running tests in distributed environments
  • Using Dockerized Selenium Grid
  • Executing cross-browser tests

2. Navigation and URLs

Once the browser is open, you can navigate without having to close and reopen it.

GoTo
Back
Forward
RefreshPage

Example:

GoTo    https://example.com/dashboard
RefreshPage

Checking State You can retrieve or assert the current URL and Title.

# Get values into variables
${title}=     GetTitle
${url}=       GetUrl

# Verify state directly
VerifyTitle   Expected Page Title
VerifyUrl     https://example.com/login

3. Managing Windows and Tabs

Switching Browers & Windows

You can open multiple browser instances and move between them.

OpenBrowser     https://example.com   Chrome
OpenBrowser     https://www.github.com  Firefox
# Firefox is now the "active" browser
VerifyText      GitHub

# Switch by index
SwitchBrowser     1
VerifyText    Example Domain

# Switch to latest opened browser (here GitHub)
SwitchBrowser   NEW
VerifyText      GitHub

When clicking a link opens a new tab, you need to explicitly switch QWeb's focus to it. The easiest and most reliable way is using the NEW argument.

ClickText       Open in new tab
SwitchWindow    NEW
VerifyText      Welcome to the new tab!
You can also switch by index (e.g., SwitchWindow 1 for the original tab) or by the internal window handle (ListWindows).

Listing Information

If your test gets lost in multiple popups, you can log the current state to your report to debug:

# Logs information about all open tabs
ListWindows

# Logs about all opened browser instances
ListBrowsers

4. Cookies

Managing cookies is crucial for testing varying login states or bypassing repetitive setups.

# Read current cookies
${cookies}=         GetCookies

# Clear state (Great for 'Suite Teardown' or 'Appstates')
DeleteAllCookies

5. Closing Browsers

Always clean up at the end of your tests to prevent memory leaks or zombie processes. This is typically done in your Test Teardown or Suite Teardown.

# Closes ONLY the currently active tab/window
CloseWindow

# Closes all other tabs/windows except the first one
CloseOthers

# Closes the active browser application
CloseBrowser

# Closes ALL browsers opened during the test run
CloseAllBrowsers