5 Best Ways to Invoke the IE Browser in Selenium with Python

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💡 Problem Formulation: When automating web applications for testing in Internet Explorer (IE) using Selenium, you need a reliable method to programmatically start and interact with IE browser instances. Programmers often encounter compatibility issues and look for efficient approaches to launch IE within their Selenium scripts. This article aims to solve this challenge, providing input as Selenium WebDriver code in Python, and the desired output of an operational IE browser ready to execute automated tests.

Method 1: Using IEDriverServer Executable

This method entails downloading the IEDriverServer executable, which acts as a bridge between Selenium WebDriver and the IE browser. It’s essential for communication with the IE browser and enables Selenium to perform actions within the IE environment. This method is officially supported by the Selenium project and is the standard approach for IE automation.

Here’s an example:

from selenium import webdriver

# Ensure you have downloaded the IEDriverServer executable and placed it in your PATH.
# Replace 'your_path_to_iedriver' with the path to your IEDriverServer executable.
driver = webdriver.Ie(executable_path='your_path_to_iedriver')

# Your code here to interact with IE
driver.get("http://www.example.com")

driver.quit()

The output will be a new IE browser window navigating to “http://www.example.com”.

This snippet starts IEDriverServer and then initializes the Selenium IE WebDriver with the path of the IEDriverServer. It then opens an IE browser window and navigates to “http://www.example.com”. Finally, it properly closes the IE browser instance with driver.quit().

Method 2: Adjusting Internet Explorer Options

Selenium provides an InternetExplorerOptions class to customize the browser preferences before launching IE. This method is helpful when you need to set browser-specific settings like ignoring security zones or enabling native events which can be crucial for accurate simulations of user actions.

Here’s an example:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.ie.options import Options

ie_options = Options()
ie_options.ignore_protected_mode_settings = True
ie_options.ignore_zoom_level = True

driver = webdriver.Ie(options=ie_options)

driver.get("http://www.example.com")

driver.quit()

The output is the IE browser initiating with specified options, loading the website “http://www.example.com”.

In this code, we first create an instance of the InternetExplorerOptions class and set it to ignore protected mode and zoom-level settings. We then pass these options when constructing the IE WebDriver. This results in an IE browser instance starting with these settings applied.

Method 3: Using Desired Capabilities

With Selenium, Desired Capabilities are used extensively to describe the type of browser you want to run your tests on, including its behavior and platform. For IE, this can range from setting the IE version, to enabling compatibility mode, and to using a proxy server.

Here’s an example:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.desired_capabilities import DesiredCapabilities

caps = DesiredCapabilities.INTERNETEXPLORER.copy()
caps['ignoreProtectedModeSettings'] = True
caps['ie.ensureCleanSession'] = True

driver = webdriver.Ie(desired_capabilities=caps)

driver.get("http://www.example.com")

driver.quit()

This results in the IE browser starting with a clean session and ignoring protected mode settings, visiting “http://www.example.com”.

Here, we copy the default Desired Capabilities for Internet Explorer and modify them to include our required settings. When we initialize the WebDriver with these capabilities, they instruct IE to start a clean session and to ignore protected mode settings.

Method 4: Running IE in Headless Mode

Running browsers in headless mode is a common practice for test automation, performance optimization, and for running tests on systems without a GUI. Selenium WebDriver can be used to run IE in headless mode via the use of third-party tools like IE Driver Server.

Here’s an example:

# Currently, native support for headless IE is not available in Selenium.
# However, you can use third-party service providers or virtualization to achieve IE headless automation.

This method does not produce a direct output as headless IE is not natively supported by Selenium.

This note explains that Selenium doesn’t directly support headless browsing for IE. However, test automation can still be achieved in a ‘virtual’ headless mode by running the automation on a server or using a service that virtualizes IE sessions.

Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Quick Start with Default Settings

For a quick invocation of IE without custom options or capabilities, a one-liner can be used, leveraging Selenium’s default setup. This is useful when you have a standard development setup and you want to get things up and running fast.

Here’s an example:

webdriver.Ie().get("http://www.example.com")

This line of code opens an IE browser and navigates to “http://www.example.com”.

This is the most straightforward approach to launching IE with Selenium by initiating the IE WebDriver and immediately navigating to a website, assuming that IEDriverServer is already in your PATH and IE settings are correctly adjusted.

Summary/Discussion

  • Method 1: Using IEDriverServer Executable. Strengths: Officially supported method and widely used. Weaknesses: Requires a specific setup of IEDriverServer executable in the system PATH.
  • Method 2: Adjusting Internet Explorer Options. Strengths: Allows for customization of browser settings. Weaknesses: Requires an understanding of IE settings and their implications.
  • Method 3: Using Desired Capabilities. Strengths: Offers extensive control over browser configuration. Weaknesses: More complex and verbose than other methods.
  • Method 4: Running IE in Headless Mode. Strengths: Ideal for systems without GUI or for performance optimization. Weaknesses: Not supported natively, requires additional tools or services.
  • Bonus Method 5: Quick Start with Default Settings. Strengths: Fastest way to start IE with Selenium. Weaknesses: Assumes a configured environment and may not be suitable for customized setups.