Tips for saving a web page using Selenium Webdriver in JavaScript

Question

Tips for saving a web page using Selenium Webdriver in JavaScript

Is there a way to programmatically save an entire webpage using Selenium Webdriver JS in Firefox? I have been able to bring up the Save As dialog with the following code:

driver.findElement(webdriver.By.tagName('html')).sendKeys(Key.CONTROL + 's');

However, I am unsure how to specify a file name or trigger the enter key press. Is it possible to interact with this dialog using Selenium Webdriver JS, or is there a way to bypass the dialog altogether and directly save the page to disk?

I would greatly appreciate any help on this matter.

javascript selenium selenium-webdriver webdriver

Answer 1

Answer №1

To work around Selenium's inability to interact with native dialogs, consider following this workaround.

Instead of directly saving the webpage, you can save the content in a file using the view-source method.

For example, if you want to save the page from google.com,

Access the URL using view-source as shown below:

driver.get("view-source:http://www.google.com");

Select all the content on the page by emulating the key presses for Ctrl+a and Ctrl+c:

Actions action = new Actions(driver);
action.KeyDown(Keys.LeftControl)
      .SendKeys("a")
      .SendKeys("c")
      .Build()
      .Perform();

Retrieve the formatted data stored in the clipboard.

string source = Clipboard.GetText(TextDataFormat.UnicodeText);

Save the content to a file.

File.WriteAllText(@"PathToSaveTheSource", source);

Answer 2

To work around Selenium's inability to interact with native dialogs, consider following this workaround.

Instead of directly saving the webpage, you can save the content in a file using the view-source method.

For example, if you want to save the page from google.com,

Access the URL using view-source as shown below:

driver.get("view-source:http://www.google.com");

Select all the content on the page by emulating the key presses for Ctrl+a and Ctrl+c:

Actions action = new Actions(driver);
action.KeyDown(Keys.LeftControl)
      .SendKeys("a")
      .SendKeys("c")
      .Build()
      .Perform();

Retrieve the formatted data stored in the clipboard.

string source = Clipboard.GetText(TextDataFormat.UnicodeText);

Save the content to a file.

File.WriteAllText(@"PathToSaveTheSource", source);

Answer 3

Answer №2

Here is a Java language demonstration:

/* 1. Retrieve the current web page source, which includes the complete html */
String pageHtmlSource = driver.getPageSource();
// The retrieved source will look something like this:
// <html>
//   <head>
//   ...
//   </head>
//   <body>
//   ...
//   </body>
// </html>


/* 2. Save the String into a file */

It's important to note that there are differences between using driver.getPageSource() and pressing Ctrl+s. driver.getPageSource() only captures the html source, while Ctrl+s can also save javascript and CSS files.

Answer 4

Here is a Java language demonstration:

/* 1. Retrieve the current web page source, which includes the complete html */
String pageHtmlSource = driver.getPageSource();
// The retrieved source will look something like this:
// <html>
//   <head>
//   ...
//   </head>
//   <body>
//   ...
//   </body>
// </html>


/* 2. Save the String into a file */

It's important to note that there are differences between using driver.getPageSource() and pressing Ctrl+s. driver.getPageSource() only captures the html source, while Ctrl+s can also save javascript and CSS files.

Answer 5

Answer №3

Solution Variation:

Interacting with the "Save As" dialog using Selenium is not feasible without an external program. One approach is utilizing require('child_process').exec() to execute a .bat file triggering a .vbs script to send keys.

To avoid the "Save As" dialog, assign a default download directory to chromedriver: #setDownloadPath.

An equivalent workaround for Firefox has not been identified yet.

Regrettably, the method of simulating "Ctrl" + S with the following code did not work in my case:

driver.findElement(webdriver.By.tagName('html')).sendKeys(Key.CONTROL + 's');

Answer 6

Solution Variation:

Interacting with the "Save As" dialog using Selenium is not feasible without an external program. One approach is utilizing require('child_process').exec() to execute a .bat file triggering a .vbs script to send keys.

To avoid the "Save As" dialog, assign a default download directory to chromedriver: #setDownloadPath.

An equivalent workaround for Firefox has not been identified yet.

Regrettably, the method of simulating "Ctrl" + S with the following code did not work in my case:

driver.findElement(webdriver.By.tagName('html')).sendKeys(Key.CONTROL + 's');

Tips for saving a web page using Selenium Webdriver in JavaScript

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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