Using Selenider in R to Automate Web Browsers: Workarounds for Opening New Tabs and Windows

Working with Selenium in R: Opening New Tabs and Windows

Selenium is a widely used tool for automating web browsers, including those used by users of the popular programming language R. In this article, we will explore how to use Selenider, a package built on top of Selenium, to open new tabs and windows within an existing session.

Introduction to Selenider

Selenider is a package that provides a simple interface for automating web browsers using Selenium. It allows users to easily create, manage, and control multiple browser sessions, making it an ideal choice for tasks such as automated testing, data scraping, and more.

Installing Selenider

Before we begin, make sure you have the Selenider package installed in your R environment. You can install it using the following command:

install.packages("selenider")

Creating a New Session

When working with Selenium, it’s essential to create a new session before starting your automation process. In Selenider, you can do this using the selenider_session function.

Syntax and Parameters

The basic syntax for creating a new session is as follows:

library(selenider)
session <- selenider_session(
  browser = "chrome", # or other supported browsers
  options = chromote_options(headless = FALSE), # optional
  timeout = 10 # optional
)

In the above example, we create a new Chrome session using the default settings. The options parameter allows you to customize your browser settings, such as disabling headless mode, while the timeout parameter sets the maximum time the browser will wait for a resource to become available.

Supported Browsers

Selenider currently supports the following browsers:

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Edge

You can specify the browser you want to use by passing its name as an argument to the browser parameter.

Opening New Tabs and Windows

While Selenider does not support opening new tabs or windows within an existing session, there are workarounds. One common approach is to open a new session for each URL you want to visit.

Example: Opening Two New Sessions

Here’s an example demonstrating how to open two new Chrome sessions using the selenider_session function:

library(selenider)

# Create the first session
s1 <- selenider_session(
  "chrome",
  options = chromote_options(headless = FALSE),
  timeout = 10
)

# Open a URL in the first session
open_url("https://www.r-project.org/", session = s1)

# Create the second session
s2 <- selenider_session(
  "chrome",
  options = chromote_options(headless = FALSE),
  timeout = 10
)

# Open a different URL in the second session
open_url("https://www.google.com/", session = s2)

In this example, we create two new Chrome sessions using the selenider_session function. We then open two different URLs within these sessions.

Faking a Click to Open a New Tab

Another approach is to use Selenium’s built-in functionality to click on an element that triggers the opening of a new tab. This method requires careful examination of the webpage’s structure and element naming conventions.

Example: Faking a Click to Open a New Tab

Here’s an example demonstrating how to fake a click on an element to open a new tab:

library(selenider)

# Create a session
session <- selenider_session(
  "selenium",
  browser = "chrome"
)

# Open a URL in the session
open_url("https://www.r-project.org/")

# Find the element that triggers the opening of a new tab
elem_click() %&gt;=
  elem_css("a[target='_blank']") %>% # Note: |>
    click() %> 
      assert_true("A new tab has been opened")

In this example, we use Selenium’s find_element and click functions to fake a click on an element that triggers the opening of a new tab. The assert_true statement verifies that a new tab has indeed been opened.

Note:

While this approach works, it may not be as reliable or efficient as creating separate sessions for each URL. Additionally, it requires careful examination of the webpage’s structure and element naming conventions, which can be challenging and time-consuming.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while Selenider does not support opening new tabs or windows within an existing session, there are workarounds that allow you to achieve similar results using separate sessions or by faking clicks on specific elements. By understanding how to create, manage, and control multiple browser sessions, you can unlock the full potential of Selenium in your R projects.