Click and Type

Learn the fundamental Selenium interactions: clicking elements and typing text into input fields.

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable Verified against Selenium 4.48.0

The most common interactions in web automation are clicking elements and typing text. This guide covers the basics and common pitfalls.

Clicking Elements

Basic Click

Simple Click

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

// Find and click a button
WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.id("submit"));
button.click();

// Or chain it
driver.findElement(By.id("submit")).click();

# Find and click a button
button = driver.find_element(By.ID, "submit")
button.click()

# Or chain it
driver.find_element(By.ID, "submit").click()

// Find and click a button
const button = await driver.findElement(By.id('submit'));
await button.click();

// Or chain it
await driver.findElement(By.id('submit')).click();

// Find and click a button
IWebElement button = driver.FindElement(By.Id("submit"));
button.Click();

// Or chain it
driver.FindElement(By.Id("submit")).Click();

Wait Before Clicking

Always wait for elements to be clickable:

Wait and Click

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));

WebElement button = wait.until(
  ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.id("submit"))
);
button.click();

wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)

button = wait.until(
  EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "submit"))
)
button.click()

const button = await driver.wait(
  until.elementLocated(By.id('submit')),
  10000
);
await driver.wait(until.elementIsEnabled(button), 10000);
await button.click();

WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));

IWebElement button = wait.Until(
  ExpectedConditions.ElementToBeClickable(By.Id("submit"))
);
button.Click();

JavaScript Click (Fallback)

When regular click fails (element obscured, etc.):

JavaScript Click

Selenium 3 & 4 Medium

WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.id("submit"));
JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver;
js.executeScript("arguments[0].click();", button);

button = driver.find_element(By.ID, "submit")
driver.execute_script("arguments[0].click();", button)

const button = await driver.findElement(By.id('submit'));
await driver.executeScript('arguments[0].click();', button);

IWebElement button = driver.FindElement(By.Id("submit"));
IJavaScriptExecutor js = (IJavaScriptExecutor)driver;
js.ExecuteScript("arguments[0].click();", button);

Warning: JavaScript click bypasses visibility checks. Use only when the regular click fails and you’ve verified the element should be clickable.

Typing Text

Basic Input

Type Text

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

WebElement input = driver.findElement(By.id("username"));
input.sendKeys("myusername");

input_field = driver.find_element(By.ID, "username")
input_field.send_keys("myusername")

const input = await driver.findElement(By.id('username'));
await input.sendKeys('myusername');

IWebElement input = driver.FindElement(By.Id("username"));
input.SendKeys("myusername");

Clear and Type

Always clear existing text before typing:

Clear Then Type

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

WebElement input = driver.findElement(By.id("search"));
input.clear();
input.sendKeys("new search term");

input_field = driver.find_element(By.ID, "search")
input_field.clear()
input_field.send_keys("new search term")

const input = await driver.findElement(By.id('search'));
await input.clear();
await input.sendKeys('new search term');

IWebElement input = driver.FindElement(By.Id("search"));
input.Clear();
input.SendKeys("new search term");

Special Keys

Using Special Keys

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;

WebElement input = driver.findElement(By.id("search"));

// Press Enter
input.sendKeys(Keys.ENTER);

// Press Tab
input.sendKeys(Keys.TAB);

// Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+A)
input.sendKeys(Keys.chord(Keys.CONTROL, "a"));

// Clear using keyboard
input.sendKeys(Keys.chord(Keys.CONTROL, "a"), Keys.DELETE);

from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys

input_field = driver.find_element(By.ID, "search")

# Press Enter
input_field.send_keys(Keys.ENTER)

# Press Tab
input_field.send_keys(Keys.TAB)

# Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+A)
input_field.send_keys(Keys.CONTROL, "a")

# Clear using keyboard
input_field.send_keys(Keys.CONTROL, "a", Keys.DELETE)

const { Key } = require('selenium-webdriver');

const input = await driver.findElement(By.id('search'));

// Press Enter
await input.sendKeys(Key.ENTER);

// Press Tab
await input.sendKeys(Key.TAB);

// Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+A)
await input.sendKeys(Key.chord(Key.CONTROL, 'a'));

// Clear using keyboard
await input.sendKeys(Key.chord(Key.CONTROL, 'a'), Key.DELETE);

using OpenQA.Selenium;

IWebElement input = driver.FindElement(By.Id("search"));

// Press Enter
input.SendKeys(Keys.Enter);

// Press Tab
input.SendKeys(Keys.Tab);

// Keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+A)
input.SendKeys(Keys.Control + "a");

// Clear using keyboard
input.SendKeys(Keys.Control + "a" + Keys.Delete);

Common Special Keys

Key	Java/C#	Python	JavaScript
Enter	`Keys.ENTER`	`Keys.ENTER`	`Key.ENTER`
Tab	`Keys.TAB`	`Keys.TAB`	`Key.TAB`
Escape	`Keys.ESCAPE`	`Keys.ESCAPE`	`Key.ESCAPE`
Backspace	`Keys.BACK_SPACE`	`Keys.BACKSPACE`	`Key.BACK_SPACE`
Delete	`Keys.DELETE`	`Keys.DELETE`	`Key.DELETE`
Arrow Up	`Keys.ARROW_UP`	`Keys.ARROW_UP`	`Key.ARROW_UP`
Control	`Keys.CONTROL`	`Keys.CONTROL`	`Key.CONTROL`
Shift	`Keys.SHIFT`	`Keys.SHIFT`	`Key.SHIFT`
Alt	`Keys.ALT`	`Keys.ALT`	`Key.ALT`

Complete Login Form

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

public void login(String username, String password) {
  WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));

  // Wait for and fill username
  WebElement usernameField = wait.until(
      ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("username"))
  );
  usernameField.clear();
  usernameField.sendKeys(username);

  // Fill password
  WebElement passwordField = driver.findElement(By.id("password"));
  passwordField.clear();
  passwordField.sendKeys(password);

  // Click login button
  WebElement loginButton = wait.until(
      ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.id("login"))
  );
  loginButton.click();

  // Wait for login to complete
  wait.until(ExpectedConditions.urlContains("/dashboard"));
}

def login(driver, username, password):
  wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)

  # Wait for and fill username
  username_field = wait.until(
      EC.visibility_of_element_located((By.ID, "username"))
  )
  username_field.clear()
  username_field.send_keys(username)

  # Fill password
  password_field = driver.find_element(By.ID, "password")
  password_field.clear()
  password_field.send_keys(password)

  # Click login button
  login_button = wait.until(
      EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "login"))
  )
  login_button.click()

  # Wait for login to complete
  wait.until(EC.url_contains("/dashboard"))

async function login(driver, username, password) {
  // Wait for and fill username
  const usernameField = await driver.wait(
      until.elementLocated(By.id('username')),
      10000
  );
  await usernameField.clear();
  await usernameField.sendKeys(username);

  // Fill password
  const passwordField = await driver.findElement(By.id('password'));
  await passwordField.clear();
  await passwordField.sendKeys(password);

  // Click login button
  const loginButton = await driver.wait(
      until.elementLocated(By.id('login')),
      10000
  );
  await driver.wait(until.elementIsEnabled(loginButton), 10000);
  await loginButton.click();

  // Wait for login to complete
  await driver.wait(until.urlContains('/dashboard'), 10000);
}

public void Login(string username, string password)
{
  WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));

  // Wait for and fill username
  IWebElement usernameField = wait.Until(
      ExpectedConditions.ElementIsVisible(By.Id("username"))
  );
  usernameField.Clear();
  usernameField.SendKeys(username);

  // Fill password
  IWebElement passwordField = driver.FindElement(By.Id("password"));
  passwordField.Clear();
  passwordField.SendKeys(password);

  // Click login button
  IWebElement loginButton = wait.Until(
      ExpectedConditions.ElementToBeClickable(By.Id("login"))
  );
  loginButton.Click();

  // Wait for login to complete
  wait.Until(ExpectedConditions.UrlContains("/dashboard"));
}

Common Issues

Element Not Interactable

Cause: Element is hidden, disabled, or covered by another element.

Solution:

Wait for element to be clickable
Scroll element into view
Wait for overlays to disappear
Use JavaScript click as last resort

Stale Element Reference

Cause: DOM changed after finding the element.

Solution:

Re-locate the element before interacting
Use explicit waits with fresh locators
Avoid storing element references for long periods

Best Practices

Always wait before interacting: Use elementToBeClickable or visibilityOf
Clear inputs before typing: Prevents appending to existing text
Verify state changes: Wait for URL change, element appearance, etc.
Handle different input types: Some inputs need special handling (file uploads, rich text editors)

Next Steps

Forms and Inputs - Complete form handling
Dropdowns and Selects - Select elements and checkboxes
Keyboard Actions - Advanced keyboard interactions
Explicit Waits - Wait for elements before interacting

Copy-paste recipes for this topic

Clear and Type Into a React or Angular Input Reliably
Replace the value of a framework-controlled input when clear() does not stick, using select-all plus type and the native setter fallback.
Click With a JavaScript Fallback
Try a real click first, then fall back to a JavaScript click only for the specific interception and visibility errors, with a log line so fallbacks are visible.

Clicking Elements

Basic Click

Wait Before Clicking

JavaScript Click (Fallback)

Typing Text

Basic Input

Clear and Type

Special Keys

Common Special Keys

Login Form Example

Common Issues

Element Not Interactable

Stale Element Reference

Best Practices

Next Steps

Copy-paste recipes for this topic

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