Mouse Actions

Master advanced mouse interactions including hover, right-click, double-click, and complex mouse movements.

Selenium 3 & 4 Medium

Beyond simple clicks, web applications often require hover menus, context menus, and other mouse-based interactions. The Actions API provides complete control over mouse behavior.

Basic Mouse Actions

Common Mouse Actions

Selenium 3 & 4 Stable

import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;

Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("target"));

// Simple click
actions.click(element).perform();

// Double click
actions.doubleClick(element).perform();

// Right-click (context menu)
actions.contextClick(element).perform();

// Click and hold
actions.clickAndHold(element).perform();

// Release (after clickAndHold)
actions.release().perform();

// Move to element (hover)
actions.moveToElement(element).perform();

from selenium.webdriver.common.action_chains import ActionChains

actions = ActionChains(driver)
element = driver.find_element(By.ID, "target")

# Simple click
actions.click(element).perform()

# Double click
actions.double_click(element).perform()

# Right-click (context menu)
actions.context_click(element).perform()

# Click and hold
actions.click_and_hold(element).perform()

# Release (after click_and_hold)
actions.release().perform()

# Move to element (hover)
actions.move_to_element(element).perform()

const actions = driver.actions({ async: true });
const element = await driver.findElement(By.id('target'));

// Simple click
await actions.click(element).perform();

// Double click
await actions.doubleClick(element).perform();

// Right-click (context menu)
await actions.contextClick(element).perform();

// Click and hold
await actions.press().perform();

// Release
await actions.release().perform();

// Move to element (hover)
await actions.move({ origin: element }).perform();

using OpenQA.Selenium.Interactions;

Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
IWebElement element = driver.FindElement(By.Id("target"));

// Simple click
actions.Click(element).Perform();

// Double click
actions.DoubleClick(element).Perform();

// Right-click (context menu)
actions.ContextClick(element).Perform();

// Click and hold
actions.ClickAndHold(element).Perform();

// Release (after ClickAndHold)
actions.Release().Perform();

// Move to element (hover)
actions.MoveToElement(element).Perform();

Hover Menus

Many sites use hover-activated dropdown menus:

Interacting with Hover Menus

Selenium 3 & 4 Medium

// Hover over main menu item
WebElement menuItem = driver.findElement(By.id("products-menu"));
Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.moveToElement(menuItem).perform();

// Wait for submenu to appear
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
WebElement submenu = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(
  By.className("dropdown-menu")
));

// Click submenu item
WebElement submenuItem = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Laptops"));
actions.moveToElement(submenuItem).click().perform();

// Multi-level hover menu
WebElement level1 = driver.findElement(By.id("electronics"));
WebElement level2 = driver.findElement(By.id("computers"));
WebElement level3 = driver.findElement(By.id("laptops"));

actions.moveToElement(level1)
     .pause(Duration.ofMillis(500))  // Wait for animation
     .moveToElement(level2)
     .pause(Duration.ofMillis(500))
     .moveToElement(level3)
     .click()
     .perform();

import time

# Hover over main menu item
menu_item = driver.find_element(By.ID, "products-menu")
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_to_element(menu_item).perform()

# Wait for submenu to appear
wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
submenu = wait.until(EC.visibility_of_element_located(
  (By.CLASS_NAME, "dropdown-menu")
))

# Click submenu item
submenu_item = driver.find_element(By.LINK_TEXT, "Laptops")
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_to_element(submenu_item).click().perform()

# Multi-level hover menu
level1 = driver.find_element(By.ID, "electronics")
level2 = driver.find_element(By.ID, "computers")
level3 = driver.find_element(By.ID, "laptops")

actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_to_element(level1)      .pause(0.5)      .move_to_element(level2)      .pause(0.5)      .move_to_element(level3)      .click()      .perform()

// Hover over main menu item
const menuItem = await driver.findElement(By.id('products-menu'));
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ origin: menuItem })
  .perform();

// Wait for submenu to appear
const submenu = await driver.wait(
  until.elementLocated(By.className('dropdown-menu')),
  10000
);

// Click submenu item
const submenuItem = await driver.findElement(By.linkText('Laptops'));
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ origin: submenuItem })
  .click()
  .perform();

// Multi-level hover menu
const level1 = await driver.findElement(By.id('electronics'));
const level2 = await driver.findElement(By.id('computers'));
const level3 = await driver.findElement(By.id('laptops'));

await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ origin: level1 })
  .pause(500)
  .move({ origin: level2 })
  .pause(500)
  .move({ origin: level3 })
  .click()
  .perform();

// Hover over main menu item
IWebElement menuItem = driver.FindElement(By.Id("products-menu"));
Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.MoveToElement(menuItem).Perform();

// Wait for submenu to appear
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
IWebElement submenu = wait.Until(ExpectedConditions.ElementIsVisible(
  By.ClassName("dropdown-menu")
));

// Click submenu item
IWebElement submenuItem = driver.FindElement(By.LinkText("Laptops"));
new Actions(driver).MoveToElement(submenuItem).Click().Perform();

// Multi-level hover menu
IWebElement level1 = driver.FindElement(By.Id("electronics"));
IWebElement level2 = driver.FindElement(By.Id("computers"));
IWebElement level3 = driver.FindElement(By.Id("laptops"));

new Actions(driver)
  .MoveToElement(level1)
  .Pause(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500))
  .MoveToElement(level2)
  .Pause(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500))
  .MoveToElement(level3)
  .Click()
  .Perform();

Right-Click Context Menu

Selenium 3 & 4 Medium

// Right-click to open context menu
WebElement target = driver.findElement(By.id("context-area"));
Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.contextClick(target).perform();

// Wait for context menu
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(5));
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(
  By.className("context-menu")
));

// Click menu option
WebElement copyOption = driver.findElement(
  By.xpath("//div[@class='context-menu']//span[text()='Copy']")
);
copyOption.click();

// Handle browser's native context menu (limited control)
// Usually need to interact with custom context menus instead

# Right-click to open context menu
target = driver.find_element(By.ID, "context-area")
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.context_click(target).perform()

# Wait for context menu
wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 5)
wait.until(EC.visibility_of_element_located(
  (By.CLASS_NAME, "context-menu")
))

# Click menu option
copy_option = driver.find_element(
  By.XPATH, "//div[@class='context-menu']//span[text()='Copy']"
)
copy_option.click()

# Handle browser's native context menu (limited control)
# Usually need to interact with custom context menus instead

// Right-click to open context menu
const target = await driver.findElement(By.id('context-area'));
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .contextClick(target)
  .perform();

// Wait for context menu
await driver.wait(
  until.elementLocated(By.className('context-menu')),
  5000
);

// Click menu option
const copyOption = await driver.findElement(
  By.xpath("//div[@class='context-menu']//span[text()='Copy']")
);
await copyOption.click();

// Right-click to open context menu
IWebElement target = driver.FindElement(By.Id("context-area"));
Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.ContextClick(target).Perform();

// Wait for context menu
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
wait.Until(ExpectedConditions.ElementIsVisible(
  By.ClassName("context-menu")
));

// Click menu option
IWebElement copyOption = driver.FindElement(
  By.XPath("//div[@class='context-menu']//span[text()='Copy']")
);
copyOption.Click();

Moving Mouse to Coordinates

Coordinate-Based Mouse Movement

Selenium 3 & 4 Medium

Actions actions = new Actions(driver);

// Move to element with offset from its center
WebElement canvas = driver.findElement(By.id("drawing-canvas"));
actions.moveToElement(canvas, 50, 30)  // 50px right, 30px down from center
     .click()
     .perform();

// Move by offset from current position
actions.moveByOffset(100, 0)   // Move 100px right
     .click()
     .moveByOffset(0, 50)    // Move 50px down
     .click()
     .perform();

// Draw a line on canvas
actions.moveToElement(canvas, -100, -100)
     .clickAndHold()
     .moveByOffset(200, 200)
     .release()
     .perform();

actions = ActionChains(driver)

# Move to element with offset from its center
canvas = driver.find_element(By.ID, "drawing-canvas")
actions.move_to_element_with_offset(canvas, 50, 30)      .click()      .perform()

# Move by offset from current position
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_by_offset(100, 0)      .click()      .move_by_offset(0, 50)      .click()      .perform()

# Draw a line on canvas
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_to_element_with_offset(canvas, -100, -100)      .click_and_hold()      .move_by_offset(200, 200)      .release()      .perform()

// Move to element with offset
const canvas = await driver.findElement(By.id('drawing-canvas'));
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ origin: canvas, x: 50, y: 30 })
  .click()
  .perform();

// Move by offset from current position
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ x: 100, y: 0 })
  .click()
  .move({ x: 0, y: 50 })
  .click()
  .perform();

// Draw a line on canvas
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ origin: canvas, x: -100, y: -100 })
  .press()
  .move({ x: 200, y: 200 })
  .release()
  .perform();

Actions actions = new Actions(driver);

// Move to element with offset from its center
IWebElement canvas = driver.FindElement(By.Id("drawing-canvas"));
actions.MoveToElement(canvas, 50, 30)  // 50px right, 30px down
     .Click()
     .Perform();

// Move by offset from current position
new Actions(driver)
  .MoveByOffset(100, 0)   // Move 100px right
  .Click()
  .MoveByOffset(0, 50)    // Move 50px down
  .Click()
  .Perform();

// Draw a line on canvas
new Actions(driver)
  .MoveToElement(canvas, -100, -100)
  .ClickAndHold()
  .MoveByOffset(200, 200)
  .Release()
  .Perform();

Scroll Actions

Selenium 4 added scroll support to the Actions API:

Scroll Actions (Selenium 4)

Selenium 4 Stable

import org.openqa.selenium.interactions.WheelInput;

// Scroll to element
WebElement footer = driver.findElement(By.id("footer"));
Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.scrollToElement(footer).perform();

// Scroll by amount
actions.scrollByAmount(0, 500).perform();  // Scroll down 500px
actions.scrollByAmount(0, -300).perform(); // Scroll up 300px

// Scroll from element
actions.scrollFromOrigin(
  WheelInput.ScrollOrigin.fromElement(footer),
  0, 200  // dx, dy
).perform();

// Scroll with viewport origin
actions.scrollFromOrigin(
  WheelInput.ScrollOrigin.fromViewport(),
  0, 1000
).perform();

from selenium.webdriver.common.actions.wheel_input import ScrollOrigin

# Scroll to element
footer = driver.find_element(By.ID, "footer")
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.scroll_to_element(footer).perform()

# Scroll by amount
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.scroll_by_amount(0, 500).perform()   # Scroll down 500px
actions.scroll_by_amount(0, -300).perform()  # Scroll up 300px

# Scroll from element origin
scroll_origin = ScrollOrigin.from_element(footer)
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.scroll_from_origin(scroll_origin, 0, 200).perform()

# Scroll from viewport origin
scroll_origin = ScrollOrigin.from_viewport(100, 100)
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.scroll_from_origin(scroll_origin, 0, 1000).perform()

// Scroll to element
const footer = await driver.findElement(By.id('footer'));
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .scroll(0, 0, 0, 500, footer)
  .perform();

// Note: JavaScript scroll API differs - consider using executeScript
await driver.executeScript(
  "arguments[0].scrollIntoView(true);",
  footer
);

// Scroll by amount using JavaScript
await driver.executeScript("window.scrollBy(0, 500);");

// Scroll to element
IWebElement footer = driver.FindElement(By.Id("footer"));
new Actions(driver).ScrollToElement(footer).Perform();

// Scroll by amount
new Actions(driver).ScrollByAmount(0, 500).Perform();   // Down 500px
new Actions(driver).ScrollByAmount(0, -300).Perform();  // Up 300px

// Scroll from element
new Actions(driver)
  .ScrollFromOrigin(
      new WheelInputDevice.ScrollOrigin(footer, 0, 0),
      0, 200
  )
  .Perform();

Chaining Multiple Actions

Complex Action Chains

Selenium 3 & 4 Medium

WebElement source = driver.findElement(By.id("draggable"));
WebElement target = driver.findElement(By.id("droppable"));

// Complex interaction chain
Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.moveToElement(source)
     .pause(Duration.ofMillis(200))
     .click()
     .pause(Duration.ofMillis(100))
     .clickAndHold()
     .moveToElement(target)
     .pause(Duration.ofMillis(200))
     .release()
     .perform();

// Chain with keyboard modifier
actions.keyDown(Keys.CONTROL)
     .click(driver.findElement(By.id("item1")))
     .click(driver.findElement(By.id("item2")))
     .click(driver.findElement(By.id("item3")))
     .keyUp(Keys.CONTROL)
     .perform();  // Multi-select with Ctrl+Click

source = driver.find_element(By.ID, "draggable")
target = driver.find_element(By.ID, "droppable")

# Complex interaction chain
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.move_to_element(source)      .pause(0.2)      .click()      .pause(0.1)      .click_and_hold()      .move_to_element(target)      .pause(0.2)      .release()      .perform()

# Chain with keyboard modifier
actions = ActionChains(driver)
actions.key_down(Keys.CONTROL)      .click(driver.find_element(By.ID, "item1"))      .click(driver.find_element(By.ID, "item2"))      .click(driver.find_element(By.ID, "item3"))      .key_up(Keys.CONTROL)      .perform()  # Multi-select with Ctrl+Click

const source = await driver.findElement(By.id('draggable'));
const target = await driver.findElement(By.id('droppable'));

// Complex interaction chain
await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .move({ origin: source })
  .pause(200)
  .click()
  .pause(100)
  .press()
  .move({ origin: target })
  .pause(200)
  .release()
  .perform();

// Chain with keyboard modifier
const item1 = await driver.findElement(By.id('item1'));
const item2 = await driver.findElement(By.id('item2'));
const item3 = await driver.findElement(By.id('item3'));

await driver.actions({ async: true })
  .keyDown(Key.CONTROL)
  .click(item1)
  .click(item2)
  .click(item3)
  .keyUp(Key.CONTROL)
  .perform();  // Multi-select with Ctrl+Click

IWebElement source = driver.FindElement(By.Id("draggable"));
IWebElement target = driver.FindElement(By.Id("droppable"));

// Complex interaction chain
new Actions(driver)
  .MoveToElement(source)
  .Pause(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(200))
  .Click()
  .Pause(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100))
  .ClickAndHold()
  .MoveToElement(target)
  .Pause(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(200))
  .Release()
  .Perform();

// Chain with keyboard modifier
new Actions(driver)
  .KeyDown(Keys.Control)
  .Click(driver.FindElement(By.Id("item1")))
  .Click(driver.FindElement(By.Id("item2")))
  .Click(driver.FindElement(By.Id("item3")))
  .KeyUp(Keys.Control)
  .Perform();  // Multi-select with Ctrl+Click

Best Practices

Use explicit waits after hover actions for menus to appear
Add pauses when elements have animations
Reset action chains between different interactions
Test on different browsers - mouse behavior can vary
Prefer element-based moves over coordinate-based when possible

Next Steps

Drag and Drop - Dedicated drag operations
Keyboard Actions - Combine with keyboard
Explicit Waits - Wait for mouse effects

Basic Mouse Actions

Hover Menus

Context Menu (Right-Click)

Moving Mouse to Coordinates

Scroll Actions

Chaining Multiple Actions

Best Practices

Next Steps