Keyboard - Special Keys

How it works

The Keys enum holds the keys that have no character: Keys.ENTER, Keys.TAB, Keys.BACK_SPACE, arrows, function keys and modifiers such as Keys.CONTROL. You pass them to sendKeys() like text. There is no Keys.BACKSPACE; the constant is BACK_SPACE, and the other spelling does not compile.

Keys.chord(Keys.CONTROL, "a") builds one string that presses Control, types a, and ends with Keys.NULL, which releases the modifier. That matters when the chord is followed by more text in the same sendKeys() call; without it the rest would be typed with Control held. Sending the chord on its own selects all the text in the field.

Shortcuts depend on the operating system. The site's runner is Linux, where select-all is Control+A; Keys.COMMAND there does nothing. On a Mac you would use Keys.COMMAND, so cross-platform suites pick the modifier at run time.

About the assignment

The starter gives you the first-name field. You type some text, select it all with a key chord, delete it with the backspace key, type the replacement word from the task and print the field's value.

What you will do

1. 1Type the first text from the task into the field.
2. 2Send a chord of Control and a to select everything.
3. 3Send Keys.BACK_SPACE to delete the selection.
4. 4Type the replacement word, then read getAttribute("value") and print it after the label Final value:.

Common mistakes

• Writing Keys.BACKSPACE

  The constant does not exist, so the code fails to compile with "cannot find symbol". Use Keys.BACK_SPACE.

• Using the Mac modifier on the runner

  Keys.COMMAND does not select all on Linux, so the old text stays and the new word is added to it.

• Skipping the select step

  Backspace alone removes one character, and the rest of the old text stays in the field.

In a real test suite

Related lessons

• Clear and Replace Textclear(), the usual way to empty a field.
• Keyboard - Actions Class Key EventsHold a modifier across several keys with Actions.
• Type Text with sendKeys()sendKeys() and how typing appends to a field.

To try one of these calls on any page without a task, open the Online Selenium Java Compiler.

Starter code

The editor above opens with this code. Fill in the TODO lines, then run and submit it.

import org.openqa.selenium.*;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        driver.get("https://testkru.com/Elements/TextFields");
        
        WebElement field = driver.findElement(By.id("firstName"));
        
        // TODO: Type "Hello World"
        // TODO: Select all with Ctrl+A and delete with BACKSPACE
        // TODO: Type "Selenium"
        // TODO: Print the final value
        
        driver.quit();
    }
}