Tutorials123: Web Automation Examples

To automate https://www.google.com using Playwright with Java, you can perform the following basic steps:

1. Set up Playwright Environment

First, you would need to install Playwright and configure it for your preferred programming language (Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, etc.).
Playwright provides browsers like Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, which can be used to open and interact with Google.

2. Launch the Browser

Playwright allows launching a browser instance in either headless mode (without GUI) or headed mode (with GUI).
For automation, you typically start a new browser session to ensure a clean state.

3. Create a Browser Context

A BrowserContext is like a separate user profile, with its own cookies, cache, and session data.
Using contexts helps in isolating tests so that actions on one context don’t affect another.
For example, if you open Google in one context, it won’t share login data with another context unless you configure it.

4. Navigate to Google.com

You instruct Playwright to open the URL https://www.google.com
Playwright waits until the page loads and becomes interactive.

5. Locate the Search Box

Playwright uses selectors (like CSS selectors, XPath, text selectors) to find elements on a page.
The Google search box is a standard input field, so automation involves locating it.

6. Type a Search Query

After finding the search box, Playwright can simulate user actions: Typing text into the box (e.g., “Playwright automation”), Adding key presses like Enter to submit the search.

7. Interact with Search Results

Once Google displays results, Playwright can: Locate all result links, Click on the first result or verify that certain text is present, Extract text from search results for validation.

8. Handle Dynamic Behavior

Google search results often load dynamically, so Playwright’s auto-waiting ensures it waits for elements to be ready before interacting.
For example, it won’t try to click a result before the page is fully interactive.

9. Perform Additional Actions

You can automate actions beyond just searching: Navigate to the Images or News tab, open links in new tabs, validate page titles or URLs to confirm successful navigation.

10. Close Browser

At the end of the automation, Playwright closes the browser or context to free resources.

Website to be automated: https://www.google.com

Maven Dependencies

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.microsoft.playwright</groupId>
        <artifactId>playwright</artifactId>
        <version>1.44.0</version> <!-- Use latest if available -->
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Java Code to Automate Google Search

import com.microsoft.playwright.*;

public class GoogleAutomation {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Step 1: Launch Playwright and Browser
        try (Playwright playwright = Playwright.create()) {
            Browser browser = playwright.chromium().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));

            // Step 2: Create a new browser context and page
            BrowserContext context = browser.newContext();
            Page page = context.newPage();

            // Step 3: Navigate to Google
            page.navigate("https://www.google.com");

            // Step 4: Accept cookies if visible (optional step depending on location)
            Locator acceptButton = page.locator("button:has-text('I agree'), button:has-text('Accept all')");
            if (acceptButton.isVisible()) {
                acceptButton.click();
            }

            // Step 5: Type a query into the search box
            page.locator("[name='q']").fill("Playwright Java");

            // Step 6: Press Enter to search
            page.keyboard().press("Enter");

            // Step 7: Wait for results to load and print titles
            page.waitForSelector("h3");  // wait for results

            System.out.println("Top Search Results:");
            for (Locator result : page.locator("h3").all()) {
                System.out.println(result.textContent());
            }

            // Step 8: Close browser
            browser.close();
        }
    }
}

Code Explanation:

Step	Description
Playwright.create()	Initializes Playwright engine.
browser.newContext()	Creates a new browser context (like an incognito window).
page.navigate()	Navigates to the URL.
page.locator("[name='q']")	Finds the search box on Google using the `name` attribute.
keyboard().press("Enter")	Simulates pressing Enter to submit the form.
locator("h3")	Search results on Google usually appear under `<h3>` tags.

Automate Google.com by Playwright