{"id":2674,"date":"2020-04-21T23:38:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T18:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.h2kinfosys.com\/blog\/?p=2674"},"modified":"2025-04-02T08:51:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T12:51:35","slug":"running-tests-on-selenium-using-internet-explorer-browser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.h2kinfosys.com\/blog\/running-tests-on-selenium-using-internet-explorer-browser\/","title":{"rendered":"Running Tests on Selenium using Internet Explorer browser"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running Tests on Selenium in Internet Explorer is quite easy. We have to communicate with Internet Explorer to launch Internet Explorer through Internet Explorer driver.<\/span><\/p>\n

Internet Explorer Driver Server<\/b><\/h2>\n

Internet Explorer Driver Server is a link between your selenium scripts and the Internet Explorer browser. You won\u2019t be able to communicate with the Internet Explorer browser, without running the server on your system.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Internet Explorer driver server is a tiny application created by the Selenium WebDriver team. As Internet Explorer does not have an API or native implementation in Java, they had no choice but to create a server. IE Driver Server implements the WebDriver protocol, which is a W3 standard that gives basic guidance on how a browser can expose itself for programmatic access.<\/p>\n

This WebDriver protocol also mandates an interface that is language-independent, so that the browser can be controlled externally via any programming language of your choice. To learn more about implementing this in automation, consider enrolling in a Selenium certification<\/a> course for deeper insights and hands-on practice.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, Selenium WebDriver implementation says that by sending HTTP command requests you can control a web browser so that each command will perform something to direct the browser. This is exactly will do the same that Internet Explorer driver server does, which starts a server and then waits for the commands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Download and Install Internet Explorer Driver<\/b><\/h2>\n

Internet Explorer<\/a> driver server is an executable file that needs to have in any one of your system paths before running your selenium tests. To download the latest version of Internet Explorer Driver we need to follow the below steps:<\/span><\/p>\n

Step1:<\/b> Go to the official website of Internet Explorer driver (<\/span>https:\/\/www.selenium.dev\/downloads\/<\/span>) and download the appropriate version for Internet Explorer driver based on your operating system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Based on your Windows Operating System, you need to download the corresponding IE Driver of Windows version. Here we are working on the Windows Operating system; you need to download the Windows version IE driver. If your operating system is Mac or Linux then you need to download the corresponding Internet Explorer driver which is compatible with your test environment.
Step2:<\/strong> Download 32 bit Windows IE or 64 bit Windows IE based on your Operating System to download IE driver for Windows Operating System.<\/p>\n

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Step3:<\/b> Extract the ZIP file, once the ZIP file download is complete.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Step4: <\/b> To instantiate the driver, you need to note down the location where you extracted the IE Driver.<\/span><\/p>\n

Points to remember when working with IE browser<\/b><\/h2>\n

Below are the two points to remember when working with IE browser<\/b><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. The Zoom level should be set to 100%<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The Protected mode should be turned off and make a level to least positions ie to the bottom down position.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Using Selenium WebDriver, we may fail to launch an IE driver when we run your Selenium WebDriver Scripts in the Internet Explorer browser. When you won\u2019t set above two points you may face below two errors when you run your Selenium WebDriver Scripts in the IE browser.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Failed to Launch the Internet Explorer Driver using Selenium WebDriver<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Running Tests on Selenium can sometimes present challenges, especially when users attempt to launch an IE driver using Selenium WebDriver. These issues are common, but with the right configurations, they can be resolved. To overcome these frequent obstacles, here are solutions to the issues that many users encounter, helping ensure a smooth and successful test execution on Internet Explorer.<\/p>\n

    Error 1:<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Exception in thread\u00a0<\/span>\u201cmain\u201d org.openqa.selenium.remote.SessionNotFoundException: Unexpected error launching in the Internet Explorer.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0In the Internet Explorer browser for all zones Protected Mode settings are not the same. The same value must be set for all the zones in the Protected Mode.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Solution:<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

    To resolve the above error, we need to enable the protected mode and the mode should be turned off and make a level to least positions i.e to bottom down position for all the zones.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Follow the below steps to enable protected mode for all the zones.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Step 1: <\/b>Open the <\/span>Internet Explorer<\/b><\/p>\n

    Step 2: <\/b>Go to <\/span>Tools<\/b> option and Click on <\/span>Internet Options<\/b><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Step 3: <\/b>Select <\/span>Security<\/b> Tab<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Step 4: <\/b>Choose\u00a0<\/span>Internet option <\/b>in\u00a0<\/span>Select a zone to view or change security settings<\/b>\u00a0and select the checkbox of\u00a0<\/span>Enable protected mode<\/b>\u00a0(requires restarting Internet Explorer).<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Step 5:<\/b>\u00a0Similarly for other three options\u00a0<\/span>Local Intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites, <\/b>select the checkbox of\u00a0<\/span>Enable protected mode\u00a0<\/b>(requires restarting Internet Explorer) <\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Error 2:<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Exception in thread\u00a0<\/span>\u201cmain\u201d org.openqa.selenium.remote.SessionNotFoundException: Unexpected error launching in the Internet Explorer.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0The browser zoom level was set to 200%. It should be set to 100%<\/span><\/p>\n

    Solution:<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

    To fix the above error, we need to set the Zoom level to 100% of the Internet Explorer browser.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Follow the below steps to set the Zoom level to 100%.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Step 1:<\/b>\u00a0Open\u00a0the <\/span>Internet Explorer<\/b><\/p>\n

    Step 2:<\/b>\u00a0Go to <\/span>Tools<\/b>\u00a0menu \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Select Zoom (100%) \u2013 Select 100%<\/b><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Launching Internet Explorer browser using Selenium WebDriver<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Setting up the webdriver.ie.driver property<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Selenium WebDriver has a class called InternetExplorerDriver which is used to launch and control the Internet Explorer browser. The code to launch IE Driver is the same as you launch a ChromeDriver and GeckoDriver<\/a>. All you need to set a system property \u201c<\/span>webdriver.ie.driver<\/b>\u201d to the path of executable file \u201c<\/span>IEDriverServer.exe<\/b>\u201c. If you haven\u2019t done this, you will face an error \u201c<\/span>The path to the driver executable must be set by the webdriver.ie.driver system property<\/span><\/i>\u201c.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Let’s create a test case in which we will automate the following scenarios to handle Drop-downs:<\/span><\/p>\n