Wiki Help Entries

[GCuser99]

A very rough (and incomplete!) first draft of Wiki Help page is online here. Have something to share on the Wiki? Or a suggested change? Use this discussion to provide your input, and we will try to incorporate it!

[6DiegoDiego9]

I quickly read it and wow, that's a lot of text!

Just one thing: you seem to suggest the explicit waits while I always use a SetImplicitlyWait instead when needed, so that it waits just the time needed for the element to appear.
You used the Wait in the examples and you also wrote that it "is usually good practice to use the Wait method of the WebDriver class to make sure the web page has reached stasis before interacting with it."
I'd at least add that SetImplicitlyWait is an even better method to use instead of Wait because it's faster and allows to set an higher timeout without affecting speed on every execution.

[GCuser99]

@6DiegoDiego9 I'll take a look and add your changes. Thanks. Also, do not hesitate to modify/add/delete to the Wiki - you have privileges.

[sagi4601-cloud]

Hi,

I have been using selenium basic for a long time, however i needed recently to inject custom js script before page load entirely, which the basic is cant do it. Need to use CPD for that, selenium wire, selenium 4 give that functionallity however i need it in VBA environment. Here your solution came to assist. I was just rewriting all objects from selenium basic syntax, when recieved Interface not supported.
Using Access 2003, so it generated 32 bit activeX dll. Youve specified "only limited testing", what's that mean ??

[sagi4601-cloud]

Just did that, no effect.
Just one SeleniumVBA library
im on neat ver 7 now
i just tried to register the dll from the Wow64 folder, which means registering a 32 bit dll on a 64 bit machine, no effect

i havent any experience in building com/dll, however can you build a TLB file out of the dll ?

hi, im off, appreceate a continious assistance regarding that matter, thanx

[GCuser99]

I don't know how to do it in twinBASIC.

[sagi4601-cloud]

Hi. any new suggestions.. maybe SeleniumVBA_win64.dll is needed here ? there's such file anyway ? what made the installer produce 32 bit dll, does it detected 32 bit office ? there is also 64 bit office installed

[GCuser99]

Yes, it detected 32-bit office. You can try registering the 64-bit build on your own using regsvr32.exe. The builds are here.

[sagi4601-cloud]

Yes, office bitness, well, the 64 bit not executing at all. the 32 bit is the one needed, but there is some catch.

[hanamichi77777]

The standard modules contain a lot of sample code that is useful in practice, so it might be a good idea to introduce it on the Wiki.

[GCuser99]

Since you have a 64-bit version of office installed, why not try SeleniumVBA_prior_to_2508.xlsm to see if that works on your system. Doesn't solve your DLL problem directly, but maybe we can glean some insight with that?

[GCuser99]

I just thought of something... When you tried to get SeleniumVBA to run on the test modules that were provided in the install folder, did you make sure that you had unchecked the reference to SeleniumBasic (Selenium Type Lib) before trying? Wondering if they are getting confused... They both have Webdriver, WebElement, and WebElements objects. I did a little test and when I have the reference to SeleniumBasic checked, and it is BEFORE SeleniumVBA in the reference list, none of those test subs get past StartChrome method. Might be worth a try to see if that is going on.

[sagi4601-cloud]

Thanx for repliyng, i did notice that ambiguity, and ommited the reference to s.basic.
Just checked the test file, still the same.
Can i call Function ExecuteCDP from S.Basic..?
I have never been using class modules

[GCuser99]

Thanx for repliyng, i did notice that ambiguity, and ommited the reference to s.basic. Just checked the test file, still the same. Can i call Function ExecuteCDP from S.Basic..? I have never been using class modules

I don't think you can.

[hanamichi77777]

SeleniumBasic is falling behind because its intermediary .dll (the "translator") cannot keep up with the rapid evolution of browsers (the changing "language"). However, with SeleniumVBA, VBA speaks "directly" to the WebDriver.

SeleniumBasic: VBA → SeleniumBasic.dll (Black Box) → WebDriver
SeleniumVBA: VBA → JSON (Text Data) → WebDriver

This architectural difference is decisive. With SeleniumVBA, even if new features from Selenium 4 (such as CDP) are introduced, you can support them simply by updating the "text messages" (JSON) within the VBA code. In contrast, SeleniumBasic would require the compiled DLL to be rebuilt.

[dornech]

Well, basically it is right but isn't SeleniumBasic.dll pretty much doing the same thing as SeleniumVBA? The difference still is that SeleniumBasic is not being maintained for something like 9 years. That means it works to the extent the JSON interface of webdriver hasn't been changed since then and of course it is stuck to the methods implemented when compiling it.
So I would put it somewhat different:
SeleniumBasic: VBA → SeleniumBasic.dll (Black Box) to create JSON (Text Data) call → WebDriver
SeleniumVBA: VBA → SeleniumVBA as AddIn or DLL to create JSON (Text Data) → WebDriver

The advantage of SeleniumVBA beside it being continuously maintained (BTW: thanks again, guys!) especially for VBA users to me is that the dualistic approach - provide VBA AddIn and DLL - creates much more transparency when it comes to understanding parameters and issues.

[hanamichi77777]

As explained by Gemini, the reason why the deprecated Page.setDownloadBehavior works while the recommended Browser.setDownloadBehavior fails in the SetDownloadFolder method using Selenium's classic mode CDP is as follows:

This phenomenon, which occurs when using the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) in Selenium's classic mode (based on the traditional WebDriver standard HTTP communication), stems from a difference in the "scope" of the CDP connection established by Selenium.

In conclusion, Selenium's ExecuteCDP and similar methods are designed to send commands to a "specific tab (page)." Therefore, commands from the Browser domain, which control the browser as a whole, do not function correctly (or are ignored) due to this structural constraint.

Below is a detailed explanation of the technical background and reasons.

1. Differences in Connection Targets

CDP has a concept called "Target," which determines where commands are received.

• Page (Tab) Level Connection: Performs operations for individual tabs or iframes.

• Browser Level Connection: Performs operations for the entire browser (settings common to all tabs and lifecycle management).

Selenium's Mechanism:

When Selenium WebDriver launches Chrome and sends CDP commands, by default, it tunnels a WebSocket connection to the "specific session currently being operated (i.e., a specific Tab/Page)."

• Page.setDownloadBehavior:

  • This is a command within the Page domain (settings per tab).

  • Since it matches the scope of the connection Selenium has established (to a "specific tab"), it functions correctly.

• Browser.setDownloadBehavior:

  • This is a command within the Browser domain (entire browser).

  • To enable this command, it must be sent to the Browser itself (Root Target), not a specific tab.

  • Since Selenium's classic CDP execution methods typically send commands to the "current window," the scopes do not match, resulting in an error or the command having no effect.

2. Why the Recommended Version Cannot Be Used (Technical Details)

Chromium documentation lists Page.setDownloadBehavior as "Deprecated" and recommends using Browser.setDownloadBehavior. However, this recommendation assumes an environment where CDP is directly and fully controllable (such as Puppeteer or Playwright).

In Selenium's architecture, the following mismatch occurs:

Feature	Page.setDownloadBehavior	Browser.setDownloadBehavior
Status in CDP	Deprecated	Recommended
Target Scope	Current Page (Tab)	Global (Entire Browser)
Selenium's Connection	Connected to Page	Connected to Page
Result	Success	Failure / Ignored

To use Browser.setDownloadBehavior via Selenium, one would need to establish a separate WebSocket connection to the root of the browser process, rather than the connection tied to the session ID's tab. Standard methods like ExecuteCDP do not handle this automatically.

3. Future Outlook and Recommendations

As long as you continue to use Selenium's classic mode, the correct approach is to temporarily ignore the "Deprecated" label in the CDP documentation and use Page.setDownloadBehavior, as it is the one that works.

The Google Chrome team understands that tools like Selenium operate at the Page scope, so it is considered unlikely that commands in the Page domain will be removed immediately (to maintain compatibility).

Future Options (Selenium 4 and later)

If you wish to perform more modern and correct CDP control, you need to use Selenium BiDi (Bidirectional) features.

• Selenium 4 BiDi API:

  Selenium 4 introduces the BiDi API, which abstracts dependency on CDP. In the future, controlling downloads via this API will become the standard.

Summary

• Reason: Selenium's CDP command execution feature is specified to send orders to a "specific tab," which does not match the connection scope required by Browser.setDownloadBehavior (which targets the entire browser).

• Solution: In Selenium classic mode, the correct implementation is to use Page.setDownloadBehavior because the scopes match, even if the CDP documentation lists it as deprecated.

[GCuser99]

But if you are using VBA6 (pre-office 2010), then don't you need to correct all of the Windows API declarations in WebShared module?

There is already an example using Page.addScriptToEvaluateOnNewDocument in test_cdp_scripts sub of the test_ExecuteCDP module.

[sagi4601-cloud]

Yes, ptrsafe is ommited, longptr is changed to long
Right, i didn't copied test examples to the VBE; i'll check it

didnt see the alert poping up.. there was an immediate poping of cmd window,..that wasnt it..?

ok, saw the alert, it's just that i break on the line after ExecuteCDP, so navigate to any url was needed in order to take effect, nice

[sagi4601-cloud]

Hi,

There is that thing now.., using chrome extension Requestly and injecting script with the selection "as soon as possible" give the disried result.

However, injecting the same script using
.ExecuteCDP "Page.addScriptToEvaluateOnNewDocument", params

the source passed as variable holding the contents of js file containing the script
params.Add key:="source", Item:=Str

not giving the same result

ExeCdp is after
.StartChrome
.OpenBrowser

but before navigating to the webpage

Could this function not injecting early enough ?

[hanamichi77777]

It works without any issues in my environment.

Sub test()

Dim driver As New WebDriver
Dim params As New Dictionary
Dim jsContent As String

jsContent = "alert('This injected CDP script executes on page load, BEFORE any other document scripts are executed');"
params.Add "source", jsContent

driver.StartChrome
driver.OpenBrowser
driver.ExecuteCDP "Page.addScriptToEvaluateOnNewDocument", params

driver.NavigateTo "https://github.com/GCuser99/SeleniumVBA/discussions/50"

driver.CloseBrowser
driver.Shutdown


End Sub

[sagi4601-cloud]

Yes, a simple alert works indeed, assumably something with the js script itself,