How to open a new tab using Selenium WebDriver in Java?

Just for anyone else who's looking for an answer in Ruby, Python, and C# bindings (Selenium 2.33.0).

Note that the actual keys to send depend on your OS. For example, Mac uses CMD + T, instead of Ctrl + T.

Ruby

require 'selenium-webdriver'

driver = Selenium::WebDriver.for :firefox
driver.get('http://stackoverflow.com/')

body = driver.find_element(:tag_name => 'body')
body.send_keys(:control, 't')

driver.quit

Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys

driver = webdriver.Firefox()
driver.get("http://stackoverflow.com/")

body = driver.find_element_by_tag_name("body")
body.send_keys(Keys.CONTROL + 't')

driver.close()

C#

using OpenQA.Selenium;
using OpenQA.Selenium.Firefox;

namespace StackOverflowTests {

    class OpenNewTab {

        static void Main(string[] args) {

            IWebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();
            driver.Navigate().GoToUrl("http://stackoverflow.com/");

            IWebElement body = driver.FindElement(By.TagName("body"));
            body.SendKeys(Keys.Control + 't');

            driver.Quit();
        }
    }
}

Why not do this

driver.ExecuteScript("window.open('your url','_blank');");

To open new tab using JavascriptExecutor,

((JavascriptExecutor) driver).executeScript("window.open()");
ArrayList<String> tabs = new ArrayList<String>(driver.getWindowHandles());
driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(1));

Will control on tab as according to index:

driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(1));

Driver control on main tab:

driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(0));

As of selenium >= 4.0, there is no need for javascript or send_keys workarounds. Selenium 4 provides a new API called newWindow that lets you create a new window (or tab) and automatically switches to it. Since the new window or tab is created in the same session, it avoids creating a new WebDriver object.

Python

Open new tab

from selenium.webdriver.chrome.webdriver import WebDriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.window import WindowTypes

driver.switch_to.new_window(WindowTypes.TAB)

Open new window

from selenium.webdriver.chrome.webdriver import WebDriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.window import WindowTypes

driver.switch_to.new_window(WindowTypes.WINDOW)

Java

Open new window

driver.get("https://www.google.com/");
// Opens a new window and switches to new window
driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.WINDOW);
// Opens LambdaTest homepage in the newly opened window
driver.navigate().to("https://www.lambdatest.com/");

Open new tab

driver.get("https://www.google.com/");
// Opens a new window and switches to new window
driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.TAB);
// Opens LambdaTest homepage in the newly opened tab
driver.navigate().to("https://www.lambdatest.com/")

You can use the following code using Java with Selenium WebDriver:

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL + "t");

By using JavaScript:

WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(); // Firefox or any other Driver
JavascriptExecutor jse = (JavascriptExecutor)driver;
jse.executeScript("window.open()");

After opening a new tab it needs to switch to that tab:

ArrayList<String> tabs = new ArrayList<String>(driver.getWindowHandles());
driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(1));

To open a new window in Chrome Driver.

// The script that will will open a new blank window
// If you want to open a link new tab, replace 'about:blank' with a link
String a = "window.open('about:blank','_blank');";
((JavascriptExecutor)driver).executeScript(a);

For switching between tabs, read here.

Almost all answers here are out of date.

(Ruby examples)

WebDriver now has support for opening tabs:

browser = Selenium::WebDriver.for :chrome
new_tab = browser.manage.new_window

Will open a new tab. Opening a window has actually become the non-standard case:

browser.manage.new_window(:window)

The tab or window will not automatically be focussed. To switch to it:

browser.switch_to.window new_tab

Try this for the Firefox browser.

/*  Open new tab in browser */
public void openNewTab()
{
    driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL +"t");
    ArrayList<String> tabs = new ArrayList<String> (driver.getWindowHandles());
    driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(0));
}

To open a new tab in the existing Chrome browser using Selenium WebDriver you can use this code:

driver.FindElement(By.CssSelector("body")).SendKeys(Keys.Control + "t");        
string newTabInstance = driver.WindowHandles[driver.WindowHandles.Count-1].ToString();
driver.SwitchTo().Window(newTabInstance);
driver.Navigate().GoToUrl(url);

The below code will open the link in a new window:

String selectAll = Keys.chord(Keys.SHIFT, Keys.RETURN);
driver.findElement(By.linkText("linkname")).sendKeys(selectAll);

I had trouble opening a new tab in Google Chrome for a while.

Even driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL + "t"); didn't work for me.

I found out that it's not enough that Selenium has focus on driver. Windows also has to have the window in the front.

My solution was to invoke an alert in Chrome that would bring the window to front and then execute the command. Sample code:

((JavascriptExecutor)driver).executeScript("alert('Test')");
driver.switchTo().alert().accept();
driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL + "t");

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL +"t");

ArrayList<String> tabs = new ArrayList<String> (driver.getWindowHandles());

driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(0));

// To open a new tab in an existing window
driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL +  "t");

How can we open a new, but more importantly, how do we do stuff in that new tab?

Webdriver doesn't add a new WindowHandle for each tab, and only has control of the first tab. So, after selecting a new tab (Control + Tab Number) set .DefaultContent() on the driver to define the visible tab as the one you're going to do work on.

Visual Basic

Dim driver = New WebDriver("Firefox", BaseUrl)

' Open new tab - send Control T
Dim body As IWebElement = driver.FindElement(By.TagName("body"))
body.SendKeys(Keys.Control + "t")

' Go to a URL in that tab
driver.GoToUrl("YourURL")


' Assuming you have m tabs open, go to tab n by sending Control + n
body.SendKeys(Keys.Control + n.ToString())

' Now set the visible tab as the drivers default content.
driver.SwitchTo().DefaultContent()

I am using Selenium 2.52.0 in Java and Firefox 44.0.2. Unfortunately none of the previous solutions worked for me.

The problem is if I a call driver.getWindowHandles() I always get one single handle. Somehow this makes sense to me as Firefox is a single process and each tab is not a separate process. But maybe I am wrong. Anyhow, I try to write my own solution:

// Open a new tab
driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL + "t");

// URL to open in a new tab
String urlToOpen = "https://url_to_open_in_a_new_tab";

Iterator<String> windowIterator = driver.getWindowHandles()
        .iterator();
// I always get handlesSize == 1, regardless how many tabs I have
int handlesSize = driver.getWindowHandles().size();

// I had to grab the original handle
String originalHandle = driver.getWindowHandle();

driver.navigate().to(urlToOpen);

Actions action = new Actions(driver);
// Close the newly opened tab
action.keyDown(Keys.CONTROL).sendKeys("w").perform();
// Switch back to original
action.keyDown(Keys.CONTROL).sendKeys("1").perform();

// And switch back to the original handle. I am not sure why, but
// it just did not work without this, like it has lost the focus
driver.switchTo().window(originalHandle);

I used the Ctrl + T combination to open a new tab, Ctrl + W to close it, and to switch back to original tab I used Ctrl + 1 (the first tab).

I am aware that mine solution is not perfect or even good and I would also like to switch with driver's switchTo call, but as I wrote it was not possible as I had only one handle. Maybe this will be helpful to someone with the same situation.

How to open a new tab using Selenium WebDriver with Java for Chrome:

ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
options.addArguments("--disable-extensions");
driver = new ChromeDriver(options);
driver.manage().window().maximize();
driver.navigate().to("https://google.com");
Robot robot = new Robot();
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_T);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_T);

The above code will disable first extensions and using the robot class, a new tab will open.

This line of code will open a new browser tab using Selenium WebDriver:

((JavascriptExecutor)getDriver()).executeScript("window.open()");

Java

I recommend using JavascriptExecutor:

• Open new blank window:

((JavascriptExecutor) driver).executeScript("window.open()");

• Open new window with specific URL:

((JavascriptExecutor) driver).executeScript("window.open('https://google.com')");

Following import:

import org.openqa.selenium.JavascriptExecutor;

Check this complete example to understand how to open multiple tabs and switch between the tabs and at the end close all tabs.

public class Tabs {

    WebDriver driver;

    Robot rb;

    @BeforeTest
    public void setup() throws Exception {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "C:\\Users\\Anuja.AnujaPC\\Downloads\\chromedriver_win32\\chromedriver.exe");
        WebDriver driver=new ChromeDriver();
        driver.manage().window().maximize();
        driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
        driver.get("http://qaautomated.com");
    }

    @Test
    public void openTab() {
        // Open tab 2 using CTRL + T keys.
        driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL +"t");

        // Open URL In 2nd tab.
        driver.get("http://www.qaautomated.com/p/contact.html");

        // Call switchToTab() method to switch to the first tab
        switchToTab();

        // Call switchToTab() method to switch to the second tab.
        switchToTab();
    }

    public void switchToTab() {
        // Switching between tabs using CTRL + tab keys.
        driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL +"\t");

        // Switch to current selected tab's content.
        driver.switchTo().defaultContent();
    }

    @AfterTest
    public void closeTabs() throws AWTException {
        // Used Robot class to perform ALT + SPACE + 'c' keypress event.
        rb = new Robot();
        rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ALT);
        rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE);
        rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_C);
    }

}

This example is given by this web page.

There are 3 ways to do this. In below example I am doing following steps to open the facebook in new tab,

• Launching https://google.com
• Searching for facebook text and getting the facebook URL
• Opening facebook in different tab.

Solution#1: Using window handles.

driver = new ChromeDriver(options);
driver.get("https://www.google.com/search?q=facebook");
String facebookUrl = driver.findElement(By.xpath("(//a[contains(@href,'facebook.com')])[1]")).getAttribute("href");
        
JavascriptExecutor jse = (JavascriptExecutor)driver;
jse.executeScript("window.open()");
        
ArrayList<String> tabs = new ArrayList<String>(driver.getWindowHandles());
        driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(1));
        
driver.get(facebookUrl);

Solution#2: By creating new driver instance. It's not recommended but it is also a possible way to do this.

driver = new ChromeDriver(options);
driver.get("https://www.google.com/search?q=facebook");
String facebookUrl = driver.findElement(By.xpath("(//a[contains(@href,'facebook.com')])[1]")).getAttribute("href");

/*Create an another instance of driver.*/   
driver = new ChromeDriver(options);
driver.get(facebookUrl);

Solution#3: Using Selenium 4

driver.get("https://www.google.com/search?q=facebook");
String facebookUrl = driver.findElement(By.xpath("(//a[contains(@href,'facebook.com')])[1]")).getAttribute("href");
driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.TAB);
driver.navigate().to(facebookUrl);

If you need to open a specific link in a new tab, you can send the shortcut directly to the link like so:

String selectLinkOpeninNewTab = Keys.chord(Keys.CONTROL, Keys.RETURN);
driver.findElement(By.xpath("//a[strong[.='English']]")).sendKeys(selectLinkOpeninNewTab);

Here is an runnable example

If you need to open a new tab and want to choose which link is opened immediately in said tab, you can use JavaScriptExecutor like so:

JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver;
js.executeScript("window.open('https://www.wikipedia.org/', '_blank');");

Here is a runnable case that uses JSE

In new versions of selenium for java, they added a method to create a new tab:

driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.TAB);

or a new window:

driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.WINDOW);

here is the link to an example on the official repo

This is a purely selenium function from Selenium latest version. Try this if you are working with such specification.

For input, the function requires the current driver employed and current Window Handle string (This is just to make sure you have one window open before going to new tab.). The return string is for the new Window handle.

public static String switchToNewTab(WebDriver driver, String sCurrentWindowHandle) {
    String newTabHandle = null;

    try {
        driver = driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.TAB);
        newTabHandle = driver.getWindowHandle();

    } catch (Exception e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

    return newTabHandle;
}

To open a new tab in the existing Firefox browser using Selenium WebDriver

FirefoxDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();
driver.findElement(By.tagName("body")).sendKeys(Keys.CONTROL,"t"); 

 Actions at=new Actions(wd);
 at.moveToElement(we);
 at.contextClick(we).sendKeys(Keys.ARROW_DOWN).sendKeys(Keys.ENTER).build().perform();

The same example for Node.js:

var webdriver = require('selenium-webdriver');
...
driver = new webdriver.Builder().
                    withCapabilities(capabilities).
                    build();
...
driver.findElement(webdriver.By.tagName("body")).sendKeys(webdriver.Key.COMMAND + "t");

This code is working for me (Selenium 3.8.1, chromedriver 2.34.522940, and Chrome 63.0):

public void openNewTabInChrome() {

    driver.get("http://www.google.com");

    WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Gmail"));
    Actions actionOpenLinkInNewTab = new Actions(driver);
    actionOpenLinkInNewTab.moveToElement(element)
            .keyDown(Keys.CONTROL) // MacOS: Keys.COMMAND
            .keyDown(Keys.SHIFT).click(element)
            .keyUp(Keys.CONTROL).keyUp(Keys.SHIFT).perform();


    ArrayList<String> tabs = new ArrayList(driver.getWindowHandles());
    driver.switchTo().window(tabs.get(1));
    driver.get("http://www.yahoo.com");
    //driver.close();
}

Question: How can I open a new tab using Selenium WebDriver with Java?

Answer: After a click on any link, open a new tab.

If we want to handle a newly open tab then we have need to handle tab using the .switchTo().window() command.

Switch to a particular tab, and then perform an operation and switch back to into the parent tab.

package test;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;

public class Tab_Handle {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.setProperty("webdriver.gecko.driver", "geckodriver_path");

        WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();

        driver.get("http://www.google.com");

        // Store all currently open tabs in Available_tabs
        ArrayList<String> Available_tabs = new ArrayList<String>(driver.getWindowHandles());

        // Click on link to open in new tab
        driver.findElement(By.id("Url_Link")).click();

        // Switch newly open Tab
        driver.switchTo().window(Available_tabs.get(1));

        // Perform some operation on Newly open tab
        // Close newly open tab after performing some operations.
        driver.close();

        // Switch to old(Parent) tab.
        driver.switchTo().window(Available_tabs.get(0));

    }

}

Selenium doesn't support opening new tabs. It only supports opening new windows. For all intents and purposes a new window is functionally equivalent to a new tab anyway.

There are various hacks to work around the issue, but they are going to cause you other problems in the long run.