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I've researched this to some extent already by searching StackOverflow and SQA, but cannot find the answer.

Is it possible to open a new WebDriver browser window from the current FirefoxDriver (IWebDriver) instance, or do I need to instantiate a new FirefoxDriver instance? It would be nice to open a new tab, but I read that this is not possible with WebDriver.

The [hidden] part of my question .. bonus if you know, but not required. :-)

And also, I don't even need to see this browser window, so I'd prefer that it's hidden. Does the browser need to be seen or can I do the webdriver tests without having the task/browser open in Windows?

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up vote 1 down vote accepted

Yes, you can interact with a window that is spawned as part of the automated test with this code:

void startSelenium() { driver_ = new FirefoxDriver(); selenium_ = new WebDriverBackedSelenium(driver_, "https://....com"); }

   // go to last window handle in list = the one launched by the login click
   for (String handle : driver_.getWindowHandles()) {
       System.out.println("win " + handle);
       System.out.println("href: " + selenium_.getLocation());

I haven't tested this code, I got it from this page along with additional info: http://osdir.com/ml/selenium-users/2011-04/msg00440.html

For the second question about a hidden browser, I would suggest using the HTMLUnit driver. This would also solve any issues with simultaneous interaction with both windows.

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I'll accept once I write the C# code for this and get it working –  MacGyver Feb 24 '12 at 23:40
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