Selenium Java open new window, close it, and control main window again

Question

I find my question to be different than everything that I've searched for because I need to open a new window in my code (not from clicking a link in a UI). So i already have a driver handling my only window, and then I do this:

//save the handle of the current (only) window open right now
String MainWindowHandle = driver.getWindowHandle();
//open a new firefox window
driver = new FirefoxDriver();
//in the new window, go to the intended page
driver.navigate().to(foo);
//do some stuff in the pop up window..
//close the popup window now
driver.close();
//switch back to the main window. This is where the error is thrown
driver.switchTo().window(MainWindowHandle);

The error is: "org.openqa.selenium.remote.UnreachableBrowserException: Error communicating with the remote browser. It may have died"

What do I need to do to regain control of the initial window?

Thanks in advance.

JimEvans · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-19 20:25:22Z

3

You don't. If you need to launch a new instance of the browser (which is what this sounds like), then do that.

// "url" is an unused variable, simply included here to demonstrate
// that the driver variable is valid and capable of being used.
String url = driver.getCurrentUrl();

// Open a new Firefox window
// Note that here, in your original code, you've set the 
// driver variable to another instance of Firefox, which
// means you've orphaned the original browser.
WebDriver driver2 = new FirefoxDriver();

// In the new window, go to the intended page
driver2.navigate().to(foo);

// Do some stuff in the pop up window..

// Close the popup window now
driver2.quit();

// No need to switch back to the main window; driver is still valid.
// Remember that "url" is simply a dummy variable used here to
// demonstrate that the initial driver is still valid.
url = driver.getCurrentUrl();

edited Nov 19, 2013 at 20:25

answered Nov 19, 2013 at 19:46

JimEvans

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2 Comments

user1599401 Over a year ago

Thank you very much! It seems I never needed to use the variables "mainWindowHandle" and "url" though. Regardless, thanks for showing me that all I needed to do was make another WebDriver object! I knew it was something simple!

JimEvans Over a year ago

No, you never needed to use them. I was simply leaving them in place, to illustrate the point. I'll comment the code example better.

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