t.typeText Method

Types a string into an input field, a textarea element, or an element with the contenteditable attribute. The method is chainable.

t.typeText(selector, text [, options]) → this | Promise<any>

Parameter	Type	Description
selector	Function | String | Selector | Snapshot | Promise	Action target. See Select Page Elements.
text	String	The string to type.
options (optional)	Object	Action parameters. See Options.

Interaction Requirements

TestCafe cannot execute the t.typeText action if the target element is not focused. To prevent action failure, TestCafe automatically clicks t.typeText targets that don’t have focus. Test reports don’t count the click as a separate action. If the element doesn’t gain :focus from the click, the action fails.

If the t.typeText target is focused, TestCafe doesn’t perform the additional click action.

Caret Position

The t.typeText action doesn’t delete content from the target element. TestCafe places the caret after the existing content.

Specify the caretPos option to move the caret. To empty the target element before the action, set the replace option to true. See Options.

The following example shows how to use t.typeText with and without options:

import { Selector } from 'testcafe';

const nameInput = Selector('#developer-name');

fixture`TestController.typeText`
    .page`https://devexpress.github.io/testcafe/example/`;

test('Type and Replace', async t => {
    await t
        .typeText(nameInput, 'Peter')
        .typeText(nameInput, 'Paker', { replace: true })
        .typeText(nameInput, 'r', { caretPos: 2 })
        .expect(nameInput.value).eql('Parker');
});

Typing Into DateTime, Color, and Range Inputs

Some input types, such as DateTime, Color, and Range, only accept values of a certain format.

The following table lists common HTML5 input types and the values that they accept:

Input type	Pattern	Example
Date	yyyy-mm-dd	'2017-12-23'
Week	yyyy-Www	'2017-W03'
Month	yyyy-mm	'2017-08'
DateTime	yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm	'2017-11-03T05:00'
Time	hh:mm	'15:30'
Color	#rrggbb (hex)	'#FF8040'
Range	n	'45'

The example below demonstrates the color, datetime-local, and range input fields:

import { Selector } from 'testcafe';

fixture`TestController.typeText`
    .page`./pages/index.html`;

const color    = Selector('input[type=color]');
const datetime = Selector('input[type=datetime-local]');
const range    = Selector('input[type=range]');

test('Interact with inputs', async t => {

    await t
        .typeText(color, '#FF8040')
        .typeText(datetime, '2017-11-03T05:00')
        .typeText(range, '80');
});

Select Target Elements

Use the selector parameter to identify the target of a DOM event.

You can pass any of the following objects as a selector:

• A CSS selector string.

  test('Click submit', async t => {
  
      // Click will be performed on the first element
      // that matches the CSS selector.
      await t.click('#submit-button');
  });
  

• A selector.

  import { Selector } from 'testcafe';
  
  fixture`Parameter as Selector`
      .page`https://devexpress.github.io/testcafe/example/`;
  
  const lastCheckbox = Selector('fieldset p:last-child [type="checkbox"]');
  
  test('Click last checkbox', async t => {
  
      // Click will be performed on the element selected by
      // the 'getLastItem' selector.
      await t.click(lastCheckbox);
  });
  

• A client-side function that returns a DOM element.

  test('Click first child of the body', async t => {
  
      // Click will be performed on the element returned by the function,
      // which is the third child of the document's body.
      await t.click(() => document.body.children[0]);
  });
  

• A DOM node snapshot.

  import { Selector } from 'testcafe';
  
  fixture`Parameter as DOM node snapshot`
      .page`https://devexpress.github.io/testcafe/example/`;
  
  test('Click preferred interface', async t => {
      const preferredInterface = await Selector('#preferred-interface');
  
      // Click will be performed on the element whose snapshot
      // is specified. This is an element with the '#preferred-interface' ID.
      await t.click(preferredInterface);
  });
  

• A Promise returned by a selector.

  import { Selector } from 'testcafe';
  
  const submitButton = Selector('#submit-button');
  
  fixture`Parameter as Promise by Selector`
      .page`https://devexpress.github.io/testcafe/example/`;
  
  test('Click submit', async t => {
      // Click will be performed on the element specified by the selector
      // as soon as the promise is resolved.
      await t.click(submitButton());
  });
  

TestCafe waits for the target element to become visible before it executes an action. If this does not happen within the selector timeout, the test fails.

TestCafe cannot interact with background elements. If a different element overlaps the action target, TestCafe waits for this element to disappear. If this does not happen within the selector timeout, TestCafe performs the action with the element on top of the original target. Learn more about stacking and z-index on MDN.

Options

{
    modifiers: {
        ctrl: Boolean,
        alt: Boolean,
        shift: Boolean,
        meta: Boolean
    },

    offsetX: Number, // Integer
    offsetY: Number, //Integer
    caretPos: Number, //Zero-based Integer
    replace: Boolean,
    paste: Boolean,
    speed: Number //Float
}

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
ctrl, alt, shift, meta	Boolean	Simulates modifier key presses to trigger event listeners. Does not affect the output. See the Modifier keys section.	false
offsetX, offsetY	Number (Integer).	The relative coordinates of the cursor during the click action. A positive offset value moves the cursor in relation to the top (offsetY) or the left (offsetX) border of the element. A negative offset value moves the cursor in relation to the bottom (offsetY) or the right (offsetX) border of the element.	No value. Testcafe clicks the center of the element.
caretPos	Number (Zero-based Integer)	The initial caret position.	The length of the target element content.
replace	Boolean	Set replace to true to empty the target element before the action.	false
paste	Boolean	Set paste to true to insert the string in one go.	false
speed	Number (Float)	Action emulation speed from 0.1 (the slowest) to 1 (the fastest). Overrides the command line option, the Runner option and the test-wide option.	1

Example

import { Selector } from 'testcafe';

const nameInput = Selector('#developer-name');

fixture `My Fixture`
    .page `http://devexpress.github.io/testcafe/example/`

test('My Test', async t => {
    await t
        .typeText(nameInput, 'Peter')
        .typeText(nameInput, 'Parker', { replace: true });
});

Modifier keys

The modifiers option simulates key presses in order to trigger event listeners. Before the start of the action, TestCafe sets off a keydown event with the modifier keys that you select.

Listen for a keydown event to detect modifier keys.

Example

//TestCafe types the red string when `shift` is pressed

import { Selector } from 'testcafe';

const scriptContent = `
window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function () {
    const nameInput = document.getElementById('developer-name');
    nameInput.addEventListener('keydown', logKey);

    function logKey(e) {
        if (e.shiftKey) {
            nameInput.style.color = "red";
        }
    }
});
`;

fixture `Example`
    .page `https://devexpress.github.io/testcafe/example/`
    .clientScripts({ content: scriptContent });

test('My Test', async t => {

    const nameInput = Selector('#developer-name')
    await t
        .typeText(nameInput, 'John Doe', {
            speed: 0.1,
            modifiers: {
               shift: true 
            }
        });

});

Paste option

When the option is true, TestCafe uses the Node.insertBefore() JavaScript method to insert the string into the target element in one go.