INTRODUCTION – What is Actions Class in Selenium?

The Actions class is a pre-defined class in Selenium that is used to perform advanced keyboard and mouse interactions by simulating real user behavior.

The Actions class comes from the package: org.openqa.selenium.interactions.Actions

Why Do We Need to Create an Object for Actions?

To use, interaction methods we need to create object: Actions a=new Actions(driver); 

The methods inside the Actions class are non-static methods, which means they cannot be accessed directly using the class name. Therefore, an object must be created to call these methods. We cannot use Actions Methods without creating object.

Methods In Actions Class

build() : is a method which creates an action. It creates an action in sequence and combines them and returns object type of Action. An Action will not be performed using build() ,it just creates an action.
perform() : is a method which completes action. It creates actions in sequence and performs an action. perform() internally calls build();

Actions	Methods
MouseHover	moveToElement()
Click & Hold	clickAndHold()
Right Click	contextClick()
Double Click	doubleClick()
Drag and Drop	dragAndDrop()
Key Press	keyDown()
Key Release	keyUp()

How To Perform Mouse Actions in Selenium?
moveToElement() : This method is used to move the mouse cursor to a specific element.

MoveToElement() is used to hover over dropdowns,images,links.

Syntax: a.moveToElement(element).perform(); 

Ex: WebElement x= driver.findElementBy.Xpath(“//section[@data-id=’6d135f4f’]”);

         object.moveToElement(x).perform(); 

clickAndHold() : This method is used to hold the mouse button on a web element without releasing it.

Syntax : objectname.clickAndHold(element).perform();

 Ex: WebElement x= driver.findElement(By.Xpath(“//section[@data-id=’6d135f4f’]”));

         a.clickAndHold(x).perform();

clickAndHold()is used when drag and drop operations,holding buttons actions,selecting text by dragging.

contextClick() : used to perform right click operation
Syntax : objectname.contextClick(element).perform();

Ex: WebElement x= driver.findElement(By.Xpath(“//section[@data-id=’6d135f4f’]”));

         a.contextClick(x).perform();

doubleClick() : used to perform double click operations.

Syntax : objectname.doubleClick(element).perform();

 Ex: WebElement x= driver.findElement(By.Xpath(“//section[@data-id=’6d135f4f’]”));

      a.doubleClick(x).perform();

dragAndDrop() : used to perform drag and drop operations

Syntax : objectname.dragAndDrop(source element,target element).perform();

Ex: WebElement x= driver.findElement(By.Xpath(“//section[@data-id=’6d135f4f’]”));

WebElement y= driver.findElement(By.Xpath(“//section[@data-id=’6d135f48′]”));
a.dragAndDrop(x,y).perform();

How To Perform Keyboard Actions in Selenium

Keyboard Methods in Actions Class

keyDown() : used to hold the key
keyUp() : used to release the key

Types of Keyboard Keys in Selenium

Selenium provides keyboard interaction support through the Keys class, which allows automation scripts to simulate real keyboard actions such as pressing Enter, using shortcut keys, or navigating between fields.

The Keys class is available in the following package : import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;

1. Modifier Keys

Keys.Control : used for ctrl key

Keys.Shift : used for SHIFT key 

Keys.ALT : used for Alt key
Keys.COMMAND : It is MAC command key

Syntax : objectname.keyDown/keyUp(Keys.key).perform();

Ex : a.keyDown(Keys.CONTROL).sendKeys(“a”).keyUp(Keys.CONTROL).perform();

2.Navigation Keys

Key	Purpose
Keys.ARROW_UP	Moveup
Keys.ARROW_DOWN	Move down
Keys.ARROW_LEFT	Move left
Keys.ARROW_RIGHT	Move Right
Keys.TAB	Next line
Keys.Home	Moves to top
Keys.END	Moves to BOTTOM
Keys.PAGE_UP	Scroll up
Keys.PAGE_DOWN	Scroll Down

 Ex : a.sendKeys(“hyd”,Keys.Home).perform();

3. Action Keys
Keys.ENTER : Used for Enter key

Keys.SPACE : Used for space key

Keys.BACK_SPACE : delete left character

Keys.DELETE : delete right character 

Keys.INSERT : Insert mode

Ex : action.keyDown(Keys.SHIFT).sendKeys(“Laptop”).sendKeys(Keys.ENTER).perform();

Conclusion

The Selenium Actions class enables mouse and keyboard actions that simulate real-time user behaviour in automation.It improves test efficiency by handling complex scenarios that WebDriver alone cannot perform easily.