How do I use Playwright to interact with and test tables on a webpage?

Answer

Interacting with Tables in Playwright

To test tables using @playwright/test, first locate the table elements using Playwright's built-in locators. For example, you can find a table with the data-testid attribute:

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('Interact with table', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://ray.run/table-example');

  const table = page.locator('[data-testid="example-table"]');
});

Once you have the table element, interact with its cells by clicking or entering data:

await table.locator('tr:nth-child(2) td:nth-child(1)').click();
await table.locator('tr:nth-child(3) td:nth-child(2)').fill('New data');

Best Practices for Testing Tables

1. Control the data: Test against a staging environment and ensure the data doesn't change during testing.
2. Avoid third-party dependencies: Test only what you control, and avoid external links or servers that may slow down or fail your tests.
3. Prioritize user-facing attributes: Use locators that focus on user-facing attributes and explicit contracts, like data-testid.
4. Use web-first assertions: Use assertions like toBeVisible() instead of isVisible() for more resilient tests.

Debugging Tips

• Local debugging: Use the Playwright extension for VSCode to debug your tests.
• Debug flag: Run tests with the --debug flag to step through your test code and view actionability logs in real-time.
• Trace viewer: Analyze CI failures using Playwright's trace viewer tool, which provides a full trace of your tests as a local Progressive Web App (PWA).

By following these best practices and utilizing debugging tools, you can effectively test tables with Playwright and ensure reliable test results.