Introduction

Modern web applications frequently open new browser windows, tabs, payment gateways, login pages, and third-party authentication screens. Selenium handles these using window handles.

Similarly, dynamic web applications require synchronization before interacting with elements. Selenium provides multiple wait mechanisms to handle slow-loading pages, AJAX requests, and dynamic elements.

This tutorial combines both topics into practical exercises designed for beginners and experienced automation testers.

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Windows & Tabs Practice Exercises

Level 1 – Basic Exercises (0–1 Year)

Exercise 1 – Open and Switch to a New Tab

Objective

Learn basic parent-child window switching.

Task

  • Open a new browser tab
  • Switch to the new tab
  • Verify the page title
  • Return to the parent window
  • Close both windows

Focus

Basic window switching.

Exercise 2 – Close a Specific Tab

Objective

Close only one selected tab.

Task

  • Open multiple tabs
  • Switch using the required window handle
  • Close only that tab
  • Verify remaining tabs stay open

Focus

Managing individual tabs.

Exercise 3 – Handle a Child Window

Objective

Practice parent-child window handling.

Task

  • Capture parent window handle
  • Open child window
  • Switch to child
  • Print page title
  • Close child
  • Return to parent

Focus

Window handle management.

Exercise 4 – Navigate Multiple Tabs

Objective

Iterate through all browser tabs.

Task

  • Open multiple tabs
  • Switch to each tab
  • Print each page title
  • Close tabs one by one
  • Finish on the parent window

Focus

Looping through window handles.

Level 2 – Intermediate Exercises (1–3 Years)

Exercise 5 – Handle Multiple Child Windows

Objective

Interact with multiple child windows.

Task

  • Open multiple child windows
  • Switch using window handles
  • Perform different actions
  • Close selected windows
  • Return to the parent

Focus

Real project workflows.

Exercise 6 – Switch Between Parent and Child Windows

Objective

Switch multiple times during one test.

Task

  • Open child window
  • Perform an action
  • Return to parent
  • Open another child
  • Repeat
  • Verify active window after every switch

Focus

Reliable navigation.

Exercise 7 – Close All Child Windows

Objective

Keep only the parent window open.

Task

  • Open multiple windows
  • Close every child window
  • Verify parent window remains active
  • Continue testing

Focus

Window cleanup.

Exercise 8 – Open a New Tab Using JavaScript

Objective

Create new browser tabs using JavaScript.

Task

  • Open new tab
  • Switch to it
  • Fill a form
  • Close child tab
  • Return to parent

Focus

JavaScript window handling.

Level 3 – Advanced Exercises (3–5 Years)

Exercise 9 – Parallel Window Handling

Objective

Handle browser windows during parallel execution.

Task

  • Open multiple windows
  • Switch correctly within each thread
  • Avoid session conflicts
  • Close all windows safely

Focus

Thread-safe automation.

Exercise 10 – Handle Popup Windows

Objective

Automate popup windows.

Task

  • Open popup
  • Switch window
  • Submit a form
  • Verify result
  • Close popup
  • Return to parent

Focus

Real-world popup automation.

Exercise 11 – Store Window Handles

Objective

Manage windows dynamically.

Task

  • Open multiple windows
  • Store handles in a Map
  • Switch using stored handles
  • Perform actions
  • Close all windows

Focus

Large enterprise frameworks.

Exercise 12 – Data-Driven Window Handling

Objective

Combine multiple concepts.

Task

  • Open child window
  • Read test data from Excel
  • Fill the form
  • Submit
  • Return to parent

Focus

Data-driven automation.

Wait Mechanisms Practice

Thread.sleep()

Practice Exercises

  • Pause execution using Thread.sleep(5000)
  • Observe unnecessary waiting
  • Replace Thread.sleep with Explicit Wait
  • Compare execution time
  • Observe failures with dynamic page loading
  • Add multiple Thread.sleep calls and measure slowdown

Practice Questions

  • Why does Thread.sleep fail in CI environments?
  • Why should it not be used in automation frameworks?
  • When is Thread.sleep temporarily acceptable?

Implicit Wait

Practice Exercises

  • Configure global implicit wait
  • Locate slow-loading elements
  • Remove implicit wait
  • Observe NoSuchElementException
  • Combine with page-load timeout

Configure Implicit Wait

 
driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(Duration.ofSeconds(10));
 

Practice Questions

  • How does Implicit Wait work?
  • What happens if it is too large?
  • Does it affect every element?
  • When should you use Implicit Wait?

Explicit Wait (WebDriverWait)

Practice Exercises

  • Wait for element visibility
  • Wait until element is clickable
  • Wait for page title
  • Wait for element text
  • Wait before performing hover actions
  • Create reusable wait utilities
  • Wait for alert presence

Reusable Wait Method

 
waitForElementClickable(driver, element, 10);
 

Practice Questions

  • How do you handle AJAX elements?
  • Why is a button clickable manually but not during automation?
  • When should Explicit Wait be preferred?
  • How do you synchronize dynamic tables?

Fluent Wait

Practice Exercises

  • Create FluentWait
  • Timeout: 20 seconds
  • Poll every 2 seconds
  • Ignore NoSuchElementException
  • Wait until text changes
  • Wait for AJAX table loading
  • Wait for custom conditions

Practice Questions

  • When is Fluent Wait better than Explicit Wait?
  • How does polling reduce execution time?
  • How do you handle randomly loading elements?

Real-Time Scenario Questions

Scenario 1 – Intermittent Element Not Found

An element appears randomly depending on server response.

Question

Which wait mechanism would you choose and why?

Scenario 2 – Different Page Load Speeds

The application works locally but loads slowly in QA.

Question

How would you synchronize the test?

Scenario 3 – AJAX Delays

Buttons become clickable after background requests.

Question

How would you automate this without using Thread.sleep?

Scenario 4 – Mixed Waits

Both Implicit Wait and Explicit Wait are configured.

Question

What problems can occur?

Scenario 5 – Legacy Framework

The framework contains hundreds of Thread.sleep calls.

Question

How would you improve it?

Scenario 6 – Random Button Failure

The button is sometimes clickable and sometimes not.

Question

How would you make the test stable?

Scenario 7 – Delayed Alert

An alert appears after an unknown amount of time.

Question

How would you synchronize it?

Scenario 8 – Dynamic Table

Rows load gradually after AJAX requests.

Question

Which wait mechanism works best?

Scenario 9 – Jenkins Timeout

Tests fail only during Jenkins execution.

Question

How would you investigate and fix the synchronization issue?

Scenario 10 – Generic Wait Utility

Your framework contains repeated wait logic.

Question

How would you design reusable wait methods?

Senior Tester Tips

  • Never use Thread.sleep() in production automation frameworks.
  • Prefer Explicit Wait for dynamic web elements.
  • Use Fluent Wait for AJAX-heavy applications.
  • Use Implicit Wait only as a basic safety mechanism.
  • Build reusable wait utilities for framework maintainability.
  • Avoid mixing multiple wait strategies unnecessarily.
  • Synchronize based on application behavior rather than fixed delays.

Site-Based Practice Exercises

Thread.sleep() Practice

Practice Steps

  • Open a dynamic page
  • Wait using Thread.sleep(5000)
  • Click an element appearing after five seconds
  • Replace with Explicit Wait
  • Compare execution times

Learning

Thread.sleep introduces unnecessary delays and should be replaced with dynamic waits.

Implicit Wait Practice

 
driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(Duration.ofSeconds(10));
 

Practice Steps

  • Configure Implicit Wait
  • Login to the application
  • Locate Dashboard
  • Remove Implicit Wait
  • Observe element failures

Explicit Wait Practice

Practice waiting for:

  • Element visibility
  • Element clickability
  • Page title
  • Alert presence
  • Dynamic text
  • AJAX-loaded elements

Fluent Wait Practice

Configure Fluent Wait with:

  • 20-second timeout
  • 2-second polling interval
  • Ignore NoSuchElementException

Practice handling:

  • Dynamic tables
  • AJAX requests
  • Loading indicators
  • Delayed text updates

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you switch between browser windows?

Capture the parent window handle, retrieve all window handles, and switch using:

 
driver.switchTo().window(windowHandle);
 

How do you close only one browser tab?

Switch to the required window handle, close that window, and switch back to the parent.

Thread.sleep pauses execution for a fixed amount of time regardless of whether the element is already available. This increases execution time and causes unstable automation.

When should Fluent Wait be used?

Fluent Wait is best for:

  • AJAX applications
  • Random loading elements
  • Dynamic content
  • Custom polling intervals

What synchronization strategy do senior Selenium testers prefer?

Most experienced automation engineers recommend:

  • Explicit Wait for dynamic elements
  • Fluent Wait for unpredictable loading behavior
  • Reusable wait utility methods
  • Avoiding unnecessary Thread.sleep() usage