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Keyboard

Drive keyboard input through tab.keyboard: type into fields, press special keys like Enter and Tab, and run shortcuts such as Ctrl+A. Reach for it when a form needs keyboard navigation or a web app responds to key combinations that a click can't trigger.

import time
from pydoll.sync import Chrome, Key

def main():
    with Chrome() as browser:
        tab = browser.start()
        tab.go_to('https://www.wikipedia.org')

        search = tab.find(id='searchInput')
        search.type_text('web scraping', humanize=True)

        tab.keyboard.press(Key.ENTER)
        time.sleep(2)
        print(tab.current_url())

main()

import asyncio

from pydoll import Chrome, Key


async def main():
    async with Chrome() as browser:
        tab = await browser.start()
        await tab.go_to('https://www.wikipedia.org')

        search = await tab.find(id='searchInput')
        await search.type_text('web scraping', humanize=True)

        await tab.keyboard.press(Key.ENTER)
        await asyncio.sleep(2)
        print(await tab.current_url())

asyncio.run(main())

Type into a field

To type character by character into the focused element, use type_text on the element. Pass humanize=True for variable timing with the occasional corrected typo; leave it off for a fixed, faster rhythm.

field = tab.find(id='searchInput')
field.type_text('search query', humanize=True)

field = await tab.find(id='searchInput')
await field.type_text('search query', humanize=True)

Type your own text below and run it both ways. With humanize=True the rhythm varies and the occasional typo is corrected, so every run differs; without it, every gap is a flat 50ms.

If you only need the text to appear and don't care about per-key events, insert_text pastes the whole string at once:

field.insert_text('search query')   # instant, no keystroke events

await field.insert_text('search query')   # instant, no keystroke events

tab.keyboard types wherever focus already is

type_text and insert_text on an element focus that element for you, so the text lands in the right place. The lower-level tab.keyboard methods (below) do not: they send keystrokes to whatever the page currently has focused. Focus the field first (clicking it focuses it) before typing through tab.keyboard.

Press a key

press() runs a full key press (down, then up). Use it for keys that trigger behavior rather than text: Enter to submit, Tab to move between fields, Escape to dismiss.

from pydoll.sync import Key

tab.keyboard.press(Key.ENTER)
tab.keyboard.press(Key.TAB)
tab.keyboard.press(Key.ESCAPE)

# arrow and navigation keys
tab.keyboard.press(Key.ARROWDOWN)
tab.keyboard.press(Key.END)

from pydoll import Key

await tab.keyboard.press(Key.ENTER)
await tab.keyboard.press(Key.TAB)
await tab.keyboard.press(Key.ESCAPE)

# arrow and navigation keys
await tab.keyboard.press(Key.ARROWDOWN)
await tab.keyboard.press(Key.END)

press(key) releases the key right after pressing it; pass interval=0.1 to keep it down for a tenth of a second, or longer to simulate a long hold.

Run a keyboard shortcut

hotkey() presses a combination and releases it in the right order, so you don't compute modifier bitmasks yourself. Pass the modifier first.

from pydoll.sync import Key

tab.keyboard.hotkey(Key.CONTROL, Key.A)   # select all
tab.keyboard.hotkey(Key.CONTROL, Key.C)   # copy
tab.keyboard.hotkey(Key.CONTROL, Key.SHIFT, Key.ARROWLEFT)  # select word left

from pydoll import Key

await tab.keyboard.hotkey(Key.CONTROL, Key.A)   # select all
await tab.keyboard.hotkey(Key.CONTROL, Key.C)   # copy
await tab.keyboard.hotkey(Key.CONTROL, Key.SHIFT, Key.ARROWLEFT)  # select word left

macOS uses Command (Meta) where Windows and Linux use Control, so pick the modifier from the platform:

import sys
from pydoll.sync import Key

mod = Key.META if sys.platform == 'darwin' else Key.CONTROL
tab.keyboard.hotkey(mod, Key.C)

import sys
from pydoll import Key

mod = Key.META if sys.platform == 'darwin' else Key.CONTROL
await tab.keyboard.hotkey(mod, Key.C)

Apply a modifier to a single key

press() and down() take a modifiers argument from the KeyModifier enum:

from pydoll.protocol.input.types import KeyModifier

tab.keyboard.press(Key.S, modifiers=KeyModifier.CTRL)   # Ctrl+S

from pydoll.protocol.input.types import KeyModifier

await tab.keyboard.press(Key.S, modifiers=KeyModifier.CTRL)   # Ctrl+S

The members are KeyModifier.ALT, .CTRL, .META, and .SHIFT. hotkey() already applies modifiers for you, so reach for modifiers only when you press or hold a single key manually.

Hold and release keys

For sequences where a modifier stays down across several presses, drive down() and up() yourself. Release in a finally block so an error mid-sequence doesn't leave a key stuck.

from pydoll.sync import Key

try:
    tab.keyboard.down(Key.SHIFT)
    tab.keyboard.press(Key.ARROWRIGHT)   # extend selection
    tab.keyboard.press(Key.ARROWRIGHT)
finally:
    tab.keyboard.up(Key.SHIFT)

from pydoll import Key

try:
    await tab.keyboard.down(Key.SHIFT)
    await tab.keyboard.press(Key.ARROWRIGHT)   # extend selection
    await tab.keyboard.press(Key.ARROWRIGHT)
finally:
    await tab.keyboard.up(Key.SHIFT)

Browser UI shortcuts do not work

Keys sent over the DevTools Protocol are marked untrusted, so they never trigger Chrome's own UI. Shortcuts that open tabs, DevTools, or the address bar are inert. Page-level shortcuts inside the document work normally.

Use browser commands, not UI shortcuts

Ctrl+T, Ctrl+W, F12, and Ctrl+L will not do anything. Drive the browser through its API instead: await browser.new_tab(), await tab.close(), await tab.go_to(url), await tab.refresh(). Shortcuts that act on the page content (Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Tab, Enter, arrow keys) work as expected.

Key reference

Key (from pydoll.constants import Key) covers the full keyboard:

Category Members
Letters Key.A through Key.Z
Numbers Key.DIGIT0 to Key.DIGIT9, Key.NUMPAD0 to Key.NUMPAD9
Function Key.F1 through Key.F12
Navigation ARROWUP, ARROWDOWN, ARROWLEFT, ARROWRIGHT, HOME, END, PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN
Modifiers CONTROL, SHIFT, ALT, META
Editing ENTER, TAB, SPACE, BACKSPACE, DELETE, ESCAPE, INSERT

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