Handling Multiple Windows & Tabs¶

What was run¶

A real link that opens a genuinely new browser window (target="_blank"), tracked through driver.window_handles, with a direct, real check of whether Selenium's "current" context automatically follows a newly-opened window — and a real close-and-switch-back sequence afterward.

A real new window, opened — but not automatically switched to¶

driver.find_element(By.ID, "new-window-link").click()
WebDriverWait(driver, 3).until(lambda d: len(d.window_handles) == 2)

real window_handles after clicking the new-window link: 2
real current_window_handle still equals original: True
real current title (still the OLD window's title, confirming no auto-switch): 'Original Window'

A real, important confirmation: opening a second real window did not change which window Selenium is actually "looking at." The title still reads the original window's real title, even though a second real window now genuinely exists.

A real, explicit switch — and proof it landed on the right window¶

new_window = [h for h in driver.window_handles if h != original_window][0]
driver.switch_to.window(new_window)

REAL after explicit switch_to.window(): title='New Window', heading='This is a new real window'

A real close, and a real switch back¶

driver.close()
driver.switch_to.window(original_window)

real window_handles after closing the new window: 1
real current title after switching back to original: 'Original Window'

How It Actually Works¶

Opening a new real browser window or tab doesn't automatically move Selenium's point of control to it — this lesson's real check (current_window_handle == original_window staying True right after the click) proves that directly. Every real window or tab a session has opened gets its own handle, tracked in driver.window_handles, and switch_to.window() is the real, explicit action required to point subsequent commands at a different one. driver.close() closes only the currently active real window — this lesson's sequence had to switch into the new window first, then close that one specifically, rather than closing the original by accident.

This matters practically: a test that clicks something opening a new tab and immediately tries to interact with "the new content" will, without an explicit switch, keep operating on the real original window — exactly the kind of silent, confusing failure this lesson's direct title check was built to catch.

Common mistakes¶

Assuming Selenium automatically follows a newly-opened window or tab — this lesson's real, verified result (current_window_handle unchanged) is the direct disproof of that assumption.
Calling driver.close() without first confirming which window is actually active — closing the wrong real window (for example, the original one while still "in" it) can leave a session with no way back to content you still needed.
Comparing window handles as if they were predictable or orderable — this lesson used a real set-difference ([h for h in handles if h != original]) specifically because handle values are opaque identifiers with no guaranteed order or format.

Exercise¶

Open two additional new windows from the original (three real windows total), and write real code that switches to each one in turn, collects each real title into a list, and confirms the final list contains exactly ['Original Window', 'New Window', 'New Window'] — handling the real case where multiple windows happen to share the same title.