Firefox Firebug For Mac



Apr 19, 2017 Firebug is a Firefox add-on which integrates a host of essential web development tools into the browser. A powerful source editor shows you the HTML source as it's being transformed by JavaScript, highlighting changes as they happen so they're easy to spot. Get Firefox, a free web browser backed by Mozilla, a non-profit dedicated to internet health and privacy. Available now on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.

Let’s start to learn how can we install and use Firebug and FirePath, the two most used Firefox browser plugins for test automation developers.

In our last blog post, we’d explained various types of Selenium locators with useful examples. If you are just a beginner in test automation, then you must read this post.

Firefox Firebug For Mac

The next step for you is to learn about the tools that can help you in finding the locators.

In today’s post, first, we are sharing the step by step instructions to install the FireBug and FirePath add-ons for Firefox.

Secondly, we’ll give away some unique tricks to help you find locators on the web pages.

Here is the table of content which you can use to navigate throughout the post.

How to use FireBug and FirePath to find locators?

What is XPath?

Firefox Firebug For Mac

XPath is a technique for uniquely identifying an element on a web page. It behaves like an address to an HTML element such as check boxes, text, images, links, and divs, etc. In Selenium, we treat XPath as one of the most trusted element locators. XPath is much more than an address as it not only points to the end point, it also contains the whole map to lead to a destination.

What is FireBug Add-on?

Firebug is the most famous add-on for the FireFox browser. It gels with FireFox so well to bring you plenty of tools for web development. It gives you control over the document object model of the web page so that you can modify, manage, and monitor the CSS, HTML, and JavaScript in real-time.

Why is the FireBug useful in Selenium automation?

Usually, there are four types of operations that you do with the FireBug add-on.

1- Display source – It gives you the ability to review the HTML of the web page after the JavaScript engine completes it processing.

2- Highlight changes – It allows to detect and highlight (in Yellow) any HTML changes as they appear on the web page. This feature would fetch your attention instantly to make sure nothing gets missed.

3- On the fly Inspection – FireBug has its “Inspect” option for quickly viewing the prospective locators as you exercise it on a web element.

4- Copy HTML – You can easily copy the HTML code of the page or part of a web page using the “innerHTML” property or the XPath expression for the element.

How to install FireBug in FireFox browser?

FireBug is an add-on which you can easily download from the FireFox plugin store.

1- Follow the menu option as Tools >> Web Developer >> Get More Tools.

2- The above action will lead you to a web page as shown in the below image. There you will find an option to download/install the FireBug add-on. You should click the “Add to Firefox” button to begin the plugin installation.

3- Upon clicking the add link, you will see the below popup. Now, click the “Install” button to complete the installation.

4- After finishing the FireBug installation, you can use “F12” shortcut key to launch the Firebug add-on. Check out the below screenshot.

Learn how to use FireBug to find element locator?

It is easy to use FireBug, just follow the below steps.

1- Right click on any web object and press the “Inspect Element with Firebug” option. It’ll open up an HTML code window as shown in the below image.

Add

2- From the code window, again right click and select the “Copy XPath” option to retrieve the element’s XPath locator or you can try other ones as well.

What is FirePath add-on?

This plugin extends the capability of the FireBug add-on. It brings the options to modify, inspect and produce XPath and the CSS Selector locators.

Why is the FirePath useful in Selenium automation?

Firebug Download For Firefox

1- You can supply custom XPath values and test their correctness by spotlighting the effects directly on the Webpage.

2- It returns the XPath of the element you’ve selected Like the Firebug add-on does.

How to install FirePath in FireFox browser?

We’ve told above that FirePath only extends the FireBug capabilities. So you should install it after adding the FireBug add-on.

1- It is the same process as we did for the FireBug add-on. Just go to Tools >> Web Developer >> Get More Tools.

2- Search for the FirePath plugin and click on the “Add to Firefox” button.

3- After clicking the add option, the FirePath installation dialog will open as shown below. You’ll have to press the “Install” button to finish the process.

4- Now, you can give the “F12” command and check the “FirePath” option got added in the Firebug’s toolbar.

Learn how to use FirePath to find element locator?

It is, even more, easier to use FirePath than FireBug. Check out the below steps for help.

1- Open FireBug and click on the “FirePath” tab. There you can find an XPath edit field which would point to the XPath of any selected web element. Here you can write a custom XPath and use the “Highlight” button to verify it.

2- The FirePath plugin makes the presentation of the XPath pretty straight. You can easily copy the XPath of the selected web element. And later use the saved XPath value in the test automation project.

Live Action – Installing and Using Both FireBug and FirePath in FireFox.

Now, it’s time to summarize what you’ve learned from this post. We’ve brought you the animated GIF, which contains the step-by-step process of the plugin installation and the usage flow as explained in the above sections.

Compare FireBug and FirePath.

The fundamental difference between the two is that FireBug returns the Absolute XPath whereas the FirePath returns the relative path. Check out the below examples for more clarity on the difference between the FireBug and FirePath. Though you can also tune the FirePath setting to produce the absolute XPath as well.

Best,

TechBeamers.

The Firebug is one of the most popular add-on feature and a web development tool that was created by Joe Hewitt. It facilitates you to inspect, edit, debug and monitor any website’s JavaScript CSS, HTML, XHR, and DOM code right in firefox browser itself.

It also helps you to view the source code of any web page. Firebug includes all live test editing, script error logging and enables you to run arbitrary JavaScript.

It is available free of cost and is open-source software so that anybody can edit it according to their use. Nowadays, Firebug is at its end of life in firefox browser as the new version of Firefox, i.e. Firefox Quantum (version 75) has all the features of Firebug. All the features of Firebug are present in Firefox developer tools.

The Firebug has 12 years of successful life span. Through this tutorial, you will learn how to install Firebug in Mozilla Firefox.

Steps to Install Firebug in Mozilla Firefox

Firefox Firebug For Mac Download

Step 1: Open the Mozilla Firefox browser, and at the top right corner, you have the Firefox menu, which is shown with the three horizontal lines. Among the displayed option in the menu, click “Add-ons” option.

Step 2: The Add-on page will open in the new tab of the browser here you have the search bar. Search for the “Firebug” in the search bar shown in the top right corner.

Step 3: You will find several firebug add-ons among which you have to select the authentic ones. You can see “Firebug 2.0.4”, click on the “Install” button beside it to install it.

Step 4: Once you click the “Install” button, it will start downloading. It may take a few seconds to get installed.

Firebug For Safari

Step 5: Now you have successfully installed the Firebug in Mozilla Firefox, and it is ready for use.

Firefox Firebug For Mac Os

So, this is all about the steps of installing Firebug in Mozilla Firefox. I hope the content is useful. Keep reading.

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