Selenium WebDriver: Infinite Processing Popup After File Upload in PhantomJS

Other Questions Headless Browser
1

I’m working on a C# project using Selenium WebDriver with PhantomJS as the headless browser. I’ve implemented a file upload function that works, but I’m facing an issue with a processing popup that appears afterwards.

Here’s a simplified version of my code:

public void UploadFile(string fileType, string filePath)
{
    Thread.Sleep(5000);
    if (fileType == "ExchangeRates")
    {
        ((PhantomJSDriver)_browser).ExecutePhantomJS($"var page = this; page.uploadFile('input[type=file]', '{filePath}');");
    }
    else
    {
        throw new ArgumentException("Invalid file type");
    }
}

The problem is that after uploading the file, a processing popup appears and stays on the screen indefinitely. When I run the same script with Chrome, the popup only shows for a split second.

Has anyone encountered this issue with PhantomJS? Any suggestions on how to make the popup behave the same way as in Chrome would be greatly appreciated.

2

I’ve encountered similar issues with PhantomJS and file uploads. The infinite processing popup is likely due to PhantomJS’s limitations in handling modern web features. Since you mentioned it works fine in Chrome, I’d strongly recommend switching to Headless Chrome or Firefox for your Selenium tests. These modern headless browsers offer better compatibility and performance.

If you must stick with PhantomJS, try updating to the latest version and implementing a wait strategy after the file upload. You could use WebDriverWait to check for the disappearance of the popup or the presence of an element that indicates the upload is complete. However, be prepared for potential inconsistencies as PhantomJS is no longer actively maintained.

Ultimately, moving away from PhantomJS is the most reliable solution for smoother automated testing, especially when dealing with file uploads and dynamic content.

3

hey man, u gotta check headless chrome - phantomjs can be hairy with file uploads. maybe try clicking the file input to clear that popup. it might fix it. good luck!

4

I’ve dealt with similar PhantomJS quirks before, and that infinite processing popup can be a real pain. From my experience, the issue often stems from PhantomJS not properly triggering the onload event after file upload.

One workaround I’ve had some success with is manually triggering the onload event after the upload. You could try something like this:

((PhantomJSDriver)_browser).ExecuteScript(“document.querySelector(‘input[type=file]’).dispatchEvent(new Event(‘change’));”);

This might trick the page into thinking the upload is complete and dismiss the popup.

That said, I agree with others here - PhantomJS is pretty outdated at this point. If possible, switching to Headless Chrome or Firefox would likely save you a lot of headaches in the long run. They’re much more reliable for modern web testing scenarios like file uploads.

If you absolutely must stick with PhantomJS, you might also want to look into using a wait strategy to check for specific elements that appear after a successful upload, rather than relying on the popup behavior.