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Testing / Selenium Interview questions

How do you handle file uploads in Selenium?

For a standard <input type="file"> element, Selenium can set the file path directly with sendKeys(), without needing to interact with the operating system's native file picker dialog at all.

WebElement upload = driver.findElement(By.id("resume-upload"));
upload.sendKeys("/absolute/path/to/resume.pdf");

This only works if the input element is present in the DOM, even if visually hidden by CSS - sendKeys() writes to the element directly rather than simulating a real click that would open an OS dialog. If a custom-styled upload widget hides the real input entirely and it can't be targeted directly, a common workaround is using JavaScript execution (via JavascriptExecutor) to temporarily reveal the hidden input, upload to it, then let the application's own JavaScript pick up the change event.

sendKeys() on a file input works by:
For an upload input that's completely hidden and hard to target, a common workaround uses:

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