Automate Web Form Interactions

---
name: automate-web-form-interactions
description: "Automate web form interactions including login, file upload, text input, and form submission using Playwright. Use when user needs to automate website interactions, upload files to web forms, fill out forms with text input, click buttons, or submit data to web applications. Supp…"
category: "Web & Scraping"
author: community
version: "1.0.0"
icon: globe
---

# Web Form Automation

Automate web form interactions reliably using Playwright with best practices for session management, file uploads, and form submission.

## Quick Start

```javascript
const { chromium } = require('playwright');

// Basic form automation
const browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com/form');

// Upload compressed images
await page.locator('input[type="file"]').setInputFiles('/path/to/image.webp');

// Type text (triggers events properly)
await page.locator('textarea').pressSequentially('Your text', { delay: 30 });

// Submit form
await page.locator('button[type="submit"]').click({ force: true });
```

## Session Management

### Using Browser Session Data

When user provides a JSON file with session data:

```javascript
const sessionData = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('session.json', 'utf8'));

// Set cookies before navigating
for (const cookie of sessionData.cookies || []) {
  await context.addCookies([cookie]);
}

// Set localStorage/sessionStorage
await page.evaluate((data) => {
  for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(data.localStorage || {})) {
    localStorage.setItem(k, v);
  }
}, sessionData);
```

## File Upload Best Practices

### Image Compression

Always compress images before upload for reliability:

```bash
# Convert to webp for best compression
convert input.png output.webp

# Or resize if needed
convert input.png -resize 1024x1024 output.webp
```

**Size comparison:**
- Original PNG: ~4MB
- Compressed PNG: ~1MB  
- WebP: ~30-50KB (99% smaller)

### Upload Sequence

```javascript
// 1. Find file inputs
const fileInputs = await page.locator('input[type="file"]').all();

// 2. Upload with waiting time
await fileInputs[0].setInputFiles('/path/to/start.webp');
await page.waitForTimeout(3000); // Wait for upload to process

await fileInputs[1].setInputFiles('/path/to/end.webp');
await page.waitForTimeout(3000);
```

## Text Input Best Practices

### Use pressSequentially, not fill()

❌ **Don't use fill()** - doesn't trigger input events:
```javascript
await textInput.fill('text'); // May not activate submit button
```

✅ **Use pressSequentially()** - simulates real typing:
```javascript
await textInput.pressSequentially('text', { delay: 30 });
```

### Trigger Events Manually (if needed)

```javascript
await page.evaluate(() => {
  const el = document.querySelector('textarea');
  el.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
  el.dispatchEvent(new Event('change', { bubbles: true }));
});
```

## Button Clicking

### Force Click When Disabled

If button appears disabled but should be clickable:

```javascript
await button.click({ force: true });
```

### Check Button State

```javascript
const isEnabled = await button.isEnabled();
const isVisible = await button.isVisible();
```

## Complete Example: Video Generation Form

```javascript
const { chromium } = require('playwright');
const fs = require('fs');

async function submitVideoForm(sessionFile, startImage, endImage, prompt) {
  const browser = await chromium.launch({ 
    headless: true, 
    args: ['--no-sandbox'] 
  });
  const context = await browser.newContext();
  const page = await context.newPage();
  
  // Load session if provided
  if (fs.existsSync(sessionFile)) {
    const session = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(sessionFile, 'utf8'));
    // Set cookies, localStorage...
  }
  
  // Navigate
  await page.goto('https://example.com/video', { 
    waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' 
  });
  await page.waitForTimeout(3000);
  
  // Upload images (webp compressed)
  const inputs = await page.locator('input[type="file"]').all();
  await inputs[0].setInputFiles(startImage);
  await page.waitForTimeout(3000);
  await inputs[1].setInputFiles(endImage);
  await page.waitForTimeout(3000);
  
  // Select options
  await page.click('text=Seedance 2.0 Fast');
  await page.click('text=15s');
  
  // Type prompt
  const textarea = page.locator('textarea').first();
  await textarea.pressSequentially(prompt, { delay: 30 });
  await page.waitForTimeout(2000);
  
  // Submit
  await page.locator('button[class*="submit"]').click({ force: true });
  
  // Wait and screenshot
  await page.waitForTimeout(5000);
  await page.screenshot({ path: 'result.png' });
  
  await browser.close();
}
```

## Scripts

The `scripts/` directory contains reusable automation scripts:

- `webp-compress.sh` - Convert images to webp format
- `form-submit.js` - Generic form submission template

## Troubleshooting

### Button stays gray/disabled
- Wait longer after file upload (3+ seconds)
- Ensure text input triggers events (use pressSequentially)
- Check if images are still uploading

### Upload times out
- Compress images to webp format first
- Reduce image dimensions if very large

### Form doesn't submit
- Use force: true for click
- Check button selector is correct
- Verify all required fields are filled