Header
The header of the Session Inspector contains various buttons that are key to interacting with the device itself, or the application source.
Device System Buttons¶
If using the Inspector with an Android or iOS device, the first button group in the header will be the system buttons, which simulate the equivalent Android or iOS system functionality:
- Android: back / home / app switcher
- iOS: home / Siri
- The Siri button will open a prompt for input text, which will be used as the Siri command. Please note that the command will not work if Siri is disabled.
Context Switcher¶
The context switcher button group allows to change to a different application context. By default, the Inspector works in native mode, and makes no attempts to discover other contexts. Pressing the globe icon will switch to hybrid mode, and the Inspector will start the context discovery process.
If no additional contexts are found, the button group will show a new yellow warning icon, which in turn will show this explanation upon mouseover.
However, if the Inspector does discover more contexts, a new dropdown will appear. There will also be a new blue icon, which will show further information upon mouseover.
The current context can now be switched by selecting the new context in the dropdown.
Note
The Inspector does not automatically switch the current context if a new one is discovered. This must be explicitly done using the dropdown.
Toggle Automatic Source Refresh¶
Info
This button is only visible when using MJPEG screenshotting capabilities like
appium:mjpegServerUrl.
This button allows to disable or re-enable refreshing the application XML source, when executing actions that normally trigger a refresh (these are listed in the Source tab page). While automatic refresh is disabled, the only way to refresh the source is by using the Refresh button.
Disabling automatic refresh can be useful while interacting with the device through the screenshot, in situations when the application source is not important. If the XML source is complex and takes some time to retrieve, disabling its retrieval allows for more seamless device interaction.
Refresh Source & Screenshot¶
This button triggers a manual refresh of the application screenshot and source, thereby retrieving the latest data.
Search for Element¶
This button opens a new modal window, which can be used to search for elements within the current application XML source. Searching requires providing the element details:
There is a choice of multiple locator strategies that can be used during search. Different drivers support different locator strategies, and the Inspector will try to hide strategies that are not supported by the current driver.
After selecting the locator strategy, entering the selector string, and pressing Search, the results screen is shown.
If one or more elements are found, the Inspector will list the element count, time taken, and a list of selectable element IDs:
Selecting any element enables the element action buttons:
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Attempt to select the element in the application source. Note that this may not work if the element ID has changed. |
 |
Tap the element |
 |
Enter text to send to the element, or clear its text |
Toggle Recorder¶
This button allows to enable or disable recording of various user interactions with the application, and translate them into code that can be used with various Appium clients.
Interactions that can be recorded include:
- Actions for a specific element (tap/send keys/clear)
- Generic tap/swipe actions on the application screenshot
- Mobile device system actions
- Driver commands
Note
Recording of custom gestures is not currently supported.
While recording is enabled, the Recorder tab contents are automatically populated with Appium client code for all supported interactions.
Quit Session¶
This button quits the Inspector session and returns to the Session Builder.