Simulate a touch or click interaction in your automated test
Automated tests are designed to mimic how real users interact with your application. One of the most basic yet essential interactions is a touch or click on an element. Whether users are tapping buttons, selecting links, or interacting with menus, the Touch step lets your test perform these actions reliably across desktop and mobile contexts.
This step replicates the physical gesture of a user’s click or tap, ensuring that your automation interacts with elements exactly as a real person would.
Why touch interactions matter
User interfaces depend on interaction, not observation. Clicking a button, tapping a link, or selecting a UI element often triggers navigation, updates data, opens menus, or reveals additional content.
With the Touch step, you can:
Trigger navigation to new pages
Activate buttons and links
Open dropdowns and menus
Interact with form controls
Simulate mobile taps
This allows your tests to cover real user behaviour rather than simply validating static page content.
Realistic interaction across device types
Unlike simple event triggers that fire hidden DOM events, the Touch step reflects actual interaction:
On desktop, it behaves like a real mouse click
On mobile emulations, it behaves like a tap
It respects element visibility and clickability
It waits for the element to be present before interaction
This results in more reliable and user-aligned automation, reducing flakiness in flows that depend on UI actions.
How this integrates with flows
Touch is usually used in sequences where an action leads to a change in state or content. Common examples include:
Clicking a “Sign in” button after filling credentials
Tapping a product thumbnail to open details
Interacting with navigation items in a header
Selecting a link that opens in the same or new tab
Triggering UI behaviour like dropdown toggles
Because the step mimics actual gestures, you get behaviour that’s consistent with what real users experience.
Works seamlessly with mobile and responsive flows
Across responsive and mobile testing, Touch works in both contexts:
On iPhone and Android form factors
In desktop Chrome, Firefox, or Edge layouts
Inside modals, overlays, and interactive components
This means your test can confidently assert behaviour no matter the environment.
Combine with assertions and downstream checks
Touch is often followed by validation steps such as:
Check Text
Check Value
Wait for navigation
Wait for element
Run Browser Script
Visual regression snapshots
This lets you construct complete interaction chains that verify both action and outcome.
For example:
Touch a “Submit” button
Wait for the next page to load
Assert that success text appears
Check that specific values are displayed
This gives you comprehensive coverage of interactive behaviour.
Make your tests more human
By simulating real clicks and taps, your automation feels more like real user behaviour. This improves reliability, reduces false positives, and makes your test results more trustworthy for developers, testers, and stakeholders alike.
When your automation interacts like a user would, you gain confidence that your application works the way it should in the real world.