Espresso - typeText not working

Question

I'm trying to type some text inside an EditText:


    public void testSearch() {
          onView(withId(R.id.titleInput)).perform(typeText("Engineer"));
          onView(withId(R.id.titleInput)).check(matches(withText("Engineer")));
    }

I see the EditText is getting focus, but nothing happens. No text is typed.
I tried this on a phone and an emulator - same result.

Eduard · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-04T01:20:28.650

17

Looks like I figured out the issue. It had to do with hardware vs software keyboard.

For Emulators:

Go to Settings -> Language & Input -> switch the Default Input to Sample Soft Keyboard.

For Phones:

Install a software keyboard from the Play store and switch to it. It appears that the native keyboards of some phones do not work.

It works now.

edited Jan 04 '14 at 01:20

answered Jan 04 '14 at 01:00

Eduard

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Thanks! This worked for me. Finally, after an hour trying to figure out what could be wrong with my espresso tests :) Just had to change the keyboard. – Carmen Jun 10 '17 at 13:37

score 17 · Answer 2 · answered May 21 '15 at 11:42

17

Had the same issue using Espresso 2. As a workaround I'm using replaceText instead of typeText.

public void testSearch() {
      onView(withId(R.id.titleInput)).perform(click(), replaceText("Engineer"));
      onView(withId(R.id.titleInput)).check(matches(withText("Engineer")));
}

answered May 21 '15 at 11:42

dorr

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1

Using `replaceText` worked for me. There is definitely some bug in `typeText` – FlyingPumba Nov 07 '18 at 20:00

score 16 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 14 '13 at 00:52

16

If the EditText does not has the focus yet, you should click on it first. If this solves your problem, then there is no bug.

onView(withId(R.id.titleInput)).perform(click()).perform(typeText("Engineer"));

answered Dec 14 '13 at 00:52

skyleecm

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Nope. It was the first thing I tried. Same issue even if you click on it first. – Eduard Dec 16 '13 at 18:03
Thanks, it solved my issue because I listen to focus changes. – Vince Apr 09 '15 at 20:51
5

Not sure how Espresso was working in 2013, when you answered, but now the click/focus is taken care of by `ViewActions.typeText()` – tir38 May 02 '17 at 19:27

score 11 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 12 '13 at 14:33

11

You can bypass the problem by calling setText on the EditText.

   final EditText titleInput = (EditText) activity.findViewById(R.id.titleInput);
   getInstrumentation().runOnMainSync(new Runnable() {
        public void run() {
            titleInput.setText("Engineer");
        }
    });

answered Dec 12 '13 at 14:33

skyleecm

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Thank you. This definitely unblocks me, so I'll award you the bounty. However, I still would like to know why typeText is not working in this case. – Eduard Dec 12 '13 at 22:48
2

The solution might work fine but I think ethically this is not the right way. When Espresso has revealed an API that lets you do this, then I think we should concentrate on the bug. Why not open a bug on their site or discuss on google groups. – Khushboo Dec 13 '13 at 09:44
hi Eduard, I agree with Khushboo , you should file a bug on Espresso site. Perhaps, another widget in the screen has gained the focus. – skyleecm Dec 13 '13 at 13:07
I had a test case where I have to include multiple spaces after the username and using Espresso's typeText was including a dot (default if you tap double spaces) so this solved my issue. Thanks @skyleecm – Viraj Gaikwad Aug 08 '19 at 16:27

score 5 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 14 '20 at 14:50

5

You can include it with in the code like this,

onView(withId(R.id.titleInput))
     .perform(click(), replaceText("Engineer"), closeSoftKeyboard());

edited Dec 14 '20 at 14:50

MatPag

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answered Sep 14 '16 at 10:02

Shainu Thomas

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Thanks! I didn't need to add `click()` & `closeSoftKeyboard()` though – Skj Apr 04 '23 at 08:28

score 5 · Answer 6 · edited Feb 09 '20 at 15:30

5

Same issue resolved with the following:

editText.perform(scrollTo(), click(), clearText(), typeText(myInput), closeSoftKeyboard())

Interestingly, I only ever had a problem when my machine was working hard.

edited Feb 09 '20 at 15:30

Jeehut

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answered Jul 11 '19 at 19:19

Mike Collins

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Thank you Mike, this work for me: myField.perform(scrollTo(), click(), clearText(), typeText(textToBeSet), closeSoftKeyboard()) – moralejaSinCuentoNiProverbio Jul 23 '19 at 11:14
Perfect answer, only one that reliably worked for me! – Jeehut Feb 09 '20 at 15:30

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered May 15 '18 at 23:41

1

I fixed this issue by setting layout_height="wrap_content" on the View I wanted to click(). Maybe it can help someone here.

answered May 15 '18 at 23:41

sonique

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Maxwell · Answer 8 · 2014-05-30T21:29:07.077

0

If you're using Genymotion, you may need to switch the default keyboard in Genymotion Configuration (it's an app on the emulator).

Go to Apps -> Genymotion Configuration -> Keyboard -> Virtual keyboard (click "Yes" when you're prompted to reboot)

NOTE: These changes do not persist after you close the emulator. You will need to set this every time you start the emulator.

edited May 30 '14 at 21:29

answered May 07 '14 at 22:34

Maxwell

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score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Aug 21 '19 at 18:31

0

for me I was annotated my test method with @UiThreadTest. I removed that and it solved.

answered Aug 21 '19 at 18:31

Hadi

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it doesn't help in this case you should receive another error if the issue was in threading – Edhar Khimich Jul 28 '20 at 17:45

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Jul 12 '20 at 22:21

0

Adding closeSoftKeyboard() after typeText() worked for me.

CODE:

onView(withId(R.id.editTextUserInput))
            .perform(typeText(STRING_TO_BE_TYPED), closeSoftKeyboard());

This is how it is documented in the Android docs.

answered Jul 12 '20 at 22:21

Izak

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Espresso - typeText not working

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