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Use the browser download flow when the server sends a downloadable PDF: subscribe to the download event before clicking, save the download to a permanent path, and verify the file before the browser context closes. An inline PDF opened in the browser and a PDF printed from an HTML page are different cases. Robot Framework Browser Library, powered by Playwright, handles each one differently.
First identify which PDF your application returns
Before choosing a keyword, observe what the action does:
- Browser download: clicking a link or submitting a form emits a download event. The server-delivered file is what you want to preserve.
- Inline PDF: the browser navigates to a PDF URL and displays its built-in viewer. This is still the server’s document, not a page that should be printed again.
- Page print: the application leaves you on HTML and you need a newly generated PDF of the rendered page.
Only the first case uses Playwright’s Download API. Using a page-print keyword for an inline response can produce a PDF of the viewer or an unrelated HTML page rather than the original bytes.
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The current official setup guide describes Python 3.7 or newer, Node.js, the robotframework-browser package, and the browser initialization command. Treat these as the guide’s current setup description; verify requirements when upgrading.
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- Install Node.js on the machine that runs Robot Framework.
- Install the Python package:
pip install robotframework-browser. - Install Playwright’s Node and browser dependencies:
rfbrowser init.
Keep the package and initialized browser binaries in the same environment used by your CI job. A locally initialized browser does not automatically exist in a clean CI worker.
Save a server-triggered PDF download
A download is owned by its browser context. Playwright removes temporary download files when that context closes, so save the file to your chosen destination before teardown. The reliable sequence is: register for the event, trigger the action, await the event, save it, then assert the result.
Robot Framework workflow
Browser Library keyword names and argument shapes can vary by installed version. The following shows the required ordering and API concepts; check your installed keyword reference and replace the explanatory promise, wait, and save calls with the corresponding version-specific keywords.
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*** Settings ***
Library Browser
Library OperatingSystem
*** Variables ***
${REPORT_URL} https://example.test/reports
${PDF_NAME} report.pdf
*** Test Cases ***
Save A Downloaded PDF
New Browser chromium headless=True
New Context acceptDownloads=True
New Page ${REPORT_URL}
${download_promise}= Promise To Wait For Download
Click text=Download report
${download}= Wait For ${download_promise}
${path}= Save Download ${download} ${OUTPUT_DIR}${/}${PDF_NAME}
File Should Exist ${path}
${size}= Get File Size ${path}
Should Be True ${size} > 0
[Teardown] Close BrowserThe promise must be created before the click. If it is created afterward, a fast response can be missed. Use a deterministic filename under Robot Framework’s output directory (or an explicitly created artifact directory), and retain the returned path for later assertions.
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What to verify beyond existence
- Check that the file exists and has a non-zero size.
- Check the extension or content type expected by your application.
- For stronger validation, read the first bytes in a separate test utility and confirm the PDF signature is present, while recognizing that a signature check does not prove the document is complete.
- Preserve the artifact before closing the context, especially in teardown code that deletes temporary directories.
Common download variations
A click may open a new page and then start a download, submit a form, or require a prior login. In all cases, establish the download wait before the action that ultimately causes the response. If the endpoint requires authentication, create the context with the required login state or perform the login in that same context.
Handle an inline PDF response
An inline response normally has a PDF content type and a disposition that tells the browser to display it. Browser Library documentation reviewed for this article does not establish a built-in, version-independent keyword that extracts and saves the raw response bytes from that viewer navigation.
Do not use page printing as a substitute
Save Page As Pdf and Playwright’s page.pdf() generate a new PDF from rendered page content. They do not save the server response that supplied an inline PDF. Printing can capture the browser viewer UI, an empty page, or a representation with altered pagination.
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If the test’s purpose is to validate the actual response body, call the PDF endpoint with an HTTP or API client and carry over the authentication required by the application. Browser contexts isolate cookies and storage, so a separately created client will need an access token, session cookie, or other supported credential. Verify your installed Browser Library and Playwright versions for any response-body API before writing version-specific code; the documented material does not settle one canonical Browser Library keyword for this case.
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When browser-level verification is enough
If you only need to prove that navigation reaches the PDF endpoint, assert the URL, response status where your version exposes it, and visible viewer state. Keep byte-level checks in the HTTP/API layer rather than pretending that a print operation is the original file.
Generate a PDF from rendered HTML with Save Page As Pdf
Use this path when the desired artifact is a print of the current page. Browser Library’s Save Page As Pdf is documented for Chromium while running headless. It returns the output path, and a relative path resolves under ${OUTPUT_DIR}.
*** Settings ***
Library Browser
*** Test Cases ***
Print Rendered Report
New Browser chromium headless=True
New Page https://example.test/report
Save Page As Pdf report-print.pdf
[Teardown] Close BrowserPlaywright PDF generation uses print CSS by default. If the site’s screen styles are the intended appearance, switch the page to screen media before generating the PDF using the media-emulation API available in your Browser Library version.
Important print options
- Path: choose a stable artifact location; relative paths use Robot’s output directory.
- Format or dimensions: select a paper format or explicit width and height.
- Margins and orientation: control printable space and portrait or landscape layout.
- Background graphics: enable them when colored panels or backgrounds are part of the required output; the documented default is false.
- Page ranges: export only selected pages when supported.
- Scale: use a value from 0.1 through 2.
- Headers and footers: configure them only when the generated printout needs them.
- Tagged output: the documented default is false; enable it only when your accessibility or downstream-processing requirements call for it.
- CSS page sizing: allow the page’s CSS page size to influence output when that is more important than the selected paper format.
These options affect a newly rendered printout, never the bytes returned by a PDF endpoint.
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Choose the right method
| Case | Saved file represents | Documented path | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser download | The server-delivered downloaded file | Wait for the download event, then save it | Persist it before the owning context closes |
| Inline PDF navigation | The server PDF displayed in the browser | Use a version-verified response-body API or an appropriate HTTP/API client | No Browser Library raw-response save keyword is established by the reviewed documentation |
| Page print | A new PDF of rendered HTML | Save Page As Pdf or Playwright page.pdf() |
Browser Library documents Chromium headless support; print CSS is used by default |
Troubleshoot failures systematically
No download event arrives
- Cause: the wait was registered after the click. Fix: create the wait first.
- Cause: the action opens an inline viewer instead. Fix: inspect the response behavior and use the inline-PDF approach.
- Cause: a validation error prevents submission. Fix: assert the form state and network result before diagnosing downloads.
The saved path disappears
The browser context was closed before the file was persisted, or cleanup removed the temporary directory. Save to a permanent artifact path while the context remains open.
The file is empty or not a PDF
Authentication may have expired, the endpoint may have returned an HTML error page, or a bot check may have intercepted the request. Check status and content type through your HTTP layer, preserve the authenticated session, and record the response for diagnosis.
Save Page As Pdf fails
Confirm that Chromium is running headless and that the Browser Library version supports the keyword. Ensure the page has finished rendering, then check path permissions and the output directory.
The printout looks different from the screen
That is usually print CSS behavior. Emulate screen media when appropriate, wait for fonts and images, enable background graphics if required, and adjust margins, scale, or page size.
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Save Page As Pdf only when a print of rendered HTML is the intended artifact.Quick Recap
