Katalon Recorder Unable to Scroll Down Via Sendkeys or Javascript

Bug Report
1

I’ve seen the strangest thing with Katalon Recorder, which has to be a bug.

I’m trying to use sendkeys to send a pagedown key if it verifies the element isn’t visible. This worked one time, and then it has never worked again ever, no matter what I do.

I’ve even started a new project, and just tried to send the key page down to chrome, but it doesn’t work. I’ve seen a few people complain about sendkey’s not working with recorder and there doesn’t seem to be a solution.

Is there any way to scroll down on command via javascript? All the solutions I’ve tried don’t work, no matter what I do, katalon recorder will not scroll a chrome window in any direction.

I also read in these forums that locator was no longer necessary when using sendkey but if i leave the locator blank it will “wait for element to be found” and then timeout and stop the script.

2

still an issue in 2026

3

This is NOT a bug. It Katalon recoder behaviour or you can even say limitation

Katalon Recorder cannot scroll the browser viewport using sendKeys or JavaScript due to browser-extension limitations.

  • sendKeys(PAGE_DOWN) only works on focused input elements

  • Locator cannot be empty — Recorder still waits for it

  • scrollToElement is not supported in Recorder

**If scroll logic is required, Katalon Studio must be used Via Scroll to element
**
So –> Recorder runs as a browser extension and cannot control browser scrolling via sendKeys or JavaScript. PAGE_DOWN only works on focused input elements, and locator cannot be empty. scrollToElement is available only in Katalon Studio, not Recorder.

4

hi @venustechnology

Why your scroll doesn’t work (Recorder):

  • Katalon Recorder runs as a browser extension → limited control over viewport
  • sendKeys(PAGE_DOWN) only works if an input element is focused
  • JS like window.scrollTo() is blocked / unreliable in Recorder
  • Empty locator = Recorder waits → timeout (expected behavior)

What actually works:

:backhand_index_pointing_right: Option 1 (best): switch to Katalon Studio

  • Use:
WebUI.scrollToElement(findTestObject('your_object'), 10)

:backhand_index_pointing_right: Option 2 (if stuck with Recorder):

  • Click something focusable first (input/textbox), then:
sendKeys | css=input | ${KEY_PAGE_DOWN}
  • But this is flaky and not recommended

:backhand_index_pointing_right: Option 3 (hacky workaround):

  • Use click on elements further down instead of scrolling

Real talk:
If your test depends on scrolling → Recorder is the wrong tool. Move to Studio. That’s the proper fix