man WWW::Mechanize::FAQ () - Frequently Asked Questions about WWW::Mechanize

NAME

WWW::Mechanize::FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about WWW::Mechanize

How do I do X?

Can I do [such-and-such] with WWW::Mechanize?

If it's possible with LWP::UserAgent, then yes. WWW::Mechanize is a subclass of LWP::UserAgent, so all the wondrous magic of that class is inherited.

How do I use WWW::Mechanize through a proxy server?

See the docs in LWP::UserAgent on how to use the proxy. Short version:

    $mech->proxy(['http', 'ftp'], 'http://proxy.example.com:8000/');

or get the specs from the environment:

    $mech->env_proxy();

    # Environment set like so:
    gopher_proxy=http://proxy.my.place/
    wais_proxy=http://proxy.my.place/
    no_proxy="localhost,my.domain"
    export gopher_proxy wais_proxy no_proxy

How can I see what fields are on the forms?

Use the mech-dump utility, optionaly installed with Mechanize.

    $ mech-dump --forms http://search.cpan.org
    Dumping forms
    GET http://search.cpan.org/search
      query=
      mode=all                        (option)  [*all|module|dist|author]
      <NONAME>=CPAN Search            (submit)

How do I get Mech to handle authentication?

    my $agent = WWW::Mechanize->new();
    my @args = (
        Authorization => "Basic " .
            MIME::Base64::encode( USER . ':' . PASS )
    );

    $agent->credentials( ADDRESS, REALM, USER, PASS );
    $agent->get( URL, @args );

How can I get WWW::Mechanize to execute this JavaScript?

You can't. JavaScript is entirely client-based, and WWW::Mechanize is a client that doesn't understand JavaScript.

How do I handle frames?

You don't deal with them as frames, per se, but as links. Extract them with

    my @frame_links = $mech->find_link( tag => "frame" );

How do I get a list of HTTP headers and their values?

All HTTP::Headers methods work on a HTTP::Response object which is returned by the get(), reload(), response()/res(), click(), submit_form(), and request() methods.

    my $mech = WWW::Mechanize->new( autocheck => 1 );
    $mech->get( 'http://my.site.com' );
    my $res = $mech->response();
    for my $key ( $response->header_field_names() ) {
        print $key, " : ", $response->header( $key ), "\n";
    }

Why doesn't this work?

Why don't https:// URLs work?

You need either IO::Socket::SSL or Crypt::SSLeay installed. You're trying to change the value of a hidden field and you have warnings on.

First, make sure that you actually mean to change the field that you're changing, and that you don't have a typo. Usually, hidden variables are set by the site you're working on for a reason. If you change the value, you might be breaking some functionality by faking it out.

If you really do want to change a hidden value, make the changes in a scope that has warnings turned off:

    {
    local $^W = 0;
    $agent->field( name => $value );
    }

I tried to [such-and-such] and I got this weird error.

Are you checking your errors?

Are you sure?

Are you checking that your action succeeded after every action?