Chrome Version       : 59.0.3071.9 (Official Build) dev (64-bit)
URLs (if applicable) : N/A
Other browsers tested:
  Add OK or FAIL, along with the version, after other browsers where you
have tested this issue:
     Safari:
    Firefox:
         IE:

Hi, I've written a test module in python to visit a website, click on a couple of links, and then download the PDF to whose URL i've navigated,  i am using selenium with chromedriver (latest version).  it works perfectly when i use the browser in normal (visible) mode.  now i'm trying to do the same thing with the browser running in headless mode.  i initialize the browser as follows:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait 
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
import selenium.webdriver.support.ui as ui
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()

prefs = {"download.default_directory": "D:/projects/getpdf/src/chromeTest", "plugins.always_open_pdf_externally": True,
		 "disable-extensions": True, "download.prompt_for_download": False, "download.directory_upgrade": True}
options.add_experimental_option("prefs", prefs)
options.add_experimental_option("args", ["--headless"])
options.add_argument("disable-infobars")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(chrome_options = options)

driver.get("https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25988229")
...

the expected result occurs -- eventually the PDF gets downloaded -- but the browser is visible, not headless, and looks and behaves exactly the same as when i omit the line
options.add_experimental_option("args", ["--headless"]).

from the docs, this appears to be the right way to start chrome in headless mode, so what am i doing wrong?

-dh


What is the expected result?

that chrome would open invisibly; the proof of its existence would be the appearance of the PDF i'm downloading.


What happens instead?

the PDF gets downloaded, so chrome is functioning properly, but it is visible, not invisible.

Please provide any additional information below. Attach a screenshot if
possible.