Locating Web Elements
Locating Web Elements
In Selenium, locating web elements is finding the HTML elements on the application web page that we want to interact with. There are various ways to locate web elements in Selenium.
- Id
- Name
- XPath
- CSS selector
- Link Text
- Tagname
HTML DOM Structure
The Document Object Model (DOM) is like a blueprint of a webpage. DOM is simply a web page hierarchy wherein every component is a node. Understanding this structure is important in locating and interacting with elements using Selenium.
Locating Web Elements
Now, let’s explore the methods to locate elements within this DOM tree:
ID
Element IDs are unique identifiers for web elements, making them a quick and efficient way to locate elements. Selenium allows you to find elements by their IDs, ensuring you work with the exact element you want.
Name
Names are another way to identify elements, although they may not always be unique. Still, Selenium lets you locate elements by their names, making it a handy option for certain scenarios.
XPath
XPath is a powerful tool for navigating XML documents, and it’s exceptionally useful for pinpointing elements in the DOM. You can craft custom XPath expressions to precisely locate elements based on their attributes, position, or hierarchy.
CSS Selectors
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) selectors are not just for styling but also great for locating elements. CSS selectors offer a concise and flexible way to target elements using their attributes or relationships with other elements.
Link Text and Partial Link Text
Regarding hyperlinks, you can look for elements depending on the link or partial text. This becomes important, especially when you wish to click the links to move around various site pages.
