Extracting Text from a Span Element Using XPath in Selenium

Here is the HTML code snippet:

<div class="a-row a-spacing-small a-size-small">
<div class="a-row">
<a class="a-link-normal a-declarative g-visible-js reviewStarsPopoverLink" href="#" data-action="a-popover" data-a-popover="{"closeButton":"false","url":"/gp/customer-reviews/widgets/average-customer-review/popover/ref=wl_it_o_cm_cr_acr_img_hz?ie=UTF8&a=B05555JQP&contextId=wishi&link=1&seeall=1","name":"review-hist-pop.B075555RJQP","max-width":"700","position":"triggerBottom","data":{"itemId":"I2555555554GT","isGridViewInnerPopover":""},"header":"","cache":"true"}">
<i id="review_stars_I2J55555554GT" class="a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4-5">
<span class="a-icon-alt">4.5 out of 5 stars</span>
</i>
<i class="a-icon a-icon-popover"/>
</a>
<a class="a-link-normal g-visible-no-js" href="/product-reviews/B075555JQP/ref=wl_it_o_cm_cr_acr_txt_hz?ie=UTF8&colid=2K4U5555551D&coliid=I2J5555555T&showViewpoints=1">
<span class="a-letter-space"/>
<a id="review_count_I2J55555555GT" class="a-link-normal" href="/product-reviews/B05555555P/ref=wl_it_o_cm_cr_acr_txt_hz?ie=UTF8&colid=255555555D&coliid=I2555555GT&showViewpoints=1">(68)</a>
</div>
<div class="a-row">
<div class="a-row a-size-small itemAvailability">
<div class="a-row itemUsedAndNew">
</div>

I am attempting to retrieve the text 4.5 out of 5 stars using either of these XPath expressions:

.//*[contains(@id,'review_stars')]/span[@class='a-icon-alt']
.//*[contains(@id,'review_stars')]

However, my attempts have been unsuccessful so far and are resulting in an empty string.

Interestingly, all these XPaths work perfectly fine in Firebug, so I am unsure why they are not working in my program. My suspicion is that this issue may be related to the fact that the rating is only visible when hovering over a specific element on the webpage. I am uncertain about how this might be causing the problem or how to resolve it.

Any insights would be appreciated! Thank you!

javacssseleniumxpath

Answer №1

Your mistake was not properly placing the image between the anchor and span elements. The span should be inside the image, not next to the anchor as a sibling.

Consider using this code:

.//*[contains(@id,'review_stars')]/i/span[@class='a-icon-alt']

Answer №2

Although I am struggling to grasp the reason why my previous code is not functioning as expected, I am determined to find a solution. If someone can offer me a comprehensive explanation, I will consider their response as the definitive answer.

At this moment, the workaround that seems to be effective for me involves substituting element.getText(); with 

element.getAttribute("innerHTML");

While this method yields the desired outcome, I am keen on understanding the underlying reasons why getText() fails in this particular scenario. Once again, if anyone can furnish me with a functional XPath or provide clarification on this matter, I am prepared to acknowledge it as the final resolution.

Many thanks.

Answer №3

To obtain the rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars using XPath, you should utilize the following code:

//a[@class='a-link-normal a-declarative g-visible-js reviewStarsPopoverLink']/i[starts-with(@id,'review_stars_') and @class='a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4-5']/span[@class='a-icon-alt']

Update :

You mentioned that 

This does not work either. I just tried it.
. It seems like you might have omitted a section in the xpath that was provided by me. The method I recommended has been proven to be effective. Refer to the screenshot below for confirmation:

https://i.sstatic.net/gfRXI.png

Note: Although your inquiry pertained to xpath, you opted to present your answer focusing on getText() and getAttribute("innerHTML") methods. Nevertheless, my solution is compatible with both getText() and getAttribute("innerHTML") methods.

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