How can I locate a div element using multiple class names?

Question

How can I locate a div element using multiple class names?

<div class="value test" /> I am trying to locate this specific element on the web page which has two classes assigned to it. Since className does not accept space-separated values, I am exploring alternative ways to achieve this. Any suggestions?

@FindBy(className = "value test")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;

java css selenium selenium-webdriver

Answer 1

Answer №1

It seems that the explanation provided by barak manos's answer is not entirely comprehensive.

Let's consider a few elements like the ones listed below:

```
<div class="value test"></div>
```
```
<div class="value test     "></div>
```

<div class="first value test last"></div>

```
<div class="test value"></div>
```

Exploring how XPath works for matching:

Matches only 1 (exact match), as per barak's response

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='value test']"));

Matches 1, 2, and 3 (matching classes containing value test, with class order in consideration)
```
driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[contains(@class, 'value test')]"));
```

Matches 1, 2, 3, and 4 (if elements have both classes value and test)

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[contains(@class, 'value') and contains(@class, 'test')]"));

Furthermore, in scenarios like this, Css Selector is typically preferred over XPath (being faster, more succinct, and native).

Match 1

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div[class='value test']"));

Match 1, 2, and 3

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div[class*='value test']"));

Match 1, 2, 3, and 4

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.value.test"));

Answer 2

It seems that the explanation provided by barak manos's answer is not entirely comprehensive.

Let's consider a few elements like the ones listed below:

```
<div class="value test"></div>
```
```
<div class="value test     "></div>
```

<div class="first value test last"></div>

```
<div class="test value"></div>
```

Exploring how XPath works for matching:

Matches only 1 (exact match), as per barak's response

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='value test']"));

Matches 1, 2, and 3 (matching classes containing value test, with class order in consideration)
```
driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[contains(@class, 'value test')]"));
```

Matches 1, 2, 3, and 4 (if elements have both classes value and test)

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[contains(@class, 'value') and contains(@class, 'test')]"));

Furthermore, in scenarios like this, Css Selector is typically preferred over XPath (being faster, more succinct, and native).

Match 1

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div[class='value test']"));

Match 1, 2, and 3

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div[class*='value test']"));

Match 1, 2, 3, and 4

driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.value.test"));

Answer 3

Answer №2

Give this a shot:

testValue = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='value test']"));

Answer 4

Give this a shot:

testValue = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='value test']"));

Answer 5

Answer №3

In case anyone is curious, I managed to achieve this by linking the different class names using periods:

Java:

title_element = driver.findElements(By.CLASS_NAME, 'BVG0Nb')[0].getText();

Answer 6

In case anyone is curious, I managed to achieve this by linking the different class names using periods:

Java:

title_element = driver.findElements(By.CLASS_NAME, 'BVG0Nb')[0].getText();

Answer 7

Answer №4

Class By.ByClassName

The Class By.ByClassName is specifically defined in By.java. It enables finding elements based on the value of the "class" attribute, allowing matching against each individual class within an element.

/**
 * Find elements based on the value of the "class" attribute. If an element has multiple classes, then
 * this will match against each of them. For example, if the value is "one two onone", then the
 * class names "one" and "two" will match.
 *
 * @param className The value of the "class" attribute to search for.
 * @return A By which locates elements by the value of the "class" attribute.
 */
public static By className(String className) {
  return new ByClassName(className);
}

Application

According to this definition, passing multiple classes like value and test as arguments to @FindBy(className = "...") is not allowed. Attempting to do so will result in an error:

invalid selector: Compound class names not permitted

Resolution

To address this restriction, there are various strategies that can be employed:

If the element can be uniquely identified using only the classname value, you can utilize:
```
@FindBy(className = "value")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;
```
If the element is identifiable solely through the classname test, you can opt for:
```
@FindBy(className = "test")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;
```
In cases where both classnames - value and test are essential for identification, CSS selectors can be utilized:
```
@FindBy(css  = ".value.test")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;
```

Alternatively, XPath can also be employed:

@FindBy(xpath   = "//*[@class='value test']")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;

Quick Reference

Solving the Invalid Selector Error Due to Compound Class Names Using Selenium

Answer 8

Class By.ByClassName

The Class By.ByClassName is specifically defined in By.java. It enables finding elements based on the value of the "class" attribute, allowing matching against each individual class within an element.

/**
 * Find elements based on the value of the "class" attribute. If an element has multiple classes, then
 * this will match against each of them. For example, if the value is "one two onone", then the
 * class names "one" and "two" will match.
 *
 * @param className The value of the "class" attribute to search for.
 * @return A By which locates elements by the value of the "class" attribute.
 */
public static By className(String className) {
  return new ByClassName(className);
}

Application

According to this definition, passing multiple classes like value and test as arguments to @FindBy(className = "...") is not allowed. Attempting to do so will result in an error:

invalid selector: Compound class names not permitted

Resolution

To address this restriction, there are various strategies that can be employed:

If the element can be uniquely identified using only the classname value, you can utilize:
```
@FindBy(className = "value")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;
```
If the element is identifiable solely through the classname test, you can opt for:
```
@FindBy(className = "test")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;
```
In cases where both classnames - value and test are essential for identification, CSS selectors can be utilized:
```
@FindBy(css  = ".value.test")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;
```

Alternatively, XPath can also be employed:

@FindBy(xpath   = "//*[@class='value test']")
@CacheLookup
private WebElement test;

Quick Reference

Solving the Invalid Selector Error Due to Compound Class Names Using Selenium

How can I locate a div element using multiple class names?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

Answer №4

Class By.ByClassName

Application

Resolution

Quick Reference

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