Retrieving WebElements based on Text with XPath in Selenium Testing

Question

Retrieving WebElements based on Text with XPath in Selenium Testing

I am trying to locate a WebElement using XPath based on its text content.

The specific WebElement I want to find is:

https://i.sstatic.net/ji1jJ.png

Here is the HTML of the element:

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

The WebElement I am trying to access contains an input element.

Currently, I am using the following code:

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[normalize-space(text()) = 'Own Hotel']"));

This XPath expression does not find the desired WebElement, even though it usually works for other elements.

I have also tried this XPath expression:

By.xpath("//*[contains(text(),'Own Hotel')]");

However, this method did not return any results either. I need an exact match for the text content.

I am searching for a way to locate a web element by its text regardless of any other elements inside it. If there is a match with the text, I want to retrieve the WebElement.

Thank you!

java css selenium xpath selenium-webdriver

Answer 1

Answer №1

When looking for text wrapped in a label instead of an input, consider using the following code snippet:

driver.findElement(By.xpath(".//label[text()[normalize-space() = 'Own Hotel']]"));

To understand more about this xpath pattern, check out the detailed explanation provided here

Answer 2

When looking for text wrapped in a label instead of an input, consider using the following code snippet:

driver.findElement(By.xpath(".//label[text()[normalize-space() = 'Own Hotel']]"));

To understand more about this xpath pattern, check out the detailed explanation provided here

Answer 3

Answer №2

Check out the HTML snippet below:

The text content of the innerText Own Hotel in the <input> element has leading and trailing white-space characters. Because of these extra spaces, you can't simply rely on using the location path text():

text() selects all text node children of the context node

Instead, consider using the String Function string normalize-space(string?) like this:

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[normalize-space()='Own Hotel']"));

To enhance your search specificity, include the tagName and a unique attribute as shown below:

Using tagName and normalize-space():

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[normalize-space()='Own Hotel']"));

Using tagName, and normalize-space():

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='ownHotel' and normalize-space()='Own Hotel']"));

How to click on a link with trailing white-space characters on a web page using Selenium?
How to locate and click the element when the innerText contains leading and trailing white-space characters using Selenium and Python
How to click on the button when the textContext contains leading and trailing white-space characters using Selenium and Python

Answer 4

Check out the HTML snippet below:

The text content of the innerText Own Hotel in the <input> element has leading and trailing white-space characters. Because of these extra spaces, you can't simply rely on using the location path text():

text() selects all text node children of the context node

Instead, consider using the String Function string normalize-space(string?) like this:

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//*[normalize-space()='Own Hotel']"));

To enhance your search specificity, include the tagName and a unique attribute as shown below:

Using tagName and normalize-space():

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[normalize-space()='Own Hotel']"));

Using tagName, and normalize-space():

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='ownHotel' and normalize-space()='Own Hotel']"));

Retrieving WebElements based on Text with XPath in Selenium Testing

Answer №1

Answer №2

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