Selenium IDE: Mastering CSS Selectors for Robust Element Location

Learn to use CSS selectors effectively in Selenium IDE for precise and robust element location. This tutorial demonstrates how to target elements based on ID, class, and attributes, creating more stable and maintainable automated tests that are less susceptible to changes in webpage structure.

Selenium IDE Locating Strategies: CSS Selectors with ID, Class, and Attributes

CSS selectors are a powerful and flexible way to locate elements in Selenium. They provide a concise syntax for targeting elements based on their ID, class, attributes, and other characteristics. Using CSS selectors makes your tests more robust and less prone to breaking due to changes in the webpage's structure. This is because you are more precisely targeting your elements using more than one attribute, rather than relying on only the ID or class name.

CSS Selector Syntax

The basic syntax for CSS selectors is:

CSS Selector Syntax

css=HTMLtag#id.class[attribute1='value1'][attribute2='value2']...

Where:

  • HTMLtag: The HTML tag name (e.g., input, div, button).
  • #id: The element's ID (using the `#` symbol).
  • .class: The element's class name (using the `.` symbol).
  • [attribute1='value1'], [attribute2='value2'], ...: Attributes and their values (you can specify multiple attributes).

Example: Locating a Textbox on a Login Page

Let's create a login test on the TestandQuiz login page (https://www.testandquiz.com/user-login0). We'll locate the username textbox using a CSS selector that incorporates the ID, name, and placeholder attributes.

  1. Open Selenium IDE: Launch Firefox and open Selenium IDE.
  2. Open Login Page: Add a command to open the login page. The `Command` is `open`, and the `Target` is `https://www.testandquiz.com/user-login0`.
  3. Inspect the Username Textbox: Right-click on the "Username" textbox, select "Inspect Element", and note the values for its id, name, and placeholder attributes. Let's assume the ID is 'email', the name is 'email_id', and the placeholder is 'Email'.
  4. Create the CSS Selector: Construct your CSS selector by combining the identified attributes. For example:
    5. CSS Selector for Username Textbox
    
css=input#email[name='email_id'][placeholder='Email']
  5. Add Commands in Selenium IDE: Add commands to click the textbox and then type a username. The `Command` is `click`, and the `Target` is the CSS selector you just created. Then add a `type` command, using the same `Target`, and provide a `Value` (e.g., your username).
  6. Repeat for Password and Submit: Repeat the process to locate the password field and submit button, adding click and type commands in Selenium IDE. Use appropriate CSS selectors for those elements.
  7. Run the Test: Click the "Run Current Test" button to execute your test.

Advantages of Using CSS Selectors

  • Flexibility: CSS selectors provide a very powerful and flexible way to target elements based on their attributes and relationships within the HTML.
  • Maintainability: Well-crafted CSS selectors are generally less fragile to changes in the webpage’s structure than other locators.
  • Performance: CSS selectors are often faster than XPath locators.