Selenium WebDriver: Locating Web Elements by Partial Link Text

Learn a powerful technique for locating web elements in Selenium: using partial link text. This tutorial demonstrates how to identify elements based on only a portion of their link text, creating more robust and reliable automation scripts that can handle dynamic web page content.

Locating Web Elements by Partial Link Text in Selenium

Introduction to Locating by Partial Link Text

In Selenium, effectively locating web elements is crucial for automating browser interactions. One useful technique is using the `partialLinkText` locator strategy. This approach allows you to identify elements based on a portion of their link text, making it particularly helpful when dealing with dynamic content or when the exact link text isn't known beforehand.

Test Scenario

We'll automate these steps:

1. Launch Chrome browser.
2. Navigate to: `https://www.testandquiz.com/selenium/testing.html`.
3. Click on the link containing the text "This is a Link".

Step-by-Step Implementation in Selenium (Java)

Step 1: Project Setup

This assumes you have a Selenium project in Eclipse. Create a new Java class named `Partial_Link`.

Step 2: Setting up ChromeDriver

Download ChromeDriver and set the system property `webdriver.chrome.driver` to its path. (This is described in the original text, but is omitted for brevity; you'll need to point to your ChromeDriver executable.)

System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "/path/to/chromedriver.exe");

Instantiate the ChromeDriver:

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

Step 3: Navigating to the URL

Use `driver.navigate().to()` to open the webpage.

driver.navigate().to("https://www.testandquiz.com/selenium/testing.html");

Step 4: Locating the Element by Partial Link Text

Inspect the HTML to find the link's text. Use `By.partialLinkText()` to locate the element. You only need part of the link's text.

driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("This is"));

Step 5: Clicking the Element

Use the `click()` method to perform the click action.

driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("This is")).click();

Step 6: Running the Test

Run your Java code to execute the test. (Screenshot illustrating the Eclipse IDE omitted for brevity.)

Conclusion

Locating elements by `partialLinkText` offers flexibility when the exact text might vary or isn't easily accessible. It's a valuable technique for creating more robust and maintainable Selenium scripts.