In Selenium, elements refer to the various components or parts of a web page that can be interacted with or manipulated using Selenium WebDriver. These elements can include text fields, buttons, dropdown menus, checkboxes, radio buttons, links, images, and more. 

When automating tests or tasks with Selenium, interacting with web elements is a fundamental aspect. Selenium provides methods to locate elements on a web page and perform actions such as clicking, typing, selecting options, and retrieving text or attributes. 

Here are some common methods used to interact with elements in Selenium: 

Finding Elements: 

• findElement(By locator): Locates and returns the first matching element on the web page based on the specified locator strategy. 
• findElements(By locator): Locates and returns a list of all matching elements on the web page based on the specified locator strategy. 

Interacting with Elements: 

• click(): Clicks on the element. 
• sendKeys(CharSequence… keysToSend): Use this method to simulate typing into an element 
• clear(): Clears the text from an input element. 
• getText(): Retrieves the visible text of the element. 
• getAttribute(String attributeName): Retrieves the value of the specified attribute of the element. 
• isSelected(): Checks if a checkbox, radio button, or option in a dropdown menu is selected. 
• isEnabled(): Checks if the element is enabled or clickable. 

Common Locator Strategies: 

• By.id(String id): Locates elements by their id attribute. 
• By.name(String name): Locates elements by their name attribute. 
• By.className(String className): Locates elements by their class attribute. 
• By.tagName(String tagName): Locates elements by their HTML tag name. 
• By.linkText(String linkText): locates  elements by the exact text it displays.
• By.partialLinkText(String partialLinkText): locates elements that contain the given link text 
• By.xpath(String xpathExpression): Locates elements using XPath expressions. 
• By.cssSelector(String cssSelector): Locates elements using CSS selectors. 

Understanding how to effectively locate and interact with elements is crucial for writing robust and maintainable Selenium tests or automation scripts. 

Author’s Bio:

As CEO of TestLeaf, I’m dedicated to transforming software testing by empowering individuals with real-world skills and advanced technology. With 24+ years in software engineering, I lead our mission to shape local talent into global software professionals. Join us in redefining the future of test engineering and making a lasting impact in the tech world.

Babu Manickam

CEO – Testleaf