Selenium unable to find element

[Shan]

Guys,

This has been doing my head in for quite some time so any help with
this will be much appreciated.

I would like to be able to click on a link which when recorded through
the selenium IDE records as 'link=Companies', however i know that in
order to make my script more robust I should change it to an XPATH
equivalent hence I chose the xpath:idrelative option from 'Target'
dropdown list which was as follows:

//table[@id='maincontent']/tbody/tr/td[3]/table[2]/tbody/tr[2]/td/a[2]

When I exported my script as TestNG file, above was transalted as
below:

selenium.click("//table[@id='maincontent']/tbody/tr/td[3]/table[2]/
tbody/tr[2]/td/a[2]");

Now everytime I run my test, Eclips keeps complaning and gives me the
following error:
com.thoughtworks.selenium.SeleniumException: ERROR: Element //
table[@id='maincontent']/tbody/tr/td[3]/table[2]/tbody/tr[2]/td/a[2]
not found

Look foward to your reply.

Cheers

Shan

[Jeff]

Okay, I'll bite...this has nothing to do with TestNG.

 

That being said the locator "link=Companies" is more robust assuming the text "Companies" is unique to that link on that page.

 

The XPATH "//table[@id='maincontent']/tbody/tr/td[3]/table[2]/tbody/tr[2]/td/a[2]" is highly brittle, particularly if you have dynamic elements in the page.

 

A more robust XPATH would be "//a[.='Companies']" assuming again that "Companies" is a unique value for a link.  A better and more robust way is to target the element by using a unique attribute such as an id or name.

"name=companies_link" or "id=company_link" which in XPATH form would look like:  "//a[@id='company_link']" or "//a[@name='company_link']"

 

You should not assume the code exported from the SeleniumIDE can be run directly and only use it as a template/guide.  SeleniumIDE should only be used as a quick demo tool or debug tool.  Use your brain when determining the most robust location mechanism for a given element.

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Jeff Vincent
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[Shan]

@ Jeff,

Apologies if the question seemed too trivial - I am beginner with
selenium RC therefore even a slightest of errors seems to throw me off
course. I suppose it’s all part of learning curve and I shall continue
to my endeavors in pursuit of better understanding :)

BTW – I’ve managed to sort out the issue – Thanks a lot for you help.
Keep up the good work by replying to these posts as it’s the best
platform for newbies like myself to learn from.

Cheers

Shan

> predato...@gmail.com

> See my LinkedIn profile at:http://www.linkedin.com/in/rjeffreyvincent

> I ♥ DropBox <http://db.tt/9O6LfBX> !!