{"id":800,"date":"2013-01-02T07:50:49","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T07:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vskills.in\/certification\/tutorial\/?p=800"},"modified":"2024-04-12T14:13:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T08:43:13","slug":"locating-by-xpath","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vskills.in\/certification\/tutorial\/locating-by-xpath\/","title":{"rendered":"Selenium Tutorials Selenium IDE | Locating by XPath"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Locating<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Selenium IDE | Locating by XPath<\/strong><\/h3>\n

XPath<\/strong> is the language used for locating nodes in an XML document. As HTML can be an implementation of XML (XHTML), Selenium users can leverage this powerful language to target elements in their web applications. XPath<\/strong> extends beyond (as well as supporting) the simple methods of locating by id or name attributes, and opens up all sorts of new possibilities such as locating the third checkbox on the page.<\/p>\n

One of the main reasons for using XPath<\/strong> is when you don\u2019t have a suitable id or name attribute for the element you wish to locate. You can use XPath<\/strong> to either locate the element in absolute terms (not advised), or relative to an element that does have an id or name attribute. XPath<\/strong> locators can also be used to specify elements via attributes other than id and name.<\/p>\n

Absolute XPaths<\/strong> contain the location of all elements from the root (html) and as a result are likely to fail with only the slightest adjustment to the application. By finding a nearby element with an id or name attribute (ideally a parent element) you can locate your target element based on the relationship. This is much less likely to change and can make your tests more robust.<\/p>\n

Since only xpath<\/tt><\/strong> locators start with \u201c\/\/\u201d, it is not necessary to include the xpath=<\/tt><\/strong> label when specifying an XPath<\/strong> locator.<\/p>\n

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 <html>\n  <body>\n   <form id=\"loginForm\">\n    <input name=\"username\" type=\"text\" \/>\n    <input name=\"password\" type=\"password\" \/>\n    <input name=\"continue\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Login\" \/>\n    <input name=\"continue\" type=\"button\" value=\"Clear\" \/>\n   <\/form>\n <\/body>\n <html><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n