XPath for Selenium, Playwright & Cypress Web Automation Testing

For any web automation testing, the one and most important task is to identify and use robust locators to identify web elements so that your automated tests do not fail with “Unable to locate element”. In this article, we are providing you with the techniques that every tester should learn to create those robust locators. As we already know this can be done using different locator strategies. In this blog, we are going to learn about XPath. Before we dive into the topic of our discussion let’s just get more familiar with Xpaths. Let’s start with, 

What is XPath?

XPath (XML Path Language) is an expression language that allows the processing of values conforming to the data model defined in the XQuery and XPath Data models. Basically, it is a query language that we use to locate or find an element present on the webpage. It is defined by the World Wide Consortium (W3C). Now, let’s discuss why Xpaths are necessary.

Why is XPaths necessary?

Xpaths are the most widely used locators in automation though there are other locators like id, name, class name, tag name, and so on. Also, it is used when there are no unique attributes available to locate the web element. It allows identification with the help of the visible test present on the screen with the help of Xpath function text().

Before explaining the importance of XPath let’s just go through the different types of locators available for automation testing. 

In this blog, we will learn about the different types of Xpaths and how to implement them so that we can locate our web elements quickly using the selenium web driver. Basically, there are two types of Xpaths

1. Absolute XPath:

In this type, The XPath starts from the beginning or from the root node of the HTML DOM structure. It is a direct way to locate or find the web element but the disadvantage of absolute XPath is that as we are creating it from the start of the HTML DOM structure if there are any changes introduced in the created path of the web element then it gets failed. In this type of locator, we only use tags or nodes. The main advantage of this is that we can select a web element from the root node as it starts with the single forward slash “ / ”.

Example:

Here is an example of an absolute Xpath for an input field box. 

The absolute XPath is: /html[1]/body[1]/div[1]/div[1]/div[1]/div[1]/div[1]/div[2]/div[2]/form[1]/div[1]/div[1]/div[2]/input[1]

2. Relative Xpath:

Compared to an absolute XPath the relative XPath does not start from the beginning of the HTML DOM structure. It starts from where the element is present e.g. from the middle of the HTML DOM structure if the element is located there. We don’t have to travel from the start of the HTML DOM structure. The relative Xpath starts with a double forward slash “ // “ and it can locate and search the web element anywhere on the webpage. Relative XPath directly jumps to elements on DOM. The other difference between absolute and relative XPath is that in absolute XPath we use tags or nodes but in relative XPath we use attributes. 

Example:

We are writing the relative XPath for the same input field for which earlier we created an absolute XPath. 

Relative XPath is: 

//input[@name=’username’]

XPath Functions: 

It is not always possible to locate a web element using relative XPath that is because at some times while locating a particular web element there is the possibility of elements that have similar properties, for example, the same id, name, or same class name. So, here the basic XPath won’t work efficiently for finding that web element. Xpath functions are used to write the efficient XPath by locating a web element with a unique value. Basically, there are three types of XPath functions as follows,

a. starts-with() Function:

starts-with() function is very useful in locating dynamic web elements. It is used to find the element in which the attribute value starts with some particular character or text. 

While working on the dynamic web page the starts-with function plays an important role. We can use it to match the starting value of a web element that remains static. 

It can also locate the web element whose attribute value is static.

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[starts-wtih(@attribute,’value’)]

Example:

//input[starts-with(@name,’username’)]

b. contains() Function:

• Just like the start-with() function explained above, the contains() function is also used to create a unique expression to locate a web element. 
• It is used when if a part of the value of an attribute changes dynamically the function can navigate to the web element with the partial text present. 
• We can provide any partial attribute value to locate the web element.
• It accepts two parameters the first one is the attribute of the tag must validate to locate the web element and the second one is the value of an attribute is a partial value that the attribute must contain. 

Syntax: 

Xpath = //tagname[contains(@attribute,’value’)]

Example:

//input[contains(@name,’username’)]

c. text() Function:

text() Function:

• The text() function is used to locate web elements with exact text matches.
• The function only works if the element contains the text. 
• This method returns the text of the web element when identified by the tag name and compared it with the value provided on the right side. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[text()=’Actual text present’]

Example:

   //button[text()=’ Login ‘]

How to use AND & OR in XPath:

AND & OR expressions can also be used in selenium Xpath expressions. Very useful if you want to use more than two attributes to find elements on a webpage. 

The OR expression requires two conditions and it will check whether the first condition in the statement is true if so then it will locate that web element and if not then it will go for the second condition and if that is true then also it will locate that web element. So, here the point we should remember is that when we are using the OR expression at least either of two of the conditions should be true then, and then only it will find and locate that web element. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’Value’ or @attribute=’Value’]

Example:

//input[@name=’username’ or @placeholder=’xyz’]     

Here the first condition is true and the second one is false still the web element got located. 

Just like the OR expression the AND expression also requires two conditions but the catch here is that both the provided condition must be true then and then only the web element will get located. If either of the conditions is false then it will not locate that web element. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’Value’ and @attribute=’Value’]

Example:

//input[@name=’username’ and @placeholder=’Username’]

In this case, both the condition provided for an AND expression is true hence the web element got located.

XPath Axis:

It is a method to identify those dynamic elements that are impossible to find by normal XPath methods. All the elements are in a hierarchical structure and can be either located using absolute or relative Xpaths but it provides specific attributes called XPath axis to locate those elements with unique XPath expressions. The axes show a relationship to the current node and help locate the relative nodes concerning the tree’s current node. The dynamic elements are those elements on the webpage whose attributes dynamically change on refresh or any other operations. The HTML DOM structure contains one or more element nodes and they are known as trees of nodes. If an element contains the content, whether it is other elements or text, it must be declared with a start tag and an end tag. The text defined between the start tag and the end tag is the element content. 

Types of XPath Axis: 

1. Parent Axis XPath:

With the help of the parent axis XPath, we can select the parent of the current node. Here, the parent node can be either a root node or an element node. The point to consider here is that for all the other element nodes the maximum node the parent axis contains is one. Also, the root node of the HTML DOM structure has no parent hence the parent axis is empty when the current node is the root node. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//parent::parent_tagname

Example:

//input[@name=’username’]//parent::div

2. Child Axis XPath:

As we have seen using the parent axis XPath actually we are creating an XPath by the following bottom-up approach but here in the child axis case, we are going to follow the top-down approach to create an XPath. The child axis selects all the child elements present under the current node. We can easily locate a web element as a child of the current node. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//child::child_tagname

Example:

//div[@class=’oxd-form-actions orangehrm-login-action’]//child::button

3. Self Axix XPath:

This type of XPath uses its own current node and selects the web element belonging to that current node. You will always observe only one node that represents the self-web element. The tag name we provide at the start and at the end of XPath are the same as they are on the self-axis of the current node. However, this provides the confirmation of the element present when there is more than one element present having the same value and attribute. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//self::self_tagname

Example:

//input[@name=’username’]//self::input

4. Descendant Axis XPath:

It selects all the descendants i.e. child and grandchild of the current node. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//descendant::child or grandchild_tagname

Example:

//div[@class=’oxd-form-row’]//descendant::input[@name=’username’]

5. Descendant-or-self Axis XPath:

Using this axis we can select the current node and all its descendants i.e. child, grandchild, etc just like a descendant axis. The point to be noticed here is the tag name for descendants and self are the same. 

Syntax: 

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//descendant-or-self::tagname

Example:

//input[@name=’username’]//descendant-or-self::input

6. Ancestor Axis:

As we understand how the descendant axis works now, the ancestor axis works exactly opposite to that of the descendant axis. It will select or locate all ancestors elements i.e. parent, grandparent, etc of the current node. This axis contains the root node too. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//ancestor::ancestor_tagname

Example:

//input[@name=’username’]//ancestor::div[@class=’oxd-form-row’]

7. Ancestor-or-self Axis XPath:

Now, just like the descendant-or-self axis, the ancestor-or-self axis XPath will locate a web element having the same starting and ending tag name. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//ancestor-or-self::tagname

Example:

//input[@name=’username’]//ancestor-or-self::input

8. Following Axis Path:

The following axis XPath selects all the web element that comes after the current node. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//following::following_tagname

Example:

//div[@class=’oxd-form-actions orangehrm-login-action’]//following::button

9. Following-sibling Axis XPath

Using the following sibling axis method we can select all the nodes that have the same parent as that of the current node and that appear after the current node. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//following-sibling::following_tagname

Example:

//div[@class=’oxd-form-actions orangehrm-login-action’]//following-sibling::button

10. Preceding Axis XPath

Using this axis method we can locate a web element that has the node that appears before the current node. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//preceding::tagname

Example:

//div[@class=’oxd-form-actions orangehrm-login-action’]//preceding::button

11. Preceding-sibling Axis XPath:

Using the following sibling axis method we can select all the nodes that have the same parent as that of the current node and that appear before the current node. It works opposite to that of the following sibling axis XPath. 

Syntax:

Xpath = //tagname[@attribute=’value’]//preceding::tagname

Example:

//div[@class=’oxd-form-actions orangehrm-login-action’]//preceding::button

You can try all of these examples mentioned above with the Orange HRM Demo website here.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, XPath is an essential tool for web automation testing when using Selenium, Playwright, and Cypress. It allows for more flexibility and specificity in locating elements on a web page. Understanding the different types of XPath expressions and how to use them can greatly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the automation testing process. It can be particularly useful in situations where elements do not have unique CSS selectors, or when the structure of the HTML changes frequently. With the knowledge of XPath, you can write more robust and stable automation tests.

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