When I return to the page I getting the StaleElementReferenceException exception from selecting an element that is on the page. Why?

Question

I am trying to load data from a series of pages which requires going back to previous pages. This seems to make elements that have previously been stored for that page no longer relevant, even if those elements are still on the page. How do I make them clickable again?

I have ensured the page is fully loaded

My code currently:

wait_time_s = 2 #to make sure page loads while testing, I have put it at every line but rmeoved it here for readability
url = 'https://www.hidden.com.au/results'
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get(url)
categories = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('verticallyCenteredFlex')
for category in categories:
    category.click()
    clubs = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('verticallyCenteredFlex')
    for club in clubs:
        club.click()
        events = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('detailRow')
        for event in events:
            event.click()
            wins = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('infoContainer')
            driver.execute_script("window.history.go(-1)") #goes back a page

this code is incomplete but I hope it is enough to understand what I am trying to do

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 28 '19 at 05:28

You need to re identify the elements again after going back to the page to resolve this issue as given below.

wait_time_s = 2 #to make sure page loads while testing, I have put it at every line but rmeoved it here for readability
url = 'https://www.hidden.com.au/results'
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get(url)
categories = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('verticallyCenteredFlex')
for category in categories:
    category.click()
    clubs = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('verticallyCenteredFlex')
    for club in clubs:
        club.click()
        events = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('detailRow')
        for event in events:
            event.click()
            wins = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('infoContainer')
            driver.execute_script("window.history.go(-1)") #goes back a page
    categories = driver.find_elements_by_class_name('verticallyCenteredFlex')

When I return to the page I getting the StaleElementReferenceException exception from selecting an element that is on the page. Why?

1 Answers1