Python - Selenium get Element by attribute and the full attribute value

Question

Hi how can I get an element by attribute and the attribute value in Python Selenium?

For example I have class="class1 class2 class3".

Now I want to get the element with the attribute class what ca.rries the classes "class1 class2 class3".

Is this possible?

If I use xpath, I always need to add the element type, input, option,... I try to avoid the element type since it varies sometimes.

undetected Selenium · Answer 1 · 2022-01-21T19:58:26.643

While constructing locators considering css-selectors or xpath you have to use the different attributes and the attribute-values to identify the WebElement uniquely within the DOM Tree.

The generic way is:

Using css_selector:

button.classname[attributeA='attributeA_value'][attributeB='attributeB_value']

Using xpath and attributes:

//button[@attributeA='attributeA_value'][@attributeB='attributeB_value']

As an example, for an element like:

<button type="button" aria-hidden="true" class="close alert alert-close" data-notify="dismiss">Close</button>

You can identify the Close element using either of it's the attributes and the corresponding attribute-values using either of the Locator Strategies:

Using css_selector:

button.close.alert.alert-close[data-notify='dismiss']
classes-> ^   ^^    ^^^        data-notify ^^^^ attribute

Using xpath and attributes:

//button[@class='close alert alert-close' and @data-notify='dismiss']
 class attributes  ^    ^^     ^^^             data-notify ^^^^ attribute

Using xpath and innerText:

//button[text()='Close']
       innerText ^

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 21 '22 at 16:17

0

The CSS selectors would be formatted like this:

'[attribute]'

'[attribute="value"]'

For example, the selector for the input field on google.com would be:

'input[name="q"]'

answered Jan 21 '22 at 16:17

Michael Mintz

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thx. This means I can get the element like this: [class="class1 class2 class3"] However I still need to define an element type like input, div, textarea,... Is there an option where I do not need to add an element type? This would be helpful since I have various element types. – FunHelp Jan 21 '22 at 16:31
Both ``'input[name="q"]'`` and ``'[name="q"]'`` would be valid selectors. – Michael Mintz Jan 21 '22 at 16:33

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 21 '22 at 17:32

to answer this part

If I use xpath, I always need to add the element type, input, option,... I try to avoid the element type since it varies sometimes.

you can use //* and then attribute type and attribute value.

//*[@class='class1 class2 class3']

//* represent any or all nodes

Python - Selenium get Element by attribute and the full attribute value

3 Answers3