Selenium clear() command working unstable in for loop

Question

Selenium clear() command works one time per several iterations in the best case. In other cases clear() is being passed and new send_key are joining to the old one. From the other side, same command works without any problems outside of the loop.

Here is my code:

parts = []
for i in data:
    current_page = driver.current_url
    driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="part"]').send_keys(i)
    time.sleep(1)
    driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="search"]/input').click()
    time.sleep(2)
    #field = WebDriverWait(driver, 20, ignored_exceptions = StaleElementReferenceException)\
    #.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, '//*[@id="part"]')))
    #field.clear()
    try:
        table = driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="page"]/div[5]/div[1]/table[2]').find_element('tag name', 'tbody')
        table_ = table.find_elements('tag name', 'tr')
        for i in table_:
             data_list = i.text.split('\n')
             parts.append(data_list)
             time.sleep(0.3)             
    except:
        pass
    time.sleep(1)
    try:
        driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="part"]').clear() 
        text = driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="part"]').text
        print(text)
    except:
        driver.get(current_page)

url can be, for example - 'https://www.findchips.com/parametric/Filters/Data-Line-Filters?term=blm18&Manufacturer%20Part%20Number=blm18'

What I`v tried:

Use WebDriverWait in different variations like you can see above. Iv faced StaleElementReferenceException. Usage of exception doesnt help.
Increased timeout. Also unsuccessful.

undetected Selenium · Answer 1 · 2023-08-04T14:33:01.227

0

Ideally to invoke clear() you need to click on the clickable element inducing WebDriverWait for the element_to_be_clickable() and you can use the following locator strategy:

try:
    element = WebDriverWait(driver, 20).until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, "//*[@id='part']")))
    element.click()
    element.clear()
    # remaining lines
except:
    driver.get(current_page)

edited Aug 04 '23 at 14:33

answered Aug 03 '23 at 22:48

undetected Selenium

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Of cource. I`v tried this solution, but no luck. – Vladislav Aug 04 '23 at 14:23
@Vladislav There was a bug in the code which I've corrected. Try the updated code and let me know the status. – undetected Selenium Aug 04 '23 at 14:34
I have a strange feeling that this code working fine with minimized browser only. I cannot explain that... Also good with disabled. If you have any ideas why, please, let e know. – Vladislav Aug 05 '23 at 11:11
@Vladislav I'm not sure what you mean by _minimized browser only_ – undetected Selenium Aug 05 '23 at 12:30
I don`t use headless mode in this case, Chrome is physically opened. So, if I minimize Chrome window, your code works fine. Or much better at least. – Vladislav Aug 05 '23 at 14:57
@Vladislav Glad to be able to help you. [What should I do when someone answers my question?](https://stackoverflow.com/help/someone-answers) – undetected Selenium Aug 05 '23 at 15:34
@ undetected Selenium Your solution cannot fully solve problem. Even with headless mode app. 10% of data are lost (because of join previous and next input). This is very helpful as temporary solution. – Vladislav Aug 07 '23 at 08:40

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 03 '23 at 15:57

I found some solution, not very fast, but solved the problem.

WebDriverWait(driver, 20, ignored_exceptions = StaleElementReferenceException).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, '//*[@id="part"]'))).clear()
    tresh = driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="part"]').get_attribute('value')
    if len(tresh) == 0:
        pass
    else:
        while len(tresh) != 0:
            WebDriverWait(driver, 20, ignored_exceptions = StaleElementReferenceException).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, '//*[@id="part"]'))).clear()
            tresh = driver.find_element('xpath', '//*[@id="part"]').get_attribute('value')

while loop until confirming that input field is empty.

I have a feeling that clear process is going much faster when browser window is minimized. I would be very grateful if anybody can comment it.

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Selenium clear() command working unstable in for loop

2 Answers2