findElement by linkText in Selenium Java - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the output of this Selenium Java code snippet?

Consider the following Selenium Java code that tries to find a link by its exact visible text and clicks it. What will happen when this code runs if the link with text "Home" exists on the page?

Selenium Java

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
driver.get("https://example.com");
WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Home"));
link.click();
System.out.println("Clicked the Home link");

A The browser navigates to the Home page and prints "Clicked the Home link"

B NoSuchElementException is thrown because linkText is case-insensitive

C StaleElementReferenceException is thrown immediately after findElement

D The code compiles but does nothing because linkText only works with partial text

💡 Hint

Remember that findElement(By.linkText()) matches the exact visible text of the link.

The findElement(By.linkText("Home")) locates the anchor element whose visible text exactly matches "Home". If found, clicking it navigates the browser and the print statement executes. The method is case-sensitive and requires exact match.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Which assertion correctly verifies the link text found by findElement(By.linkText())?

You have located a link using findElement(By.linkText("Contact Us")). Which assertion correctly checks that the link's visible text is exactly "Contact Us"?

Selenium Java

WebElement contactLink = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Contact Us"));

A assertTrue(contactLink.getText().contains("Contact"));

B assertNotNull(contactLink.getAttribute("href"));

C assertFalse(contactLink.getText().equalsIgnoreCase("contact us"));

D assertEquals("Contact Us", contactLink.getText());

💡 Hint

Check for exact text equality, not partial or case-insensitive matches.

assertEquals("Contact Us", contactLink.getText()) verifies the link's visible text exactly matches "Contact Us". Other options check partial text, attribute presence, or negate case-insensitive equality, which are not exact text assertions.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this findElement(By.linkText()) call throw NoSuchElementException?

Given the code below, why does the findElement call throw NoSuchElementException even though the link text "About Us" is visible on the page?

Selenium Java

WebElement aboutLink = driver.findElement(By.linkText("About Us"));

A The linkText locator only works for partial matches, so exact text fails

B The linkText locator is case-insensitive and the text "About Us" does not match exactly

C The element is inside an iframe and driver is not switched to it

D The link text contains extra spaces or hidden characters not visible to the user

💡 Hint

Check if the element is inside a frame or iframe that requires switching context.

If the link is inside an iframe, Selenium cannot find it unless the driver switches to that iframe first. The NoSuchElementException occurs because the element is not in the current DOM context. linkText is case-sensitive and requires exact match, but that is not the cause here.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

What is a limitation of using findElement(By.linkText()) in Selenium tests?

Which of the following is a known limitation when using findElement(By.linkText()) to locate links in Selenium?

A It can locate elements inside shadow DOM without extra handling

B It only matches links with exact visible text, so partial matches fail

C It ignores case differences in the link text

D It automatically waits for the element to appear up to 30 seconds

💡 Hint

Think about how exact the text match must be for linkText locator.

findElement(By.linkText()) requires the link's visible text to match exactly, including case and spacing. It does not support partial matches (use By.partialLinkText for that). It does not handle shadow DOM automatically nor does it implicitly wait for 30 seconds.

❓ framework

expert

How to implement a robust method to click a link by visible text using Selenium Java?

You want to create a reusable method in your Selenium Java test framework that clicks a link by its visible text. The method should handle the case where the link is inside an iframe and wait up to 10 seconds for the link to be clickable. Which code snippet correctly implements this?

A

public void clickLinkByText(WebDriver driver, String text) {
  driver.switchTo().frame("frame1");
  new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10))
    .until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.linkText(text))).click();
  driver.switchTo().defaultContent();
}

B

public void clickLinkByText(WebDriver driver, String text) {
  new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10))
    .until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.linkText(text))).click();
}

C

public void clickLinkByText(WebDriver driver, String text) {
  driver.switchTo().defaultContent();
  driver.findElement(By.linkText(text)).click();
}

D

public void clickLinkByText(WebDriver driver, String text) {
  driver.switchTo().frame(0);
  driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText(text)).click();
  driver.switchTo().parentFrame();
}

💡 Hint

Consider iframe switching, explicit wait, and exact link text matching.

Option A switches to the iframe named "frame1", waits up to 10 seconds for the link with exact visible text to be clickable, clicks it, then switches back to the main page. This handles iframe context and waiting properly. Other options miss iframe switching, waiting, or use partialLinkText which is not exact.

Practice

1. What does driver.findElement(By.linkText("Home")) do in Selenium Java?

easy

A. Finds the first link on the page with visible text exactly "Home"

B. Finds all links containing the text "Home" anywhere

C. Finds a button with the label "Home"

D. Finds an element by its HTML id "Home"

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method used

   findElement(By.linkText("Home")) searches for a link whose visible text exactly matches "Home".

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other locators

   It does not find buttons or elements by id, nor does it find partial matches (that would be partialLinkText).

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first link on the page with visible text exactly "Home" -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Exact link text = Finds link by text [OK]

Hint: Exact visible text matches linkText locator [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing linkText with partialLinkText
• Using linkText to find buttons or other elements
• Expecting partial matches with linkText

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find a link with text "Contact Us" using Selenium Java?

easy

A. driver.findElement(By.linkText("Contact Us"));

B. driver.findElement(By.linkText(Contact Us));

C. driver.findElement(By.linkText['Contact Us']);

D. driver.findElement(By.linkText{ "Contact Us" });

Solution

1. Step 1: Check correct method and parameter format

   The method findElement(By.linkText("Contact Us")) uses double quotes around the string and parentheses correctly.

2. Step 2: Identify syntax errors in other options

   Options B, C, and D have missing quotes, wrong brackets, or braces which cause syntax errors.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.findElement(By.linkText("Contact Us")); -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct syntax uses parentheses and quotes [OK]

Hint: Use parentheses and quotes exactly as method requires [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting quotes around link text
• Using wrong brackets like [] or {}
• Missing parentheses after method call

3. What will happen when this code runs?

WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.linkText("About"));
System.out.println(link.getText());

Assuming the page has a link with visible text exactly "About".

medium

A. It prints the href attribute of the link

B. It throws NoSuchElementException

C. It prints "About" to the console

D. It prints null

Solution

1. Step 1: Locate the link by exact text

   The code finds the link with visible text "About" successfully because it exists on the page.

2. Step 2: Print the visible text of the found element

   link.getText() returns the visible text of the link, which is "About".

3. Final Answer:

   It prints "About" to the console -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   getText() returns visible text [OK]

Hint: getText() returns exact visible text of found element [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting getText() to print href attribute
• Assuming NoSuchElementException without checking page content
• Thinking getText() returns null if element found

4. You wrote this code but it throws NoSuchElementException:

driver.findElement(By.linkText("Login"));

The page has a link with text "Log In" (with a space). What is the problem?

medium

A. You must use partialLinkText for any link with spaces

B. linkText cannot find links with spaces

C. The method findElement is deprecated for links

D. The linkText must match the text exactly, so "Login" does not match "Log In"

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand exact matching requirement

   By.linkText requires the visible text to match exactly, including spaces.

2. Step 2: Compare given text and actual link text

   "Login" (no space) does not match "Log In" (with space), so element is not found.

3. Final Answer:

   The linkText must match the text exactly, so "Login" does not match "Log In" -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Exact text match required for linkText [OK]

Hint: Check spaces and case exactly when using linkText [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming partial matches work with linkText
• Thinking spaces are ignored in linkText
• Believing findElement is deprecated for links

5. You want to click a link with text "Terms & Conditions" but the page sometimes shows it as "Terms and Conditions". How can you write Selenium Java code to handle both cases?

hard

A. Use findElement(By.id("terms")) assuming id is always present

B. Use try-catch: try findElement(By.linkText("Terms & Conditions")), if fails try findElement(By.linkText("Terms and Conditions"))

C. Use findElement(By.partialLinkText("Terms &")) to match both

D. Use findElement(By.linkText("Terms")) to match both

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand exact matching limitation

   linkText requires exact text, so you must try both versions separately.

2. Step 2: Use try-catch to attempt both texts

   Try finding the link with "Terms & Conditions" first; if it throws exception, catch it and try "Terms and Conditions".

3. Final Answer:

   Use try-catch: try findElement(By.linkText("Terms & Conditions")), if fails try findElement(By.linkText("Terms and Conditions")) -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Try both exact texts with error handling [OK]

Hint: Try exact texts one by one with try-catch [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using partialLinkText that may match wrong links
• Assuming partial text "Terms" matches both safely
• Assuming id locator is always available