findElement by name in Selenium Java - Build an Automation Script

Verify login button is clickable using findElement by name

Preconditions (2)

Step 1: Open the browser and navigate to http://example.com/login

Step 2: Locate the login button using its name attribute 'loginButton'

Step 3: Click the login button

✅ Expected Result: The login button is found by its name and clicked successfully without errors

Automation Requirements - Selenium WebDriver with Java

Assertions Needed:

Verify that the login button is displayed before clicking

Verify that the login button is enabled before clicking

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for the login button to be visible and clickable

Use By.name locator to find the element

Use try-catch to handle NoSuchElementException

Close the browser after test execution

Automated Solution

Selenium Java

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;
import java.time.Duration;

public class FindElementByNameTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
        WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
        try {
            driver.get("http://example.com/login");

            // Wait until the login button is visible
            WebElement loginButton = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.name("loginButton")));

            // Assert the button is displayed
            if (!loginButton.isDisplayed()) {
                throw new AssertionError("Login button is not displayed");
            }

            // Assert the button is enabled
            if (!loginButton.isEnabled()) {
                throw new AssertionError("Login button is not enabled");
            }

            // Click the login button
            loginButton.click();

            System.out.println("Test passed: Login button found and clicked successfully.");
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println("Test failed: " + e.getMessage());
        } finally {
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

This test script uses Selenium WebDriver with Java to automate the manual test case.

First, it sets up the ChromeDriver and opens the browser to the login page URL.

It uses an explicit wait to wait until the login button with the name='loginButton' is visible on the page.

Then it checks if the button is displayed and enabled before clicking it. If either check fails, it throws an assertion error.

Finally, it clicks the button and prints a success message. The browser is closed in the finally block to ensure cleanup.

This approach follows best practices by using explicit waits, proper locators, and error handling.

Common Mistakes - 4 Pitfalls

{'mistake': 'Using driver.findElement(By.id("loginButton")) instead of By.name', 'why_bad': "The locator does not match the element's attribute, so the element won't be found.", 'correct_approach': 'Use driver.findElement(By.name("loginButton")) to match the element\'s name attribute.'}

Not using explicit waits and immediately calling findElement

Not checking if the element is displayed or enabled before clicking

Not closing the browser after test execution

Bonus Challenge

Now add data-driven testing with 3 different name attributes for buttons to verify each is clickable.

Show Hint

Practice

1. What does the Selenium method findElement(By.name("username")) do in a test script?

easy

A. It finds all elements with the tag name "username".

B. It finds the first web element with the attribute name="username".

C. It clicks on the element with id "username".

D. It waits for the element with class "username" to appear.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method findElement(By.name("username")) searches for a single element with the name attribute equal to "username".

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other locators

   This method does not search by tag, id, or class, only by the name attribute.

3. Final Answer:

   It finds the first web element with the attribute name="username". -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   findElement(By.name) = finds element by name attribute [OK]

Hint: Remember: findElement(By.name) targets the name attribute [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing name with id or class attributes
• Thinking it finds multiple elements instead of one
• Assuming it performs a click automatically

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find an element by its name attribute "email" in Selenium Java?

easy

A. driver.findElement(By.tagName("email"));

B. driver.findElement(By.id("email"));

C. driver.findElement(By.name("email"));

D. driver.findElement(By.className("email"));

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct locator method

   To find an element by its name attribute, the correct method is By.name("email").

2. Step 2: Verify syntax correctness

   The syntax driver.findElement(By.name("email")); is valid and correctly uses the name locator.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.findElement(By.name("email")); -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use By.name for name attribute [OK]

Hint: Use By.name("value") to find element by name attribute [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using By.id or By.className instead of By.name
• Missing quotes around the name value
• Using incorrect method names

3. What will happen when the following code runs if the page contains an input element <input name="search">?

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.name("search"));
System.out.println(element.getTagName());

medium

A. It prints "input" to the console.

B. It throws a NoSuchElementException.

C. It prints "search" to the console.

D. It prints "name" to the console.

Solution

1. Step 1: Locate element by name attribute

   The code finds the element with name="search", which is an input tag.

2. Step 2: Print the tag name of the found element

   The method getTagName() returns the tag name of the element, which is "input".

3. Final Answer:

   It prints "input" to the console. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   getTagName() returns tag name [OK]

Hint: getTagName() returns the HTML tag, not attribute values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting getTagName() to return attribute value
• Assuming element not found causes print output
• Confusing attribute name with tag name

4. Given the code snippet below, what is the main issue that will cause a failure?

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.name("submitBtn"));
element.click();

Assume the page does not have any element with name="submitBtn".

medium

A. The code will compile but silently fail.

B. NullPointerException will be thrown at click().

C. The element will be found but click will do nothing.

D. NoSuchElementException will be thrown at findElement.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand findElement behavior when element missing

   If no element matches the locator, findElement throws NoSuchElementException.

2. Step 2: Check what happens before click()

   The exception occurs before click() is called, so click is never reached.

3. Final Answer:

   NoSuchElementException will be thrown at findElement. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Missing element causes NoSuchElementException [OK]

Hint: findElement throws exception if element not found [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting null instead of exception
• Thinking click() causes NullPointerException
• Assuming silent failure without error

5. You want to fill a form field with name="userEmail" but sometimes the element is inside an iframe. Which approach correctly finds the element by name and handles the iframe?

hard

A. Switch to iframe first, then use driver.findElement(By.name("userEmail")).

B. Use driver.findElement(By.name("userEmail")) directly without switching frames.

C. Use driver.findElement(By.id("userEmail")) after switching to iframe.

D. Switch to iframe after finding the element by name.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand iframe context in Selenium

   Elements inside iframes require switching the driver's context to that iframe before locating elements inside it.

2. Step 2: Apply correct order of operations

   First switch to the iframe, then use findElement(By.name("userEmail")) to locate the element inside it.

3. Final Answer:

   Switch to iframe first, then use driver.findElement(By.name("userEmail")). -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Switch to iframe before locating inside it [OK]

Hint: Always switch to iframe before finding elements inside it [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to find element inside iframe without switching
• Using wrong locator like id instead of name
• Switching to iframe after locating element