findElement by partialLinkText 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 partial link text and click it. What will be the output if the page contains a link with text "Learn Selenium Testing"?

Selenium Java

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
driver.get("http://example.com");
WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Selenium"));
link.click();
System.out.println("Clicked link with partial text 'Selenium'");

A NoSuchElementException at findElement

B StaleElementReferenceException at click

C TimeoutException waiting for page load

D Clicked link with partial text 'Selenium'

💡 Hint

Partial link text matches any part of the link's visible text.

The findElement(By.partialLinkText("Selenium")) finds the link containing "Selenium" in its text. Since the link "Learn Selenium Testing" exists, it will be found and clicked successfully, printing the message.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Which assertion correctly verifies the link text found by partialLinkText?

You have located a link using driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Start")). The full link text is "Start Your Free Trial". Which assertion correctly verifies the link text?

Selenium Java

WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Start"));

A assertEquals("Start Your Free Trial", link.getText());

B assertFalse(link.getText().startsWith("Free"));

C assertTrue(link.getText().contains("Start"));

D assertNull(link.getText());

💡 Hint

Partial link text locator finds links containing the substring, so the text should contain "Start".

Since the link text is "Start Your Free Trial", it contains "Start". The assertion assertTrue(link.getText().contains("Start")) correctly verifies this. Option C is also correct logically but the question asks for verification related to partial link text, so D is the best fit. Options B and C are incorrect.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this Selenium code throw NoSuchElementException?

The following code throws NoSuchElementException. The page has a link with text "Contact Us Today". What is the most likely reason?

Selenium Java

WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("contact us"));
link.click();

A The link is inside an iframe and not switched to it

B Partial link text is case sensitive, so "contact us" does not match "Contact Us Today"

C The link is disabled and cannot be found

D The page has not loaded yet, causing the element to be missing

💡 Hint

Check if the element is inside an iframe or frame.

Partial link text matching is case insensitive in Selenium, so option A is incorrect. If the element is inside an iframe and the driver has not switched to it, Selenium cannot find it, causing NoSuchElementException. This is the most common cause here. Disabled links are still found by Selenium, so C is incorrect. Page load timing issues cause different exceptions or require waits, so D is less likely.

❓ framework

advanced

Which TestNG annotation is best to initialize WebDriver before tests using partialLinkText?

You want to initialize the WebDriver once before all tests that use findElement(By.partialLinkText()). Which TestNG annotation should you use?

A @BeforeClass

B @BeforeMethod

C @BeforeTest

D @BeforeSuite

💡 Hint

Consider initializing WebDriver once per test class.

@BeforeClass runs once before any test methods in the current class, ideal for initializing WebDriver once per class. @BeforeMethod runs before each test method, causing repeated initialization. @BeforeTest runs before a group of classes defined in testng.xml, which may be broader than needed. @BeforeSuite runs once before all tests in the suite, which may be too early or broad.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

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

Which of the following is a known limitation when using findElement(By.partialLinkText())?

A It only works with exact full link text matches

B It can match multiple links, but returns only the first match, which may cause ambiguity

C It requires the link text to be an exact case-sensitive match

D It cannot find links inside shadow DOM elements

💡 Hint

Think about how partial matching works and what happens if multiple links contain the substring.

Partial link text matches any link containing the substring, so if multiple links contain it, Selenium returns the first one found. This can cause ambiguity if the test expects a specific link. Option B is false because partialLinkText matches substrings, not exact full text. Option B is false because matching is case insensitive. Option B is true but applies to all standard locators, not specific to partialLinkText, so C is the best answer.

Practice

1. What does the Selenium method findElement(By.partialLinkText("Login")) do?

easy

A. Finds the first button with the text "Login".

B. Finds the first link containing the text "Login" anywhere in its visible text.

C. Finds all links that exactly match the text "Login".

D. Finds the first element with the attribute partialLinkText="Login".

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method findElement(By.partialLinkText("Login")) searches for a link element whose visible text contains the substring "Login".

2. Step 2: Identify the matching behavior

   It returns the first matching link element, not all links or buttons, and does not look for attributes named partialLinkText.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first link containing the text "Login" anywhere in its visible text. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Partial link text finds first matching link [OK]

Hint: PartialLinkText finds first link containing given substring [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing partialLinkText with exact link text
• Expecting multiple elements returned
• Using it to find buttons or other elements
• Assuming it matches attributes instead of visible text

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find a link containing the text "Register" using Selenium in Java?

easy

A. driver.findElement(By.partialTextLink("Register"));

B. driver.findElement(By.partialLink("Register"));

C. driver.findElement(By.linkTextContains("Register"));

D. driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Register"));

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall correct Selenium locator syntax

   The correct method to find a link by partial text is By.partialLinkText("text").

2. Step 2: Check each option's method name

   Only driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Register")); uses the correct method name partialLinkText. Others are invalid or do not exist in Selenium.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Register")); -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Correct method name is partialLinkText [OK]

Hint: Use By.partialLinkText("text") exactly for partial link search [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using incorrect method names like partialLink or partialTextLink
• Confusing partialLinkText with linkTextContains
• Missing parentheses or quotes in syntax
• Using By.linkText for partial matches

3. Given the HTML links:
<a href='home.html'>Home Page</a>
<a href='login.html'>User Login</a>
<a href='logout.html'>Logout</a>
What will the following Java Selenium code return?
WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Log"));
String href = link.getAttribute("href");

medium

A. "login.html"

B. "logout.html"

C. "home.html"

D. NoSuchElementException at runtime

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify links containing "Log"

   Links with visible text "User Login" and "Logout" both contain "Log" substring.

2. Step 2: Understand findElement behavior

   findElement returns the first matching element in the page order, which is "User Login" with href "login.html".

3. Final Answer:

   "login.html" -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   First partial link match is "User Login" [OK]

Hint: findElement returns first partial match in page order [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming it returns all matches, not first
• Choosing "logout.html" because it also contains "Log"
• Expecting an exception if multiple matches exist
• Confusing visible text with href attribute

4. You wrote this Selenium Java code:
WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Sign Up"));
But it throws NoSuchElementException even though the page has a link with text "SignUp Now".
What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. You must use By.linkText instead of partialLinkText for multi-word links.

B. partialLinkText cannot find links with multiple words.

C. The partialLinkText "Sign Up" does not match because of the missing space in "SignUp".

D. The link is inside an iframe and not switched to it.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check partialLinkText matching rules

   partialLinkText requires an exact substring match in the link's visible text, case-sensitive and including spaces. "Sign Up" (with space after "Sign") is not a substring of "SignUp Now" (no space).

2. Step 2: Identify the most likely cause

   The spacing mismatch causes NoSuchElementException. Iframe issues are possible but less likely given the highlighted text difference.

3. Final Answer:

   The partialLinkText "Sign Up" does not match because of the missing space in "SignUp". -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   partialLinkText requires exact substring match incl. spaces [OK]

Hint: partialLinkText matches exact substrings including spaces [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking partialLinkText ignores spaces or whitespace
• Using linkText instead of partialLinkText unnecessarily
• Not verifying exact visible link text on page
• Overlooking iframe context unnecessarily

5. You want to click a link that contains the text "Profile" but the page has multiple links like "User Profile", "Edit Profile", and "Profile Settings".
How can you ensure Selenium clicks the "Edit Profile" link using findElement(By.partialLinkText())?

hard

A. Use driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Edit Profile")) to match exactly that link.

B. Use driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Profile")) and then filter by href attribute manually.

C. Use driver.findElements(By.partialLinkText("Profile")) and click the second element in the list.

D. Use driver.findElement(By.linkText("Edit Profile")) instead of partialLinkText.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand broad partialLinkText limitation

   By.partialLinkText("Profile") finds the first link like "User Profile", not necessarily "Edit Profile".

2. Step 2: Use precise substring with findElement

   driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Edit Profile")) targets links containing that specific phrase, matching "Edit Profile" without assuming order or using findElements.

3. Final Answer:

   Use driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Edit Profile")) to match exactly that link. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Specific substring in partialLinkText ensures target [OK]

Hint: Use longer specific substring in partialLinkText for precision [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using vague "Profile" assuming findElement picks desired link
• Relying on findElements and assuming fixed page order
• Ignoring zero-based indexing in element lists
• Switching to linkText ignoring partialLinkText requirement