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

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Output of findElement with XPath using contains()

What will be the output of the following Selenium Java code snippet when the page contains a button with text 'Submit Form'?

Selenium Java

WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[contains(text(),'Submit')]");
System.out.println(button.getText());

A Submit

B Empty string

C NoSuchElementException

D Submit Form

💡 Hint

Remember that contains() matches any substring inside the text node.

The XPath expression selects the button element whose text contains 'Submit'. The getText() method returns the full visible text of the element, which is 'Submit Form'.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Correct assertion for element found by XPath

Which assertion correctly verifies that an element found by XPath has the expected text 'Login'?

Selenium Java

WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[@id='login']"));

A assertEquals("Login", loginButton.getText());

B assertTrue(loginButton.getText() == "Login");

C assertFalse(loginButton.getText().equals("Login"));

D assertNull(loginButton.getText());

💡 Hint

Use the correct assertion method to compare strings in Java.

assertEquals compares the expected and actual strings correctly. Using '==' compares references, which is incorrect for strings.

❓ locator

advanced

Best XPath locator for a button with dynamic id but fixed text

Given a button with a dynamic id but fixed visible text 'Confirm', which XPath locator is best to find it reliably?

A //button[text()='Confirm']

B //button[@id='btn123']

C //button[contains(@id, 'btn') and text()='Confirm']

D //button[contains(text(), 'Conf')]

💡 Hint

Focus on stable attributes or text for locating elements.

Option A uses exact text match which is stable. Option A depends on partial id which is dynamic. Option A uses fixed id which changes. Option A uses partial text which may match multiple elements.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Identify the error in XPath usage

What error will occur when running this Selenium Java code? WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='content']")); String text = element.getText(); System.out.println(text);

Selenium Java

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='content']"));
String text = element.getText();
System.out.println(text);

A NullPointerException because element is null

B NoSuchElementException if no div with class 'content' exists

C SyntaxError in XPath expression

D ClassCastException when casting WebElement

💡 Hint

Consider what happens if the element is not found.

If the element is not found, findElement throws NoSuchElementException. It does not return null, so NullPointerException won't occur here.

❓ framework

expert

Best practice for waiting for element by XPath before interaction

In Selenium Java, which approach correctly waits up to 10 seconds for an element located by XPath before clicking it?

A Thread.sleep(10000); driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[@id='submit']")).click();

B driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS); driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[@id='submit']")).click();

C new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10)).until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.xpath("//button[@id='submit']"))).click();

D driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[@id='submit']")).click();

💡 Hint

Use explicit waits for better reliability than implicit waits or sleep.

Option C uses explicit wait with ExpectedConditions which waits until the element is clickable before clicking. Option C uses fixed sleep which is inefficient. Option C does not wait. Option C sets implicit wait but explicit wait is preferred for specific conditions.

Practice

1. What does the Selenium method findElement(By.xpath("//button[@id='submit']")) do?

easy

A. Finds the first button element with id 'submit' on the page

B. Finds all button elements with id 'submit' on the page

C. Clicks the button with id 'submit' automatically

D. Deletes the button element with id 'submit'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method findElement locates a single web element matching the given locator.

2. Step 2: Analyze the XPath expression

   The XPath //button[@id='submit'] selects the first <button> element with attribute id='submit'.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first button element with id 'submit' on the page -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   findElement + XPath = single matching element [OK]

Hint: findElement returns one element matching XPath [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing findElement with findElements
• Thinking it clicks or deletes element
• Assuming it returns multiple elements

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find an element with XPath in Selenium Java?

easy

A. driver.findElement(By.xpath('//input[@name='username']'));

B. driver.findElement(By.xpath=//input[@name='username']);

C. driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='username']"));

D. driver.findElement(By.xpath("input[@name='username']"));

Solution

1. Step 1: Check method call syntax

   The correct method call is driver.findElement(By.xpath("xpath_string")) with double quotes around the XPath string.

2. Step 2: Validate each option

   driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='username']")); uses correct syntax with double quotes and proper method call. driver.findElement(By.xpath=//input[@name='username']); uses invalid assignment syntax. driver.findElement(By.xpath('//input[@name='username']')); uses single quotes inside double quotes incorrectly. driver.findElement(By.xpath("input[@name='username']")); misses the leading '//' in XPath.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.findElement(By.xpath("//input[@name='username']")); -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct method call with By.xpath and string [OK]

Hint: Use By.xpath("xpath") with double quotes inside parentheses [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using assignment '=' instead of method argument
• Mixing single and double quotes incorrectly
• Omitting '//' in XPath expression

3. What will be the result of this code snippet?

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='menu']/ul/li[2]"));
System.out.println(element.getText());

Assuming the HTML is:

<div class='menu'>
  <ul>
    <li>Home</li>
    <li>About</li>
    <li>Contact</li>
  </ul>
</div>

medium

A. Home

B. NoSuchElementException

C. Contact

D. About

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the XPath expression

   The XPath //div[@class='menu']/ul/li[2] selects the second <li> child inside the <ul> within the div with class 'menu'.

2. Step 2: Match XPath to HTML content

   The second <li> inside the list is About. So element.getText() will print "About".

3. Final Answer:

   About -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   XPath li[2] = second list item text [OK]

Hint: XPath li[2] selects second list item text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing index starting at 0 instead of 1
• Assuming XPath returns all matching elements
• Ignoring the class attribute filter

4. You wrote this code but it throws a NoSuchElementException. What is the likely error?

WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//button[text()='Submit']"));
button.click();

The HTML is:

<button id='submitBtn'>Submit</button>

medium

A. The button element is inside an iframe and not switched to

B. The XPath is missing the button's id attribute

C. XPath is case-sensitive and 'Submit' text does not match

D. The button is disabled and cannot be clicked

Solution

1. Step 1: Check XPath correctness

   The XPath //button[text()='Submit'] matches the button text exactly, which is correct here.

2. Step 2: Consider common Selenium issues

   If the element is inside an iframe, Selenium cannot find it unless switched to that iframe first. This causes NoSuchElementException.

3. Final Answer:

   The button element is inside an iframe and not switched to -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   NoSuchElementException often means iframe switch missing [OK]

Hint: Check if element is inside iframe before findElement [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming XPath text match is case-insensitive
• Ignoring iframe context
• Thinking disabled buttons cause NoSuchElementException

5. You want to find an input field that has either name='email' or placeholder='Email'. Which XPath expression should you use with findElement?

hard

A. //input[@name='email' | @placeholder='Email']

B. //input[@name='email' or @placeholder='Email']

C. //input[contains(@name, 'email') or contains(@placeholder, 'Email')]

D. //input[@name='email' and @placeholder='Email']

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement

   You want to find an input element that matches either condition: name='email' OR placeholder='Email'.

2. Step 2: Analyze XPath options

   //input[@name='email' or @placeholder='Email'] uses the correct XPath OR operator or between attribute checks. //input[@name='email' and @placeholder='Email'] uses and which requires both attributes. //input[contains(@name, 'email') or contains(@placeholder, 'Email')] uses contains which is broader but acceptable, but the question asks exact match. //input[@name='email' | @placeholder='Email'] uses invalid XPath syntax with | inside predicate.

3. Final Answer:

   //input[@name='email' or @placeholder='Email'] -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use 'or' inside XPath predicate for either condition [OK]

Hint: Use 'or' inside XPath brackets for multiple attribute options [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'and' instead of 'or' for either condition
• Using invalid XPath operators like '|' inside predicates
• Confusing contains() with exact match