XPath with text() in Selenium Java - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ locator

intermediate

Identify the correct XPath locator using text()

Given the HTML snippet below, which XPath expression correctly selects the

Selenium Java

<button>Submit</button>
<button>submit</button>
<button>Submit Form</button>

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

B //button[contains(text(),'Submit')]

C //button[text()='Submit']

D //button[text()='Submit Form']

💡 Hint

Use text() to match exact visible text, case-sensitive.

Option C uses text() to match the exact text 'Submit'. Option C matches any button containing 'Submit' but would also match 'Submit Form'. Option C is case-sensitive and does not match 'Submit'. Option C matches a different button with text 'Submit Form'.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Assertion on element text using XPath with text()

In Selenium Java, which assertion correctly verifies that the element located by XPath //div[text()='Welcome'] has the text 'Welcome'?

Selenium Java

WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[text()='Welcome']"));

A assertEquals(element.getText(), "Welcome");

B assertTrue(element.isDisplayed());

C assertEquals(element.getText(), "welcome");

D assertFalse(element.isDisplayed());

💡 Hint

Check both visibility and exact text match with correct case.

Option A correctly asserts the element's text is exactly 'Welcome'. Option A checks visibility but not text. Option A fails due to case mismatch. Option A asserts the element is not displayed, which is incorrect.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Output of XPath expression with text() and normalize-space()

What is the output count of elements selected by the XPath //p[normalize-space(text())='Hello World'] given the HTML below?

Selenium Java

<p> Hello World </p>
<p>Hello   World</p>
<p>Hello World!</p>
<p> HelloWorld </p>

A 2

B 3

C 1

D 4

💡 Hint

normalize-space() removes leading/trailing spaces and collapses multiple spaces.

The first two

elements normalize to 'Hello World' and match exactly. The third has an exclamation mark, the fourth has no space between words, so only 2 match.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Debug the failing XPath locator using text()

A test fails to locate the element with text 'Cancel' using the XPath //button[text()='Cancel']. The HTML is:

<button> Cancel </button>

What is the most likely reason for failure?

A XPath syntax is incorrect; missing parentheses.

B Extra spaces inside the button text cause exact text() match to fail.

C The button element is not visible on the page.

D The text 'Cancel' is inside a child span element, not directly in button.

💡 Hint

Check for whitespace differences in visible text.

The button text has spaces around 'Cancel', so exact text() match fails. Using normalize-space() would fix this. Options B, C, and D do not match the given HTML or XPath.

❓ framework

expert

Best practice for dynamic text matching in XPath locators

In a Selenium Java framework, which XPath locator is best to find a <span> element containing dynamic text that always includes the word 'Error' somewhere inside it?

A //span[text()[contains(.,'Error')]]

B //span[text()='Error']

C //span[starts-with(text(),'Error')]

D //span[contains(text(),'Error')]

💡 Hint

Use contains() to match partial text anywhere inside the element.

Option D correctly uses contains(text(),'Error') to match any span with 'Error' in its text. Option D matches exact text 'Error' only. Option D matches text starting with 'Error' only. Option D uses advanced text node filtering but is more complex than needed.