Find element by name in Selenium Python - Build an Automation Script

Verify login button is clickable by finding element using name attribute

Preconditions (2)

Step 1: Open the browser and navigate to https://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 attribute and clicked successfully without errors

Automation Requirements - Selenium with Python

Assertions Needed:

Verify the login button is present before clicking

Verify the login button is clickable

Verify no exceptions occur during element location and click

Best Practices:

Use explicit waits to wait for the element to be present and clickable

Use By.NAME locator strategy

Handle exceptions gracefully

Close the browser after test execution

Automated Solution

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.common.exceptions import TimeoutException

# Initialize the Chrome WebDriver
with webdriver.Chrome() as driver:
    driver.get('https://example.com/login')

    try:
        # Wait up to 10 seconds for the login button to be present and clickable
        wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
        login_button = wait.until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.NAME, 'loginButton')))

        # Assert the button is displayed
        assert login_button.is_displayed(), 'Login button is not visible'

        # Click the login button
        login_button.click()

        # If needed, add further assertions here

    except TimeoutException:
        assert False, 'Login button was not found or not clickable within 10 seconds'

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

First, it opens the Chrome browser and navigates to the login page URL.

It uses an explicit wait to wait up to 10 seconds for the login button to be clickable, locating it by its name attribute 'loginButton'.

It asserts that the button is visible before clicking it to ensure the element is interactable.

If the button is not found or not clickable within the wait time, the test fails with a clear message.

The with statement ensures the browser closes automatically after the test finishes.

Common Mistakes - 3 Pitfalls

{'mistake': "Using driver.find_element(By.NAME, 'loginButton') without waits", 'why_bad': 'The element might not be loaded yet, causing NoSuchElementException or ElementNotInteractableException.', 'correct_approach': 'Use explicit waits like WebDriverWait with expected_conditions to wait for the element to be present and clickable.'}

{'mistake': 'Using incorrect locator like By.ID or By.CLASS_NAME instead of By.NAME', 'why_bad': "The test will fail to find the element if the locator does not match the element's attributes.", 'correct_approach': 'Use the correct locator By.NAME with the exact name attribute value.'}

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 find_element(By.NAME, "username") do?

easy

A. Finds the element with the class name "username".

B. Finds the first element with the name attribute equal to "username".

C. Finds the element with the id attribute "username".

D. Finds all elements with the name attribute equal to "username".

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method find_element locates a single element matching the given locator.

2. Step 2: Analyze the locator type

   Using By.NAME targets elements by their name attribute, not id or class.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first element with the name attribute equal to "username". -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   find_element(By.NAME, "username") = first element by name [OK]

Hint: Remember: find_element finds one element by attribute [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing find_element with find_elements (plural)
• Using id or class instead of name attribute
• Assuming it finds multiple elements

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

easy

A. driver.find_element_by_name("email")

B. driver.find_element(By.ID, "email")

C. driver.find_element(By.NAME, "email")

D. driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "email")

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall modern Selenium syntax

   Since Selenium 4, the correct way is to use find_element(By.NAME, "email").

2. Step 2: Check each option

   driver.find_element_by_name("email") is deprecated syntax, C and D use wrong locator types.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.find_element(By.NAME, "email") -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use By.NAME with find_element [OK]

Hint: Use By.NAME, not old find_element_by_name [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using deprecated find_element_by_name method
• Mixing locator types like ID or CLASS_NAME
• Forgetting to import By from selenium.webdriver.common.by

3. Given the code snippet:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('http://example.com')
element = driver.find_element(By.NAME, 'search')
print(element.tag_name)

What will be printed if the page has an input field with name="search"?

medium

A. An error because find_element is incorrect

B. "div"

C. "search"

D. "input"

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what find_element returns

   It returns the first matching WebElement with name="search".

2. Step 2: Check the tag_name property

   The tag_name of an input field is "input".

3. Final Answer:

   "input" -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Element with name 'search' is input tag [OK]

Hint: tag_name shows HTML tag of found element [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing attribute value with tag name
• Assuming find_element returns text content
• Thinking find_element syntax is wrong here

4. What is wrong with this code snippet?

element = driver.find_element(By.name, "password")

medium

A. By.name should be By.NAME (case sensitive).

B. The method find_element does not exist.

C. The locator should be By.ID instead of By.name.

D. The quotes around "password" are incorrect.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the locator usage

   Locator constants in Selenium are uppercase, so it should be By.NAME, not By.name.

2. Step 2: Verify other parts

   Method name and quotes are correct; locator type is appropriate for name attribute.

3. Final Answer:

   By.name should be By.NAME (case sensitive). -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Locator constants are uppercase in Selenium [OK]

Hint: Locator constants like By.NAME are uppercase [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using lowercase locator constants
• Confusing locator types (name vs id)
• Assuming method name is wrong

5. You want to fill a form field with name "user_email" using Selenium Python. Which code snippet correctly finds the element and enters the email "[e-mail]"?

hard

A. element = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "user_email")
element.send_keys("[e-mail]")

B. element = driver.find_element(By.ID, "user_email")
element.send_keys("[e-mail]")

C. element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "user_email")
element.send_keys("[e-mail]")

D. element = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "user_email")
element.click()

Solution

1. Step 1: Locate element by name attribute

   Use find_element(By.NAME, "user_email") to find the input field by its name.

2. Step 2: Enter text into the field

   Use send_keys("[e-mail]") to type the email into the field.

3. Final Answer:

   element = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "user_email") element.send_keys("[e-mail]") -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Find by name + send_keys to input text [OK]

Hint: Use send_keys after find_element to type text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using wrong locator type (ID or CLASS_NAME)
• Using click() instead of send_keys() to enter text
• Not locating element before sending keys