Why Find element by tag name in Selenium Python? - Purpose & Use Cases

The Big Idea

What if you could find every button or image on a page with just one simple command?

The Scenario

Imagine you have a long webpage with many buttons, links, and images. You want to check if all images are loading correctly. Manually looking through the page and counting each image tag is tiring and easy to miss some.

The Problem

Manually searching for elements by their tag name is slow and error-prone. You might overlook some tags or confuse similar ones. It's like trying to find all the apples in a big basket by picking them one by one with your eyes closed.

The Solution

Using 'Find element by tag name' in Selenium lets you quickly grab all elements of a certain type, like all images or all buttons, with just one command. This saves time and ensures you don't miss anything.

Before vs After

✗ Before

elements = driver.find_elements_by_xpath('//img')  # complicated and slow

✓ After

elements = driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'img')  # simple and fast

What It Enables

This lets you easily check or interact with all elements of a certain type on a page, making tests faster and more reliable.

Real Life Example

For example, you can quickly find all tags on a product page to verify that every product image is displayed correctly without missing any.

Key Takeaways

Manually finding tags is slow and error-prone.

Finding elements by tag name grabs all matching elements quickly.

This method makes testing faster and more accurate.

Practice

1. What does find_element(By.TAG_NAME, 'button') do in Selenium Python?

easy

A. Finds all <button> elements on the page

B. Finds elements by their ID 'button'

C. Finds elements by their class name 'button'

D. Finds the first <button> element on the page

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method used

   The method find_element returns the first matching element found.

2. Step 2: Understand the locator type

   Using By.TAG_NAME with 'button' searches for the first <button> tag element.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds the first <button> element on the page -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   find_element + TAG_NAME = first matching tag element [OK]

Hint: find_element + TAG_NAME finds only the first matching tag [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing find_element with find_elements
• Using class name or ID instead of tag name
• Expecting all elements instead of first only

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find all p elements using Selenium Python?

easy

A. driver.find_element_by_tag_name('p')

B. driver.find_element(By.TAG_NAME, 'p')

C. driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'p')

D. driver.find_elements_by_class_name('p')

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify method for multiple elements

   To get all matching elements, use find_elements (plural).

2. Step 2: Use correct locator for tag name

   Use By.TAG_NAME with the tag string 'p'.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'p') -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   find_elements + TAG_NAME = all matching tags [OK]

Hint: Use find_elements (plural) to get all elements by tag [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using find_element instead of find_elements
• Using deprecated find_element_by_tag_name syntax
• Confusing class name locator with tag name

3. Given the HTML:

<div>
  <button>Click</button>
  <button>Submit</button>
</div>

What will driver.find_element(By.TAG_NAME, 'button').text return?

medium

A. "ClickSubmit"

B. "Click"

C. "Submit"

D. Throws NoSuchElementException

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand find_element behavior

   It returns the first matching element by tag name, which is the first <button> with text "Click".

2. Step 2: Access the text property

   The .text attribute returns the visible text inside that element, which is "Click".

3. Final Answer:

   "Click" -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   First button text = "Click" [OK]

Hint: find_element returns first tag; .text shows its text content [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming it returns all buttons' text combined
• Confusing find_element with find_elements
• Expecting an exception when element exists

4. You wrote this code:

element = driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'img')

But you get an error when trying element.click(). What is the problem?

medium

A. find_elements returns a list, not a single element

B. The tag name 'img' is invalid

C. click() cannot be used on images

D. You must use find_element instead of find_elements

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand return type of find_elements

   find_elements returns a list of WebElements, not a single element.

2. Step 2: Identify why click() fails

   Calling click() on a list causes an error because lists don't have click method.

3. Final Answer:

   find_elements returns a list, not a single element -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   find_elements = list, cannot call click() directly [OK]

Hint: find_elements returns list; call click() on list item, not list [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Calling click() on list instead of element
• Confusing find_element and find_elements return types
• Assuming all tags support click() without checking

5. You want to click the second button on a page. Which code correctly finds and clicks it using tag name?

hard

A. buttons = driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'button')
buttons[1].click()

B. button = driver.find_element(By.TAG_NAME, 'button')
button[1].click()

C. button = driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'button')
button.click()

D. buttons = driver.find_element(By.TAG_NAME, 'button')
buttons.click()

Solution

1. Step 1: Use find_elements to get all buttons

   Use find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'button') to get a list of all button elements.

2. Step 2: Access second button and click

   Index 1 accesses the second button (0-based index), then call click() on it.

3. Final Answer:

   buttons = driver.find_elements(By.TAG_NAME, 'button') buttons[1].click() -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   find_elements + index + click = correct usage [OK]

Hint: Use find_elements, index second item, then click [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using find_element and indexing it like a list
• Calling click() on list instead of element
• Using wrong index (like 2 instead of 1 for second element)