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

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the output of this XPath query?

Given the HTML snippet below, what will the XPath //button[text()='Submit'] select?

Selenium Python

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

A Selects only the first <button> element

B Selects all three <button> elements

C Selects no elements

D Selects the second <button> element only

💡 Hint

Remember that XPath text() matches exact text content including case and spaces.

The XPath //button[text()='Submit'] matches only buttons whose text content is exactly 'Submit'. The first button matches exactly. The second has lowercase 'submit' and the third has spaces, so they do not match.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Which assertion correctly verifies the presence of a button with text 'Cancel' using XPath?

You want to assert that a button with text 'Cancel' exists on the page using Selenium and XPath. Which assertion is correct?

Selenium Python

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

wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)

A wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//button[text()='cancel']")))

B wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//button[text()='Cancel']")))

C wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//button[contains(text(),'Cancel')]") ))

D wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//button[text()=' Cancel ']") ))

💡 Hint

XPath text() is case-sensitive and matches exact text.

Option B uses the exact text 'Cancel' which matches the button text exactly. Option B is missing a closing bracket and will cause a syntax error. Option B uses lowercase 'cancel' which won't match if the text is 'Cancel'. Option B includes spaces which must match exactly, so it won't match if the button text has no spaces.

❓ locator

advanced

Which XPath locator correctly selects a

containing exact text 'Error 404'?

Choose the XPath expression that selects a

element whose text content is exactly 'Error 404'.

A //div[text()='Error 404']

B //div[contains(text(),'Error 404')]

C //div[text()=' error 404']

D //div[text()='Error404']

💡 Hint

Exact text matching requires exact string including case and spaces.

Option A matches exactly 'Error 404'. Option A matches any div containing 'Error 404' but not necessarily exact text. Options A and C have incorrect text strings and will not match.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this XPath fail to find the element?

Given the XPath //span[text()='Login'] does not find the element, but the element's visible text is 'Login'. What is the likely cause?

Selenium Python

<span> Login </span>

A The XPath fails because <span> elements cannot be selected by text()

B The XPath fails because 'Login' is case-insensitive in XPath

C The XPath fails because the text has leading/trailing spaces not matched by text()

D The XPath fails because the element is hidden

💡 Hint

Check for spaces around the text inside the element.

XPath text() matches exact text including spaces. If the element text is ' Login ' with spaces, text()='Login' will not match.

❓ framework

expert

Which Selenium Python code snippet correctly waits for a button with exact text 'Submit' to be clickable?

Select the correct code snippet that waits up to 15 seconds for a button with text 'Submit' to be clickable using Selenium WebDriverWait and XPath.

A WebDriverWait(driver, 15).until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, "//button[text()='submit']")))

B WebDriverWait(driver, 15).until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, "//button[text()=' Submit ']") ))

C WebDriverWait(driver, 15).until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, "//button[contains(text(),'Submit')]") ))

D WebDriverWait(driver, 15).until(EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.XPATH, "//button[text()='Submit']")))

💡 Hint

Use exact text match and correct XPath syntax.

Option D uses correct XPath with exact text and correct syntax. Option D misses a closing bracket causing syntax error. Option D uses wrong case 'submit'. Option D includes spaces that may not match the actual button text.

Practice

1. What does the XPath expression //button[text()='Submit'] select in a web page?

easy

A. A button element containing the word 'Submit' anywhere inside

B. Any element with the attribute text='Submit'

C. A button element with the exact visible text 'Submit'

D. All buttons regardless of their text

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the XPath syntax

   The expression //button selects all button elements in the page.

2. Step 2: Analyze the text() condition

   The predicate [text()='Submit'] filters buttons whose visible text exactly matches 'Submit'.

3. Final Answer:

   A button element with the exact visible text 'Submit' -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   XPath with text() matches exact visible text [OK]

Hint: Use text() to match exact visible text in XPath [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing attribute matching with text()
• Assuming partial text matches work
• Ignoring case sensitivity in text()

2. Which of the following is the correct XPath syntax to select a link (<a>) with the visible text exactly 'Home'?

easy

A. //a[contains(text(), 'Home')]

B. //a[text()='Home']

C. //a[@text='Home']

D. //a[text() = Home]

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the correct use of text() function

   The correct syntax to match exact text is text()='Home' inside square brackets.

2. Step 2: Identify syntax errors in other options

   //a[contains(text(), 'Home')] uses contains() which matches partial text, not exact. //a[@text='Home'] incorrectly treats text as an attribute. //a[text() = Home] misses quotes around 'Home'.

3. Final Answer:

   //a[text()='Home'] -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Exact text match requires text()='value' with quotes [OK]

Hint: Exact text match uses text()='value' with quotes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using contains() instead of text() for exact match
• Treating text as an attribute
• Missing quotes around text value

3. Given the following HTML snippet:

<div>
  <span>Login</span>
  <span>Logout</span>
  <span>Login</span>
</div>

What will be the result of this Selenium Python code?

elements = driver.find_elements(By.XPATH, "//span[text()='Login']")
print(len(elements))

medium

A. 2

B. 1

C. 3

D. 0

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify elements matching XPath

   The XPath //span[text()='Login'] selects all <span> elements with exact text 'Login'. There are two such spans in the HTML.

2. Step 2: Count the matched elements

   The find_elements method returns a list of matching elements. Its length is 2.

3. Final Answer:

   2 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Count of spans with text 'Login' = 2 [OK]

Hint: Count elements with exact text using find_elements and len() [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming only one element matches
• Confusing find_element with find_elements
• Ignoring exact text match requirement

4. You wrote this XPath to find a button with text 'Cancel': //button[text()='Cancel']. But your test fails to find the button. What is the most likely reason?

medium

A. The button text has extra spaces or different case

B. The XPath syntax is invalid

C. The button element does not exist on the page

D. The text() function matches partial text only

Solution

1. Step 1: Check XPath syntax correctness

   The XPath //button[text()='Cancel'] is syntactically correct, so syntax error is unlikely.

2. Step 2: Consider text matching behavior

   The text() function matches exact visible text including spaces and case. If the button text has extra spaces or different case (e.g., ' cancel ' or 'CANCEL'), it won't match.

3. Final Answer:

   The button text has extra spaces or different case -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Exact text match fails if spaces or case differ [OK]

Hint: Check exact text including spaces and case for text() [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming text() matches partial or case-insensitive text
• Ignoring leading/trailing spaces in text
• Blaming XPath syntax without checking text content

5. You want to select a <div> element that contains exactly the text 'Error: Invalid input' but the text may have leading or trailing spaces. Which XPath expression correctly handles this using text() and normalize-space()?

hard

A. //div[normalize-space()='Error: Invalid input']

B. //div[text()='Error: Invalid input']

C. //div[contains(text(), 'Error: Invalid input')]

D. //div[normalize-space(text())='Error: Invalid input']

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the problem with spaces

   Text may have extra spaces, so exact text()='Error: Invalid input' won't match if spaces differ.

2. Step 2: Use normalize-space() to trim spaces

   normalize-space(text()) removes leading and trailing spaces before comparison, ensuring correct match.

3. Step 3: Evaluate options

   //div[text()='Error: Invalid input'] fails if spaces differ. //div[contains(text(), 'Error: Invalid input')] matches partial text, not exact. //div[normalize-space()='Error: Invalid input'] uses normalize-space() without text(), which may fail if element has multiple text nodes.

4. Final Answer:

   //div[normalize-space(text())='Error: Invalid input'] -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Use normalize-space(text()) for exact text ignoring spaces [OK]

Hint: Use normalize-space(text()) to ignore extra spaces in XPath [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Not trimming spaces before text comparison
• Using contains() for exact match
• Applying normalize-space() incorrectly