Find element by partial link text in Selenium Python

Introduction

Sometimes you only know part of a link's text on a webpage. Finding elements by partial link text helps you click or check links without needing the full text.

When the full link text is long or dynamic but a unique part is stable.

When you want to click a link but only remember part of its text.

When testing websites with many similar links and you want to target a group by shared text.

When the link text changes slightly but contains a consistent keyword.

When automating navigation through menus with partial known labels.

Syntax

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.PARTIAL_LINK_TEXT, "partial_text")

Use By.PARTIAL_LINK_TEXT to find links containing the given text.

This works only for <a> tags with visible text.

Examples

Finds the first link containing the word "Learn" anywhere in its text.

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.PARTIAL_LINK_TEXT, "Learn")

Finds a link with text like "Contact Us" or "Contact Support".

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.PARTIAL_LINK_TEXT, "Contact")

Finds all links containing "Help" in their text.

Selenium Python

elements = driver.find_elements(By.PARTIAL_LINK_TEXT, "Help")

Sample Program

This script opens a webpage with links, finds a link containing "Try it" in its text, and prints the full text of that link. It uses headless Chrome to run without opening a browser window.

Selenium Python

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
import time

# Setup Chrome driver options
options = Options()
options.add_argument('--headless')  # Run browser in headless mode

# Initialize driver (adjust path to chromedriver as needed)
service = Service()
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service, options=options)

try:
    # Open example page with links
    driver.get('https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_links.asp')

    # Find link by partial link text
    element = driver.find_element(By.PARTIAL_LINK_TEXT, 'Try it')

    # Print the full link text found
    print(f"Found link text: {element.text}")

finally:
    driver.quit()

Important Notes

Partial link text matching is case-sensitive in Selenium.

If multiple links match, find_element returns the first one found.

Use find_elements to get all matching links as a list.

Summary

Partial link text helps find links when you only know part of their text.

It works only on <a> elements with visible text.

Use it to make tests more flexible and less brittle.

Practice

1. What does the Selenium method find_element_by_partial_link_text do?

easy

A. Finds a link element containing the specified partial text.

B. Finds any element with the exact text match.

C. Finds elements by their HTML tag name.

D. Finds elements by their CSS class name.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the method purpose

   The method find_element_by_partial_link_text searches for <a> elements that contain the given text partially.

2. Step 2: Compare with other locator methods

   Unlike exact text match or tag name search, this method matches any link containing the partial text.

3. Final Answer:

   Finds a link element containing the specified partial text. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Partial link text = Finds links with partial text [OK]

Hint: Partial link text finds links by part of their visible text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing partial link text with exact text match
• Using it on non-link elements
• Expecting it to find by attribute instead of visible text

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find a link containing the text "Login" using Selenium in Python?

easy

A. driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text['Login']

B. driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text(Login)

C. driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text("Login")

D. driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text{Login}

Solution

1. Step 1: Check method usage and argument format

   The method requires a string argument inside parentheses and quotes, like "Login".

2. Step 2: Validate Python syntax

   driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text("Login") uses correct parentheses and quotes. Options A, B, and D have syntax errors or wrong brackets.

3. Final Answer:

   driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text("Login") -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct method call uses parentheses and quotes [OK]

Hint: Use parentheses and quotes for string argument in method call [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting quotes around the string
• Using square or curly brackets instead of parentheses
• Passing variable without quotes

3. What will the following code print if the page has a link with text "Click here to Login"?

element = driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text("Login")
print(element.text)

medium

A. NoSuchElementException

B. Login

C. Click here

D. Click here to Login

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand partial link text matching

   The method finds the first link containing "Login" anywhere in its visible text.

2. Step 2: Check what element.text returns

   It returns the full visible text of the found link, which is "Click here to Login".

3. Final Answer:

   Click here to Login -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Partial match finds full link text [OK]

Hint: Partial link text finds full link text, not just the partial part [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting only the partial text to print
• Assuming it throws exception if partial matches
• Confusing element.text with attribute values

4. Given this code snippet, what is the error and how to fix it?

element = driver.find_element_by_partial_link_text(Login)
print(element.text)

medium

A. SyntaxError due to missing parentheses; fix by adding parentheses

B. NameError because Login is not quoted; fix by adding quotes: "Login"

C. NoSuchElementException because partial link text is incorrect

D. TypeError because find_element_by_partial_link_text expects int

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the error in argument usage

   The argument Login is not in quotes, so Python treats it as a variable, causing NameError.

2. Step 2: Correct the argument to a string

   Wrap Login in quotes like "Login" to pass a string literal.

3. Final Answer:

   NameError because Login is not quoted; fix by adding quotes: "Login" -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   String arguments need quotes [OK]

Hint: Always quote string arguments in Selenium locators [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting quotes around string literals
• Assuming partial link text accepts variables without quotes
• Misreading error type as syntax error

5. You want to click a link that contains either "Sign" or "Register" in its text. Which approach correctly finds and clicks the link using Selenium in Python?

hard

A. Try finding by partial link text "Sign" first, if not found, then try "Register".

B. Use find_element_by_partial_link_text("Sign or Register") to find either.

C. Use CSS selector to find links containing "Sign" or "Register" text.

D. Use find_element_by_link_text("Sign Register") to find combined text.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand partial link text limitation

   The method matches only one partial string at a time; it cannot match multiple alternatives in one call.

2. Step 2: Implement fallback logic

   Try finding link with "Sign" first; if not found, catch exception and try "Register" next.

3. Final Answer:

   Try finding by partial link text "Sign" first, if not found, then try "Register". -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Partial link text matches one string; use fallback for multiple options [OK]

Hint: Try partial link texts one by one for multiple options [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'or' inside partial link text string
• Expecting one call to match multiple partial texts
• Using link_text instead of partial_link_text for partial matches