Here, we use two conditions, first or second condition, among which one condition must be “True” to execute it. This method is still applicable if any one or both conditions are “true”. It means that any conditions should be true to find the element. The expression we can use for this is-

Xpath=//*[@type="submit" or @name="btnReset"]

The above XPath expression will help determine whether a single or both conditions are ‘True’.

Similarly, in the “And” XPath expression, also we use two conditions, but both conditions should be “true” to locate the element. If any one of the conditions becomes “false”, then the expression cannot find the element. The syntax we can use for this function is-

Xpath=//input[@type="submit" and @name="btnLogin"]

4) Xpath Starts-with

The function Xpath-Starts-with() in the Xpath functions is useful to find the element whose attribute value changes in some conditions. Here the value changes with the refresh of the page or by performing dynamic actions on the webpage. In this method, the initial text of the attribute should be in parallel to locate the element whose attribute value changes interactively. 

Further, you can also find the elements whose attribute value doesn’t change or remain static. You can understand this function’s use by the following example:-

Xpath=//label[starts-with(@id,'message')]

The above syntax shows that two different elements start with the initial id “message”. Here, you can use the Xpath-starts with function to check whose attribute value changes or remains static.

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5) XPath Text() Function

In Selenium WebDriver, the function XPath Text() is a built-in function useful to locate elements based on the web element’s text. Using this function, you can find the same text element. Moreover, the elements that you locate must be in a string format.

Xpath=//td[text()='UserID']

Using the above expression having text function, you can locate the element that will show the exact match of the text.

6) XPath axes methods

This method in XPath functions is useful for finding complex or changing elements. However, we can see the following XPath axes methods which we can use:-

1. a) Following- It is useful to select all the elements in the document of the existing node(). The expression you can use for this method is-

 Xpath=//*[@type="text"]//following::input

1. b) Ancestor- The ancestor axes method is useful to select all the ancestor elements of the existing node, like parents, grandparents, etc. Here, the expression you can use is-

Xpath=//*[text()='Enterprise Testing']//ancestor::div

1. c) Child- This axes method selects all the child elements in the documents’ current node. The expression you can use here is-

Xpath=//*[@id='java_technologies']//child::li

1. d) Preceding- This method helps select the nodes that come before the existing ones. Here is the example expression:-

Xpath=//*[@type="submit"]//preceding::input

The above expression helps to identify all the input elements before the currently given nodes.

1. e) Following-sibling- This method helps to select the following siblings of the existing node. All the siblings will be equivalent to the existing node, and the method will find the sibling next to the existing node. Moreover, the syntax you can use here for this method is-

xpath=//*[@type="submit"]//following-sibling::input

1. f) Parent- It helps to select the parent from the existing node of the element. The following is the syntax you can use here.

Xpath=//*[@id='rt-feature']//parent::div

Many div(s) match with the parent, but if you want to focus on a specific element. For this you can use the below xpath syntax-

Xpath=//*[@id='rt-feature']//parent::div[1]

1. g) Self- In this method, it selects the existing node where it selects itself only. That means the node here is the “self”. The expression you can use for self is-

Xpath =//*[@type="password"]//self::input

1. h) Descendant- It helps to select the descendants of the existing element where it recognizes all the element descendants of the existing element. 

Conclusion

XPath or an XML Path is used to locate any element or navigate through the HTML structure of a webpage. It is generally used for automation purposes and in cases where it is difficult to find elements using locators like name, class, ID, etc. However, it is the most important among the locators useful in Selenium to identify web elements. Also, it is a handy locator for the testers of web pages.

Thus, learning about XPath in Selenium will help you quickly identify a web element on a web page. 

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