How to handle dynamic dropdowns in Selenium WebDriver with Java?

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#1

How to handle dynamic dropdowns in Selenium WebDriver with Java?

#2

Hi Dipen,

To handle dynamic dropdowns in Selenium WebDriver with Java, you can use the Select class and its respective methods, like selectByIndex(), selectByVisibleText(), etc, to locate and interact with the dropdown field.

To see the use of above methods, check out this tutorial:

#3

With over a decade of experience in automation testing, I’ve found using the Actions class particularly effective for dynamic dropdowns. If the dropdown activates by hovering, here’s how you can handle it with Selenium and Java:


WebElement dropdownElement = driver.findElement(By.id("dropdown"));

Actions actions = new Actions(driver);

actions.moveToElement(dropdownElement).click().perform();

WebElement option = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//div[@class='dropdown-menu']/div[contains(text(),'Option 1')]"));

option.click();

This approach simulates the mouse movements and clicks that a user would perform.

#4

As an automation engineer with over eight years of experience, I suggest an alternative when dealing with non-traditional dropdown elements. If the dropdown doesn’t utilize a <select> tag, using JavaScript can be a straightforward solution:


WebElement dropdownElement = driver.findElement(By.id("dropdown"));

JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver;

js.executeScript("arguments[0].setAttribute('value', 'Option 1')", dropdownElement);

This method directly sets the value of the dropdown, bypassing the need for user interaction emulation.