- Jan 20, 2019
- admin
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StaleElement ReferenceException
Introduction
When you’re automating web tests with Selenium with C#/Java, you may encounter the StaleElementReferenceException. This exception occurs when an element that was previously located on the page is NO longer available. There are a few reasons why this might happen, such as the element being removed from the page, the page being refreshed, or the element’s location changing.
In this post, we’ll discuss four effective solutions for handling stale element errors in Selenium with C#/Java. I’ll also provide examples of each solution so you can see how they work in practice.
SOLUTION 1: USE A TRY-CATCH BLOCK
One way to handle stale element errors is to use a try-catch block. This will allow you to catch the exception and take appropriate action, such as refreshing the page or locating the element again.
Here’s an example of how to use a try-catch block to handle a stale element error:
try {
WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("myElement"));
element.click();
} catch (StaleElementReferenceException e) {
// Refresh the page
driver.navigate().refresh();
// Try to locate the element again
element = driver.findElement(By.id("myElement"));
element.click();
}SOLUTION 2: USE EXPLICIT WAITS
Another way to handle stale element errors is to use explicit waits. Explicit waits allow you to specify a minimum amount of time that Selenium should wait before throwing an exception. This means that if an element is not available immediately, Selenium will wait for a specified period of time before checking again.
Here’s an example of how to use explicit waits to handle a stale element error:
WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("myElement"));
// Wait for the element to be visible
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOf(element));
// Click on the element
element.click();
Solution 3: Use Page Object Model (POM)
The Page Object Model (POM) is a design pattern that can help you to write more maintainable and reusable Selenium tests. POM involves creating a class for each page in your application. This class contains methods for locating and interacting with elements on the page.
One of the benefits of using POM is that it can help you to avoid stale element errors. This is because POM methods typically cache the location of elements on the page. This means that if an element is removed from the page or its location changes, the POM method will still be able to find it.
Here’s an example of how to use POM to handle a stale element error:
public class MyPage {
private WebElement myElement;
public MyPage() {
myElement = driver.findElement(By.id("myElement"));
}
public void clickMyElement() {
myElement.click();
}
}
SOLUTION 4: USE THE WEBDRIVERWAIT.REFRESHED() METHOD
The WebDriverWait.refreshed() method allows you to refresh the page and then wait for the element to be available again. This is a convenient way to handle stale element errors, but it’s important to note that it can slow down your tests.
Here’s an example of how to use the WebDriverWait.refreshed() method to handle a stale element error:
WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("myElement"));
// Refresh the page and wait for the element to be available
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.refreshed(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOf(element)));
// Click on the element
element.click();
