How to Use Different Locators in Cypress?

Cypress is a modern automation tool used to help software engineers test web applications. The features and functions it offers make it an efficient, effective, and fast-growing testing platform. One of the most important capabilities of Cypress testing is its ability to locate page elements, a process known as “locating.” In this article, we will explore the various methods to use different locators in Cypress and the corresponding useful locator functions.

What is Cypress?

Cypress is an open-source testing framework that is used for running automated tests for web applications. It was designed for developers to make testing easier, faster, and more reliable. Cypress allows developers to test in the same environment as their application, making identifying errors, bugs, and defects easier. It also makes it easier to create robust and reliable tests.

How Does Cypress Testing Work?

When running automated tests with Cypress, the tests will start by visiting a targeted URL. From there, the Cypress test will start to manipulate the DOM and run assertions and other commands. Tests can be customized to start at different URLs or perform different commands. Cypress also includes an assertion library, allowing developers to check the validity of the test results.

Cypress also includes built-in reports that provide detailed information about the results of the tests. Reports can be generated in different formats, such as HTML or JSON. By default, Cypress also creates screenshots and videos of the tests, which can be used to investigate errors or debug the test.

What Are the Benefits of Cypress Testing?

One of the main benefits of using Cypress for automated testing is its speed. The tests run very quickly, allowing developers to get the results of their tests without waiting for hours. Cypress is also very reliable, so tests will run successfully on a consistent basis. The locator system also makes it easy to locate elements on the page quickly and accurately.

Finally, Cypress makes it easy to create custom tests and reports. Tests can be customized to run at different URLs, and the report system can be used to generate reports in different formats. This makes it easy to analyze the results of the tests and debug any errors.

What Are Cypress Locators?

Cypress locators are a type of web automation tool that allows users to locate elements on a web page. They are used by developers, testers, and QA professionals to automate the testing process and make sure that their web applications are functioning correctly.

Cypress locators help developers and testers in finding the exact elements on a webpage during automation testing. By using the locator, developers and testers can easily identify the objects and interact with them. The locators are used to interact with web page objects such as text boxes, links, images, and buttons.

However, not all locators support the same functions. Some locators are designed only to find elements on the page, while others are designed to perform actions on the elements. Developers and testers must understand the different types of locators available and use them according to their specific needs.

Some of the most common Cypress locators include ID, name, class, tag name, XPath, and attributes. Each locator is designed to find a specific element on a web page, and each plays a vital role in the automation testing process.

  • The ID locator uses the ID attribute to find an element on a web page. It is one of the most reliable locators and ensures that the element found is unique. 
  • The name locator is used to find an element using the name attribute. It is considered to be reliable but can sometimes return multiple elements.
  • The class locator is used to find an element using the class attribute. It is commonly used to find elements that have the same class name. 
  • The tag name locator is used to find an element using the tag name. It is one of the most reliable locators and can find elements that have the same tag name.
  • The XPath locator is used to find an element using an XPath expression. It can find elements located anywhere on a web page, including the top-level or nested elements. 
  • Lastly, the attribute locator is used to find an element by searching for a specific attribute. It is relatively reliable but can sometimes return multiple elements.

Identifying HTML Elements Using Cypress Locators

Cypress offers a range of locators that enable developers to quickly and accurately identify HTML elements in the web application. These locators help to locate elements within the HTML tree that can be used for manipulation, including form submission and click events. In this article, you will learn how to use Cypress locators for identifying HTML elements.

1. Locators in Cypress by Identifying HTML Elements Using ‘ID’

In Cypress, developers can use the ‘ID’ locator to quickly identify HTML elements on a page. This locator uses the element’s ‘ID’ attribute to locate the element, often used to differentiate between multiple elements of the same type. Using this locator, developers can locate elements with a specific ID quickly and accurately.

 

The ‘ID’ locator is used by invoking the cy.get() command and passing it the ID of the element. The Cypress API uses the same syntax for all other locators, so the command looks like this: cy.get(‘#element-id’). This command will return an object that contains the element and its properties. For example, if the element has a class attribute, developers can retrieve it by invoking the .class() method.

2. Locators in Cypress by Identifying HTML Elements Using ‘Name’

The ‘Name’ locator in Cypress is used to locate elements using their ‘name’ attribute. This locator is often used when there are multiple elements of the same type on the page and each one needs to be identified by a unique name. The ‘Name’ locator is invoked with the same syntax as the ‘ID’ locator, i.e. cy.get(‘[name=element-name]’). This command will return an object that contains the element and its properties.

3. Locators in Cypress by Identifying HTML Elements Using ‘Attributes’

The ‘Attributes’ locator in Cypress is used to locate elements that have any attribute value. This locator is used when there are multiple elements of the same type on the page, but the elements differ in some way, either through the presence of an additional attribute or the value of an attribute. The ‘Attributes’ locator is invoked with the same syntax as the ‘ID’ and ‘Name’ locators, i.e. cy.get(‘[attribute-name=attribute-value]’). This command will return an object that contains the element and its properties.

4. Locators in Cypress by Identifying HTML Elements Using ‘By Class’

So, what is the ‘By Class’ locator? The ‘By Class’ locator is used to identify a particular HTML element on a page by its particular class name. This is useful when there are multiple elements on the page that share the same class name, as the ‘By Class’ locator will select the element with the specified class name. The syntax for the ‘By Class’ locator is as follows:

cy.get(“.[CLASS NAME]”)

For example, in the code snippet below, we can use the ‘By Class’ locator to find the element with the class name ‘foo’.

cy.get(“.foo”)

The ‘By Class’ locator is the most commonly used locator in Cypress, as it is the simplest and most efficient way to identify elements in a web page.

5. Locators in Cypress by Identifying HTML Elements Using ‘Link Text’

the ‘Link Text’ locator is used to find an element on a web page by its link text. This is useful when there are multiple elements on the page that have the same link text. The syntax for the ‘Link Text’ locator is as follows:

cy.get(“a:[LINK TEXT]”)

For example, in the code snippet below, we can use the ‘Link Text’ locator to find the element with the link text ‘Click Me’.

cy.get(“a:Click Me”)

The ‘Link Text’ locator is a powerful way to identify elements on a web page and is often used in combination with the ‘By Class’ locator to find elements on a page.

HTML Element by XPath in Cypress

XPath is widely used in the world of web development and can come in handy in many automated testing scenarios. Cypress is a popular open-source automation framework, but the bad news is that it doesn’t support XPath out of the box.

However, if you are already familiar with XPath and want to get the HTML element by XPath, then there is a third-party Cypress plugin called ‘cypress-xpath’ that you can use to accomplish this. The following are the steps you should take in order to get started:

Firstly, you need to install the Cypress-xpath plugin. To do this, you’ll need to use the npm command:

npm install -D cypress-xpath

Once the plugin has been installed, you need to set it up. To do this, you’ll need to navigate to the cypress/support/index.js file and add the following line:

require(‘cypress-xpath’)

Now that the plugin is set up, you can use the cy.xpath() command in your script. The following is an example of how this can be done:

it(‘finds list items’, () => {

cy.xpath(‘//ul[@class=”todo-list”]//li’)

.should(‘have.length’, 3)})

If you need to get specific elements using XPath, then you can chain the cy.xpath() command to another command.

Conclusion

Cypress is an end-to-end testing framework that provides developers with a range of tools for testing and verifying the functionality of web applications. One of the most important aspects of Cypress is the ability to identify HTML elements through its locators. In this article, you have learned how to use locators in Cypress for identifying HTML elements, like ID, Name, Attributes, Class, and Link Text.You can begin your Cypress testing with LambdaTest – that lets you run end-to-end tests on a blazing-fast Cypress test execution cloud. The platform offers various browsers and browser versions, including headless versions, whilst running tests in parallel. It also comes with a powerful test analytics tool that lets you interpret your Selenium test results, identify failure patterns across different types of errors, and understand how parallel tests can improve your build efficiency. You can begin free Cypress testing with LambdaTest, by simply doing a basic registration.

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