How to Find the Selector of Your Component for Testing

How to Find the Selector of Your Component for Testing

When developing web or mobile applications, effective testing hinges on the precise targeting of UI components. Finding the right selectors for your components can streamline the automation of your testing processes. Below, I'll delve into methods for identifying selectors in both HTML for web applications and XML for mobile apps, leveraging tools like Appium Inspector for apps and equivalent tools for web apps.

Web Applications

For web applications, CSS selectors are the backbone of targeting elements within the DOM (Document Object Model). Here’s how you can find and use these selectors:

1. Use Browser Developer Tools:

• Chrome, Firefox, or Edge: Right-click on the element you want to test and select “Inspect” to open the developer tools. The Elements panel will highlight the selected element’s HTML code.

• Finding the Selector: Right-click the highlighted HTML code in the Elements panel and choose “Copy” > “Copy selector”. This provides a CSS selector that you can use in your tests.

2. Tools for Enhanced Selector Discovery:

• SelectorsHub: This is a browser extension that simplifies the creation and validation of selectors like XPath, CSS, and more. It offers auto-suggestions and helps find selectors even for shadow DOM elements.

• Katalon Recorder: A powerful tool that captures all your actions in the browser as automation scripts which can be exported to various programming languages.

Mobile Applications

Mobile applications, particularly those developed in environments like Android and iOS, utilize XML to structure their layout. Here’s how to pinpoint selectors for mobile app components:

1. Appium Inspector:

• What is it?: Appium Inspector is a part of the Appium desktop app that allows you to interact with your mobile application's UI elements. It provides a visual representation of your app's UI and its current state.

• Using Appium Inspector: Connect your app to Appium Inspector by starting an Appium server and entering your application’s desired capabilities. Once connected, you can click on any UI element to view its attributes, which include XML selectors like the element ID, XPath, or accessibility ID.

• Selecting the Right Attributes: Choose attributes that are unique and less likely to change. `resource-id` for Android and `name` or `label` for iOS are typically stable choices.

2. Other Tools for Mobile Apps:

• UIAutomatorViewer (for Android): Before Appium Inspector, UIAutomatorViewer was a popular tool for inspecting UI components in Android applications. It offers a screenshot of the current app view and the hierarchy of the elements in XML format.

• Xcode Accessibility Inspector (for iOS): A tool provided by Apple, useful for examining the accessibility information of an app on macOS and iOS devices, helping you understand which elements can be accessed by tests.

Best Practices for Selector Strategy

• Stability Over Convenience: Always opt for selectors that are least likely to change. Avoid using indexes or non-unique identifiers.

• Be Specific but Not Brittle: While specificity is good, overly specific selectors can break easily with UI changes. Aim for a balance where the selector is unique but not prone to breakage.

• Leverage Custom Attributes: If possible, work with your development team to include custom attributes like `data-test-id` for elements, making them easier to identify and more robust against changes in style or layout.

In conclusion, selecting the right tool and strategy for identifying element selectors is crucial for effective automated testing. Whether you're handling a sophisticated web application or a feature-rich mobile app, the right approach to finding selectors can make a significant difference in your testing efficiency and reliability.