Why Do I Get 'Stale Element Reference' Errors and How Can I Fix Them?

Stale Element Reference: Reason and Solution

The "stale element reference" error occurs when an element in the DOM is no longer available, typically due to it being removed or recreated. In the provided code, the error occurs because the element referenced by the BenefitStatusLi Xpath is no longer valid.

The HTML structure shows that the BenefitStatus link is nested within a <li> element that is dynamically loaded. The code iterates through the list of navigation links and searches for the BenefitStatus text. However, when it attempts to click the element using the computed Xpath, the element has likely been replaced by a new BenefitStatus link with a different Xpath.

To resolve this issue, use an explicit wait to ensure that the element is loaded and stable. Additionally, handle the stale element reference exception by retrying to locate the element:

<code class="java">WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);

try {
    WebElement benefitStatLi = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.xpath(String.format(BenefitStatLi, i))));
    benefitStatLi.click();
} catch (StaleElementReferenceException ex) {
    WebElement benefitStatLi = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.xpath(String.format(BenefitStatLi, i))));
    benefitStatLi.click();
}</code>

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