How to Handle Stale Element Reference Exceptions in Selenium WebDriver?

Resolving Stale Element Reference Exception in Selenium WebDriver

Selenium WebDriver's Stale Element Reference Exception occurs when the element you're trying to interact with is removed and recreated dynamically. This is common in intricate web applications where elements are constantly being modified.

Understanding Element Refresh

A WebElement represents an element in the DOM. A StaleElementException is triggered when the underlying element is destroyed and then reconstructed. This can happen during user interactions that require DOM manipulation, leading to the original WebElement becoming "stale."

Best Practices for Resolving Stale Element References

To avoid this exception, you should refresh your reference to the element. Here are some recommended practices:

• Use Expected Conditions: Use the ExpectedConditions class to wait for an element to become visible or clickable, ensuring the element is present and stable before interacting with it.
• Locate Elements Dynamically: When possible, locate elements dynamically using locators that remain consistent even after DOM changes. Avoid relying on element IDs, which may change.
• Use Relative Locators: Employ relative locators, such as xpath and cssSelector, to search for elements within a specific parent element. This reduces the risk of referencing stale elements that may have been moved or replaced.
• Refresh the WebDriver Instance: In some cases, you may need to refresh the entire WebDriver instance to obtain a new reference to the DOM. This can be achieved using driver.navigate().refresh().
• Handle Exceptions with Care: When a Stale Element Reference Exception is encountered, handle it gracefully and retrieve the element again before continuing.

Example

Consider the code you provided:

WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
wait.until(new ExpectedCondition<Boolean>() {
    public Boolean apply(WebDriver driver) {
        WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.name("createForm:dateInput_input"));

        if (button.isDisplayed())
            return true;
        else
            return false;
    }
});

To resolve this, you could either use a dynamic locator instead of By.name(), or implement proper exception handling to refresh the element when you encounter the Stale Element Reference Exception.

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