XPath Generator Utility¶

Sequences Generator Toolbar includes a utility that simplify the task of generating a XPath expression to locate an element on a page. The tool generates the smallest XPath expression (i.e. the one referencing the minimum number of nodes an attributes) required to uniquely identify the element in the page. The obtained expression can be used with the ITPilot functions XPATH and XPATHLIST (see section Functions for Page Handling) or with the NSEQL command FindElementByXPath.

Open the tool clicking the button.

Screenshot of the XPath Generator utility¶

To generate an XPath expression:

• Start typing the URL of the page in the top of the wizard and press ENTER to load the page. If the target element is not on the page then perform the required actions on the embedded browser to make the target element appear on the page.

• Click the button “Start XPath generation”. This will make the tool to enter in a “generation mode” where mouse actions on the browser control have no effect on the HTML page. If you need to make browsing actions again, click “Stop XPath generation” to return to the “browsing mode”.

• Click the target element. It will be highlighted with a red rectangle. The component below the browser control will display the DOM route to the target element in a tree and the generated expression is shown at the bottom of the wizard. Click on any of the nodes of the tree to see its XPATH expression.

The “Execute JavaScript” check box allows reloading the page with JavaScript enabled or disabled.

The “Copy to clipboard” button copies the generated expression to the clipboard.