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Element Actions

To interact with web elements, use driver.element() followed by the desired action. All element actions require a By locator to identify the target element.

Typing​

type()​

Clears the text field and types the specified text.

TypeExample.java
By usernameField = By.id("username_textbox");
driver.element().type(usernameField, "john.doe");

typeAppend()​

Types text without clearing the field first — appends to existing content.

TypeAppendExample.java
By textBox = By.id("username_textbox");
driver.element().type(textBox, "SHAFT");
driver.element().typeAppend(textBox, " Engine"); // field now contains "SHAFT Engine"

typeSecure()​

Types text in a secure manner — the value is masked in reports for sensitive data like passwords.

TypeSecureExample.java
By passwordField = By.id("password_field");
driver.element().typeSecure(passwordField, "mySecretPassword");

typeFileLocationForUpload()​

Sets a file path for file upload input elements.

FileUploadExample.java
By fileInput = By.xpath("//form//input[@type='file']");
driver.element().typeFileLocationForUpload(fileInput, "src/test/resources/testDataFiles/testUpload.txt");

clear()​

Clears text from a text field or text area.

ClearExample.java
By textBox = By.id("username_textbox");
driver.element().clear(textBox);

Clicking​

click()​

Waits for the target element to be interactable, then clicks on it. Falls back to JavaScript click if the standard Selenium click fails.

ClickExample.java
By signInButton = By.id("sign_in_btn");
driver.element().click(signInButton);

clickAndHold()​

Waits for the element to be clickable, then clicks and holds it.

ClickAndHoldExample.java
driver.element().clickAndHold(elementLocator);

clickUsingJavascript()​

Clicks an element using JavaScript. Useful when the standard click fails due to element positioning or overlay issues.

ClickJsExample.java
driver.element().clickUsingJavascript(elementLocator);

doubleClick()​

Performs a double click on the target element.

DoubleClickExample.java
By doubleClickButton = By.className("double_click_btn");
driver.element().doubleClick(doubleClickButton);

Hovering​

hover()​

Hovers over the target element.

HoverExample.java
By menuItem = By.tagName("span");
driver.element().hover(menuItem);

hoverAndClick()​

Hovers over an element to reveal a dropdown or menu, then clicks on a visible option.

HoverAndClickExample.java
By hoverItem = By.linkText("Popular Toys");
By clickable = By.xpath("//a[contains(text(),'Video Games')]");
driver.element().hoverAndClick(hoverItem, clickable);

For multi-level hover menus, pass a list of locators to hover through before clicking:

MultiLevelHoverExample.java
List<By> hoverLocators = new ArrayList<>();
hoverLocators.add(By.linkText("Popular Toys"));
hoverLocators.add(By.xpath("//a[contains(text(),'Video Games')]"));

By clickable = By.linkText("Car");
driver.element().hoverAndClick(hoverLocators, clickable);

Scrolling​

scrollToElement()​

Scrolls the page to bring the target element into view.

ScrollExample.java
By footer = By.xpath("//a[@href='https://twitter.com/saucelabs']");
driver.element().scrollToElement(footer);

Screenshots​

captureScreenshot()​

Captures a screenshot of a specific element and attaches it to the report.

ElementScreenshotExample.java
By element = By.id("chart");
driver.element().captureScreenshot(element);

Drag and Drop​

Drag to Another Element​

DragToElementExample.java
By source = By.id("draggable");
By target = By.id("destination");
driver.element().dragAndDrop(source, target);

Drag to a Position​

DragToPositionExample.java
By source = By.id("draggable");
driver.element().dragAndDrop(source, 500, 500);

Drag by Offset​

DragByOffsetExample.java
By source = By.id("draggable");
driver.element().dragAndDropByOffset(source, 100, 50);

Element Information​

getTagName()​

Returns the HTML tag name of the target element.

GetTagNameExample.java
String tagName = driver.element().getTagName(elementLocator);

getAttribute()​

Returns the value of a specific attribute.

GetAttributeExample.java
By searchBox = By.cssSelector(".gLFyf.gsfi");
String nameAttr = driver.element().getAttribute(searchBox, "name");

getCSSProperty()​

Returns the value of a CSS property.

GetCssPropertyExample.java
String width = driver.element().getCSSProperty(elementLocator, "width");

getText()​

Returns the visible text content of the target element.

GetTextExample.java
String text = driver.element().getText(textElement);

getSize()​

Returns the size of the target element as a string.

GetSizeExample.java
String elementSize = driver.element().getSize(elementLocator);

getElementsCount()​

Returns the number of elements matching a locator.

GetElementsCountExample.java
int resultCount = driver.element().getElementsCount(By.cssSelector("h3.LC20lb"));

isElementDisplayed()​

Returns whether the element is currently displayed.

IsDisplayedExample.java
boolean isVisible = driver.element().isElementDisplayed(elementLocator);

isElementClickable()​

Returns whether the element is clickable (visible and enabled).

IsClickableExample.java
boolean isClickable = driver.element().isElementClickable(elementLocator);

select()​

Selects an option from a dropdown list by visible text.

SelectExample.java
By dropdown = By.id("dropdown");
driver.element().select(dropdown, "Option 1");

getSelectedText()​

Returns the currently selected option text from a dropdown.

GetSelectedTextExample.java
By dropdown = By.id("dropdown");
String selected = driver.element().getSelectedText(dropdown);

IFrames​

switchToIframe()​

Switches driver focus to an iframe.

SwitchToIframeExample.java
By iframeLocator = By.id("ifr_id");
driver.element().switchToIframe(iframeLocator);

switchToDefaultContent()​

Switches driver focus back to the main page content.

SwitchToDefaultExample.java
driver.element().switchToDefaultContent();

getCurrentFrame()​

Returns the name or handle of the currently active iframe context. Useful for debugging iframe navigation state.

GetCurrentFrameExample.java
String currentFrame = driver.element().getCurrentFrame();

Clipboard Actions​

Performs clipboard operations on a text field. Supported actions: "copy", "paste", "cut", "select all", "unselect".

ClipboardExample.java
driver.element().clipboardActions(textFieldLocator, "select all");
driver.element().clipboardActions(textFieldLocator, "copy");

JavaScript Actions​

setValueUsingJavaScript()​

Sets the value of an element using JavaScript — useful when the standard type() method does not work.

SetValueJsExample.java
By inputField = By.id("username");
driver.element().setValueUsingJavaScript(inputField, "myUsername");

submitFormUsingJavaScript()​

Submits a form programmatically using JavaScript.

SubmitFormJsExample.java
By formElement = By.id("loginForm");
driver.element().submitFormUsingJavaScript(formElement);

Native Mobile Commands​

executeNativeMobileCommand()​

Executes a native Appium mobile command with custom parameters. Use this for advanced mobile interactions not covered by the standard element actions, such as mobile: scroll, mobile: swipe, or platform-specific gestures.

NativeMobileCommandExample.java
import java.util.Map;

// Scroll down on iOS
driver.element().executeNativeMobileCommand(
    "mobile: scroll",
    Map.of("direction", "down")
);

// Swipe on Android
driver.element().executeNativeMobileCommand(
    "mobile: swipeGesture",
    Map.of(
        "left", "100",
        "top", "500",
        "width", "200",
        "height", "200",
        "direction", "up",
        "percent", "0.75"
    )
);
note

This method is intended for mobile (Appium) test execution. The available commands and parameters depend on the Appium driver and the target platform (Android/iOS).

Wait Methods​

SHAFT provides several wait methods to handle synchronization:

WaitMethodExamples.java
// Wait until element text matches
driver.element().waitUntilElementTextToBe(locator, "Success");

// Wait until attribute contains value
driver.element().waitUntilAttributeContains(locator, "class", "complete");

// Wait until element is selected
driver.element().waitUntilElementToBeSelected(locator);

// Wait for specific number of elements
driver.element().waitUntilNumberOfElementsToBe(locator, 5);
driver.element().waitUntilNumberOfElementsToBeLessThan(locator, 10);
driver.element().waitUntilNumberOfElementsToBeMoreThan(locator, 0);

// Wait until all elements are present
driver.element().waitUntilPresenceOfAllElementsLocatedBy(locator);

Table Data Extraction​

Extracts table row data into a list of maps, where each map key is the column header.

TableDataExample.java
List<Map<String, String>> tableData = driver.element().getTableRowsData(tableLocator);
note

This works with standard HTML tables that use <thead> with <th> elements for column headers and <tbody> with <td> elements for row data.

Fluent Chaining​

All element actions support fluent chaining with .and():

FluentChainingExample.java
driver.element()
    .type(usernameField, "admin")
    .and().type(passwordField, "password")
    .and().click(loginButton);