XPath generation extension

XPath generator for robust and maintainable test automation element identification with XPath.

Features

• Drag and drop crosshair over any element to generate solid XPath with single match
• Edit XPath expression inline for new matches with highlights and match count
• Displayed match count for ease of use
• Copy to clipboard button

Try it out

Install as browser extension

This utility is easiest used as a browser plugin so when the plugin icon is clicked the drag and drop window for XPath generation appears on any web page.

Install instructions for Chrome

1. Download xpath-generator-plugin-chrome.zip
2. Unzip the fil to a folder of your choice
3. Start your Chrome Browser and go to the URL chrome://extensions
   (link blocked from being clickable due to Google Chrome security concerns)
4. Enable the Developer mode in the top right corner
5. Click the Load un-compressed plugin tab/link
6. Browse to the folder where you unzipped the file in previous step

Now you should be able to see a Swedish flag among your plugin icons. For ease of access you may pin the icon.

On whatever page you are on you may now activate the plugin and a overlay should appear on the page for you to drag and drop to create a solid and robust XPath expression for the element.

Test area

Todo

• Dynamic XPath generation during dialog movement
• More explicit styling to avoid inheritance from sites where used
• Use element overlay rather than border to avoid border thickness layout modifications
• Blinking marking frame to make sure it's visible on all sites regardless of color
• Refactor the code to enable settings changes to take effect immediately
• Include robustly identifiable child elements as XPath build options
• Make sure to try with // between generic elements
• Try with generic tag symbol * where feasible
• Prettify settings GUI
• Re-prioritize XPath generation strategy
• Include iframe elements with special styling
• Include optional DOM visualization for ease of manual editing
• Nicer shadow under dialog
• Prioritize label text for inputs option
• Include multiple XPath suggestions?
• Touch screen adaptation with touch-move as drag-n-drop alternative?
• Unify plugins as support for Manifest v3 grows in browsers
• Include switch to generate CSS locators rather than XPath expressions?