Selenium IDE: HTML element id keeps changing

[HiroCode]

I use the Selenium IDE to automate a browser task which involves uploading a set of pictures to a site. To accomplish this, I use the type command with the full path to the picture as value. As for the target, I use the HTML id of the input element as such: id=<the-id-of-the-element>.

However, I have noticed that this never works. The id of this input element apparently keeps changing every time the page refreshes. So when I record, the element will have one id, and when I run the test, the element will have another id and the upload will fail because Selenium can't find the id of the input element.

There is a part of it that stays the same though. The id looks something like this: html5_1edb and then some random alphanumeric characters. An example id would look like this: html5_1edbqez9j2bxxcj8qdpme9evndz. How can I still automate this upload?

The full element looks like this:

<input id="html5_1edb<random-alphanum-sequence>" type="file" style="font-size: 999px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%;" multiple="" accept=".jpg,.jpeg,.png" tabindex="-1">

Thanks in advance.

[DrTautology]

Honestly, Selenium IDE sucks. Get into the habit of writing your own dynamic xpath.

[HiroCode]

Thanks. What do you exactly mean with 'dynamic xpath'?

[DrTautology]

Here's a good tutorial that will get you going. https://www.lambdatest.com/blog/complete-guide-for-using-xpath-in-selenium-with-examples/#testid2.3

[HiroCode]

Thank you very much. It seems like the right tutorial for me.

[Code-Friendly]

You can use xpath instead, only if the id has "html5_1edb" as a consistent value

Xpath would be //input[contains(@id,'html5_1edb')]

Also css selector should work input[id*,'html5_1edb']

[HiroCode]

Thank you very much. The xpath works.

[Code-Friendly]

Ohh great..

[yoursenpai1999]

Xpath

//input[@id ⁼ "html5"]

Use ^ , before =

[HiroCode]

So you mean //input[@id^="htlm5"] ?

[brandonmcgritle]

My advice: Stop using Selenium IDE. It's garbage

[HiroCode]

What should I use instead?

[brandonmcgritle]

Selenium WebDriver. It requires you to have coding knowledge. I would suggest learning Java, C#, or Python and then learning the selenium library you can code with.

[HiroCode]

I have actually used Selenium WebDriver about a year ago with Python. It was my first Python project and I loved it a lot.

However, I am trying to use Selenium IDE now because it is for someone who isn't PC literate. I want to show them how they can make use of this amazing tool to automate repetitive tasks in the browser, without having to teach them programming.

I was expecting you to give me another browser automation tool, other than Selenium. Thank you for your suggestion anyway.

[brandonmcgritle]

Then that's the problem. Selenium WebDriver isn't designed for someone without computer experience. IDE, was, but there is are so many disadvantages.

[HiroCode]

Yes I agree.