Develop Reference

Trying to resolve StaleElementReferenceException error [duplicate]

I am implementing a lot of Selenium tests using Java - sometimes, my tests fail due to a StaleElementReferenceException.
Could you suggest some approaches to making the tests more stable?

This can happen if a DOM operation happening on the page is temporarily causing the element to be inaccessible. To allow for those cases, you can try to access the element several times in a loop before finally throwing an exception.
Try this excellent solution from darrelgrainger.blogspot.com:
public boolean retryingFindClick(By by) {
boolean result = false;
int attempts = 0;
while(attempts < 2) {
try {
driver.findElement(by).click();
result = true;
break;
} catch(StaleElementException e) {
}
attempts++;
}
return result;
}

I was having this issue intermittently. Unbeknownst to me, BackboneJS was running on the page and replacing the element I was trying to click. My code looked like this.
driver.findElement(By.id("checkoutLink")).click();
Which is of course functionally the same as this.
WebElement checkoutLink = driver.findElement(By.id("checkoutLink"));
checkoutLink.click();
What would occasionally happen was the javascript would replace the checkoutLink element in between finding and clicking it, ie.
WebElement checkoutLink = driver.findElement(By.id("checkoutLink"));
// javascript replaces checkoutLink
checkoutLink.click();
Which rightfully led to a StaleElementReferenceException when trying to click the link. I couldn't find any reliable way to tell WebDriver to wait until the javascript had finished running, so here's how I eventually solved it.
new WebDriverWait(driver, timeout)
.ignoring(StaleElementReferenceException.class)
.until(new Predicate<WebDriver>() {
#Override
public boolean apply(#Nullable WebDriver driver) {
driver.findElement(By.id("checkoutLink")).click();
return true;
}
});
This code will continually try to click the link, ignoring StaleElementReferenceExceptions until either the click succeeds or the timeout is reached. I like this solution because it saves you having to write any retry logic, and uses only the built-in constructs of WebDriver.

Kenny's solution is good, however it can be written in a more elegant way
new WebDriverWait(driver, timeout)
.ignoring(StaleElementReferenceException.class)
.until((WebDriver d) -> {
d.findElement(By.id("checkoutLink")).click();
return true;
});
Or also:
new WebDriverWait(driver, timeout).ignoring(StaleElementReferenceException.class).until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.id("checkoutLink")));
driver.findElement(By.id("checkoutLink")).click();
But anyway, best solution is to rely on Selenide library, it handles this kind of things and more. (instead of element references it handles proxies so you never have to deal with stale elements, which can be quite difficult). Selenide

Generally this is due to the DOM being updated and you trying to access an updated/new element -- but the DOM's refreshed so it's an invalid reference you have..
Get around this by first using an explicit wait on the element to ensure the update is complete, then grab a fresh reference to the element again.
Here's some psuedo code to illustrate (Adapted from some C# code I use for EXACTLY this issue):
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(browser, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));
IWebElement aRow = browser.FindElement(By.XPath(SOME XPATH HERE);
IWebElement editLink = aRow.FindElement(By.LinkText("Edit"));
//this Click causes an AJAX call
editLink.Click();
//must first wait for the call to complete
wait.Until(ExpectedConditions.ElementExists(By.XPath(SOME XPATH HERE));
//you've lost the reference to the row; you must grab it again.
aRow = browser.FindElement(By.XPath(SOME XPATH HERE);
//now proceed with asserts or other actions.
Hope this helps!

The reason why the StaleElementReferenceException occurs has been laid out already: updates to the DOM between finding and doing something with the element.
For the click-Problem I've recently used a solution like this:
public void clickOn(By locator, WebDriver driver, int timeout)
{
final WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, timeout);
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.refreshed(
ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(locator)));
driver.findElement(locator).click();
}
The crucial part is the "chaining" of Selenium's own ExpectedConditions via the ExpectedConditions.refreshed(). This actually waits and checks if the element in question has been refreshed during the specified timeout and additionally waits for the element to become clickable.
Have a look at the documentation for the refreshed method.

In my project I introduced a notion of StableWebElement. It is a wrapper for WebElement which is able to detect if element is Stale and find a new reference to the original element. I have added a helper methods to locating elements which return StableWebElement instead of WebElement and the problem with StaleElementReference disappeared.
public static IStableWebElement FindStableElement(this ISearchContext context, By by)
{
var element = context.FindElement(by);
return new StableWebElement(context, element, by, SearchApproachType.First);
}
The code in C# is available on my project's page but it could be easily ported to java https://github.com/cezarypiatek/Tellurium/blob/master/Src/MvcPages/SeleniumUtils/StableWebElement.cs

A solution in C# would be:
Helper class:
internal class DriverHelper
{
private IWebDriver Driver { get; set; }
private WebDriverWait Wait { get; set; }
public DriverHelper(string driverUrl, int timeoutInSeconds)
{
Driver = new ChromeDriver();
Driver.Url = driverUrl;
Wait = new WebDriverWait(Driver, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(timeoutInSeconds));
}
internal bool ClickElement(string cssSelector)
{
//Find the element
IWebElement element = Wait.Until(d=>ExpectedConditions.ElementIsVisible(By.CssSelector(cssSelector)))(Driver);
return Wait.Until(c => ClickElement(element, cssSelector));
}
private bool ClickElement(IWebElement element, string cssSelector)
{
try
{
//Check if element is still included in the dom
//If the element has changed a the OpenQA.Selenium.StaleElementReferenceException is thrown.
bool isDisplayed = element.Displayed;
element.Click();
return true;
}
catch (StaleElementReferenceException)
{
//wait until the element is visible again
element = Wait.Until(d => ExpectedConditions.ElementIsVisible(By.CssSelector(cssSelector)))(Driver);
return ClickElement(element, cssSelector);
}
catch (Exception)
{
return false;
}
}
}
Invocation:
DriverHelper driverHelper = new DriverHelper("http://www.seleniumhq.org/docs/04_webdriver_advanced.jsp", 10);
driverHelper.ClickElement("input[value='csharp']:first-child");
Similarly can be used for Java.

Kenny's solution is deprecated use this, i'm using actions class to double click but you can do anything.
new FluentWait<>(driver).withTimeout(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS).pollingEvery(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
.ignoring(StaleElementReferenceException.class)
.until(new Function() {
#Override
public Object apply(Object arg0) {
WebElement e = driver.findelement(By.xpath(locatorKey));
Actions action = new Actions(driver);
action.moveToElement(e).doubleClick().perform();
return true;
}
});

I've found solution here. In my case element becomes inaccessible in case of leaving current window, tab or page and coming back again.
.ignoring(StaleElement...), .refreshed(...) and elementToBeClicable(...) did not help and I was getting exception on act.doubleClick(element).build().perform(); string.
Using function in my main test class:
openForm(someXpath);
My BaseTest function:
int defaultTime = 15;
boolean openForm(String myXpath) throws Exception {
int count = 0;
boolean clicked = false;
while (count < 4 || !clicked) {
try {
WebElement element = getWebElClickable(myXpath,defaultTime);
act.doubleClick(element).build().perform();
clicked = true;
print("Element have been clicked!");
break;
} catch (StaleElementReferenceException sere) {
sere.toString();
print("Trying to recover from: "+sere.getMessage());
count=count+1;
}
}
My BaseClass function:
protected WebElement getWebElClickable(String xpath, int waitSeconds) {
wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, waitSeconds);
return wait.ignoring(StaleElementReferenceException.class).until(
ExpectedConditions.refreshed(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.xpath(xpath))));
}

Clean findByAndroidId method that gracefully handles StaleElementReference.
This is heavily based off of jspcal's answer but I had to modify that answer to get it working cleanly with our setup and so I wanted to add it here in case it's helpful to others. If this answer helped you, please go upvote jspcal's answer.
// This loops gracefully handles StateElementReference errors and retries up to 10 times. These can occur when an element, like a modal or notification, is no longer available.
export async function findByAndroidId( id, { assert = wd.asserters.isDisplayed, timeout = 10000, interval = 100 } = {} ) {
MAX_ATTEMPTS = 10;
let attempt = 0;
while( attempt < MAX_ATTEMPTS ) {
try {
return await this.waitForElementById( `android:id/${ id }`, assert, timeout, interval );
}
catch ( error ) {
if ( error.message.includes( "StaleElementReference" ) )
attempt++;
else
throw error; // Re-throws the error so the test fails as normal if the assertion fails.
}
}
}

StaleElementReferenceException
StaleElementReferenceException indicates that the reference to an element is now stale i.e. the element no longer appears within the HTML DOM of the page.
Details
Every DOM Tree element is identified by the WebDriver by a unique identifying reference, known as a WebElement. The web element reference is a UUID used to execute commands targeting specific elements, such as getting an element's tag name or retrieving a property off an element.
When an element is no longer attached to the DOM, i.e. it has been removed from the document or the document has changed, it is said to be got stale. Staleness occurs for example when you have a web element reference and the document it was retrieved from navigates and due to navigation, all web element references to the previous document will be discarded along with the document. This will cause any subsequent interaction with the web element to fail with the stale element reference error.
Solution
The best approach to avoid StaleElementReferenceException is to induce WebDriverWait for the elementToBeClickable() before invoking click as follows:
new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10)).until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(By.cssSelector("elementCssSelector"))).click();
Note: You have to import the following:
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;

Create a wrapper function (Java)
As an alternative to the accepted answer, my approach is similar in that it catches the exception and makes a few attempts, but it's more generic, so you can throw any kinds of actions at it as long as they are wrapped in a void function.
Please feel free to copy and use this code:
public void doPreventingStaleElement(Runnable function)
{
int maxRetries = 3; // maximum number of retries
int retries = 0;
boolean stale;
// try/catch block attempts to fix a stale element
do {
try {
function.run();
stale = false;
}
catch (StaleElementReferenceException eStale) {
stale = true;
// Work-around for stale element reference when getting the first page
if (retries < maxRetries) {
retries++;
System.out.println(function.getClass().getSimpleName() + " failed due to stale element reference, retry=" + retries);
try {
// Exponential increase of wait time - 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 seconds
Thread.sleep(1000 * (int) Math.pow(retries,2));
} catch (final InterruptedException e) {
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
}
}
else {
System.out.println(function.getClass().getSimpleName() + " failed due to stale element reference, too many retries");
eStale.printStackTrace();
throw(eStale);
}
}
} while (stale && retries < maxRetries);
return;
}
Note that it will still throw a StaleElementReferenceException after maxRetries attempts.
Example of usage
As an example I want to do this:
final List<WebElement> buttons = getDriver().findElements(By.xpath("//button[#testid='dismiss-me']"));
for (final WebElement closeButton : buttons) {
closeButton.click();
}
or this:
driver.findElement(By.id("login-form-username")).sendKeys(getUser());
driver.findElement(By.id("login-form-password")).sendKeys(getPassword());
driver.findElement(By.id("login-form-submit")).click();
Then I wrap them in void functions
private void clickButtons() {
final List<WebElement> buttons = getDriver().findElements(By.xpath("//button[#testid='dismiss-me']"));
for (final WebElement closeButton : buttons) {
closeButton.click();
}
}
private void performLogin() {
driver.findElement(By.id("login-form-username")).sendKeys(getUser());
driver.findElement(By.id("login-form-password")).sendKeys(getPassword());
driver.findElement(By.id("login-form-submit")).click();
}
and so I can just
doPreventingStaleElement(whateverObject::clickButtons);
doPreventingStaleElement(whateverObject::performLogin);

Try this
while (true) { // loops forever until break
try { // checks code for exceptions
WebElement ele=
(WebElement)wait.until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable((By.xpath(Xpath))));
break; // if no exceptions breaks out of loop
}
catch (org.openqa.selenium.StaleElementReferenceException e1) {
Thread.sleep(3000); // you can set your value here maybe 2 secs
continue; // continues to loop if exception is found
}
}

There could be a potential problem that leads to the StaleElementReferenceException that no one mentioned so far (in regard to actions).
I explain it in Javascript, but it's the same in Java.
This won't work:
let actions = driver.actions({ bridge: true })
let a = await driver.findElement(By.css('#a'))
await actions.click(a).perform() // this leads to a DOM change, #b will be removed and added again to the DOM.
let b = await driver.findElement(By.css('#b'))
await actions.click(b).perform()
But instantiating the actions again will solve it:
let actions = driver.actions({ bridge: true })
let a = await driver.findElement(By.css('#a'))
await actions.click(a).perform() // this leads to a DOM change, #b will be removed and added again to the DOM.
actions = driver.actions({ bridge: true }) // new
let b = await driver.findElement(By.css('#b'))
await actions.click(b).perform()

Usually StaleElementReferenceException when element we try to access has appeared but other elements may affect the position of element we are intrested in hence when we try to click or getText or try to do some action on WebElement we get exception which usually says element not attached with DOM.
Solution I tried is as follows:
protected void clickOnElement(By by) {
try {
waitForElementToBeClickableBy(by).click();
} catch (StaleElementReferenceException e) {
for (int attempts = 1; attempts < 100; attempts++) {
try {
waitFor(500);
logger.info("Stale element found retrying:" + attempts);
waitForElementToBeClickableBy(by).click();
break;
} catch (StaleElementReferenceException e1) {
logger.info("Stale element found retrying:" + attempts);
}
}
}
protected WebElement waitForElementToBeClickableBy(By by) {
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(getDriver(), 10);
return wait.until(ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(by));
}
In above code I first try to wait and then click on element if exception occurs then I catch it and try to loop it as there is a possibility that still all elements may not be loaded and again exception can occur.

This works for me using C#
public Boolean RetryingFindClick(IWebElement webElement)
{
Boolean result = false;
int attempts = 0;
while (attempts < 2)
{
try
{
webElement.Click();
result = true;
break;
}
catch (StaleElementReferenceException e)
{
Logging.Text(e.Message);
}
attempts++;
}
return result;
}

The problem is by the time you pass the element from Javascript to Java back to Javascript it can have left the DOM.
Try doing the whole thing in Javascript:
driver.executeScript("document.querySelector('#my_id')?.click()")

Maybe it was added more recently, but other answers fail to mention Selenium's implicit wait feature, which does all the above for you, and is built into Selenium.
driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(10,TimeUnit.SECONDS);
This will retry findElement() calls until the element has been found, or for 10 seconds.
Source - http://www.seleniumhq.org/docs/04_webdriver_advanced.jsp

Trying to get Selenium Chrome Driver to refresh page until an item is found, but all methods failing

I am writing a program that is supposed to refresh a website until a certain item is loaded (I am not loading the item manually but the people running the website) but my methods don't seem to work. I tried to use FluentWait along with driver.navigate().refresh() (<-- would only refresh the chromedriver browser once by the way) but learned that in this case that is not what I need. Below are my attempts. Any guidance on how I can solve this problem is appreciated!
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 10);
WebElement element = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.linkText("Washed Twill Short")));
WebElement link = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Washed Twill Short"));
driver.get(link.getAttribute("href"));
Wait<WebDriver> wait = new FluentWait(driver).withTimeout(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS).pollingEvery(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS).ignoring(NoSuchElementException.class);
WebElement refresher = wait.until(new Function<WebDriver, WebElement>()
{
public WebElement apply(WebDriver driver)
{
driver.navigate().refresh();
return driver.findElement(By.linkText("Washed Twill Short"));
}
});
Boolean isPresent = driver.findElements(By.linkText("Washed Twill Short")).size() > 0;
while(!isPresent)
{
driver.get(driver.getCurrentUrl());
}
do{
driver.navigate().refresh();
}while(!driver.findElement(By.linkText("Washed Twil Short")).isDisplayed());
String productlink = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Washed Twill Short")).getAttribute("href");
driver.get(productlink);

You are quite close. You can either use the findElement() method, but that method will throw a NoSuchElementException that will break the normal flow. In that case you have to surround your call with a try-catch.
A better approach (which you also tried) is to use the findElements() method which returns an empty list if nothing matches. But you have misplaced your stop criteria and only checking it once before looping. Move the check into the loop, and get something like this:
String url = /* some url */
driver.get(url);
while(driver.findElements(By.linkText("Washed Twill Short")).isEmpty())
{
driver.get(url);
}

WebDriver synchronisation issue when waiting for an element

Using WebDriver, Junit 4.11, Maven, IntelliJ v.13
Im trying to find the correct method in writing this test which is to verify that once I have clicked an element, it takes me to the next page.
After researching the WaitTool, Im attempting to nullify the implicitlyWait() then execute the WebDriverWait() and then reset implicitlyWait() although I'm receiving initialisation errors.
Ultimately, my main goal is to stop the synchronisation issues Im experiencing by using the new WaitTool.
The problem Im having is that when I click a button, I occasionally receive an error in waiting for an element new WebDriverWait(chrome, 30).until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.cssSelector("div.listContainer")));to appear on the next page.
This is what my code has been when executing the test:
#Test
public void selectBlankProject(){
new WebDriverWait(chrome, 30).until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.xpath("//*[#id=\"templateGrid\"]/li[2]/img[1]")));
WebElement item1 = chrome.findElement(By.xpath("//*[#id=\"templateGrid\"]/li[2]/img[1]"));
WebElement item2 = chrome.findElement(By.xpath("//*[#id=\"templateGrid\"]/li[2]/img[2]"));
WebElement item3 = chrome.findElement(By.xpath("//*[#id=\"templateGrid\"]/li[2]/header/span"));
WebElement item4 = chrome.findElement(By.xpath("//*[#id=\"templateGrid\"]/li[2]"));
Actions click = new Actions(chrome);
click.moveToElement(item1).moveToElement(item2).moveToElement(item3).moveToElement(item4).click().build().perform();
System.out.println("Blank Project has been selected");
}
#Test
public void dragVideoCompoenentOnToTheCanvas(){
chrome.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
new WebDriverWait(chrome, 30).until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.cssSelector("div.listContainer")));
Actions dragAndDrop = new Actions(chrome);
//Dragging the video component onto the canvas
WebElement listContainerVideo = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.listContainer"));
WebElement componentListVideo = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("ul.componentList.j-componentList"));
WebElement videoComponent = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("li.componentItem.ui-draggable[data-id=\"c5\"]"));
WebElement componentThumbVideo = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.componentThumb"));
WebElement componentNameVideo = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.componentName.f-feature-A"));
//finds the canvas to drop the video component onto
WebElement canvas = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div#page-c3"));
dragAndDrop.clickAndHold(videoComponent)
.moveToElement(listContainerVideo)
.moveToElement(componentListVideo)
.moveToElement(componentThumbVideo)
.moveToElement(componentNameVideo)
.release(canvas).perform();
WebElement draggableVideoComponent = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.t-component-A.videoComponent.component.draggableComponent.ui-draggable.layerSelected"));
Assert.assertEquals("video", draggableVideoComponent.getAttribute("data-type"));
}
I added chrome.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS); in the second test, then realised that this was also setting WebDriverWait(). So I came across WaitTool and I'm attempting to use this to see if it will solve my sync issue.
Reference here: WaitTool
However, this is causing me further problems. When I attempt to use the following code, I receive initialisation errors:
#Test
public int dragClickAreaComponentToStage(int element){
try{
chrome.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(0, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
new WebDriverWait(chrome, 30).until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.cssSelector("li.componentItem.ui-draggable[data-id=\"c3\"]")));
chrome.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(DEFAULT_WAIT_FOR_PAGE, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
return element;
}catch (StaleElementReferenceException e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
WebElement clickArea = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("li.componentItem.ui-draggable[data-id=\"c3\"]"));
WebElement arrowHead = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.componentThumb"));
WebElement imageHolderClickArea = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.imageHolder"));
WebElement componentNameClickArea = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.componentName.f-feature-A"));
WebElement canvas = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.j-page.t-page-A[id=\"page-c3\"]"));
Actions click = new Actions(chrome);
click.clickAndHold(clickArea).moveToElement(arrowHead).moveToElement(imageHolderClickArea).moveToElement(componentNameClickArea).moveToElement(canvas).release();
click.perform();
//checking that the draggable click area component has a data-type value as clickArea
WebElement clickAreaComp = chrome.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.t-componentImg-A.component.clickAreaComponent.draggableComponent.ui-draggable"));
Assert.assertEquals("clickArea", clickAreaComp.getAttribute("data-type"));
return element;
}
So in the stacktrace I'm getting
java.lang.Exception: Method cDragClickAreaComponentToStage() should be void
and
java.lang.Exception: Method cDragClickAreaComponentToStage should have no parameters
Okay, queue "So, what is your question?".
Firstly, I'd like to know where I'm going wring with setting my #Test public int. Usually I would have it declared as void, but in this case I want to return something which has to be an int, right?
Secondly, I'd like to know where am I going wrong with the synchronisation issue when it attempts to wait for an element.

About your exceptions, if you are using JUnit #Test annotation, the test method must be public void with no parameters. Reference. If you want to use parameters, I find this resource pretty helpful.
about setting the implicit wait
chrome.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(3, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
I really see no value in doing this. At least I never set it and never see any of the exceptions you are getting.
About staleness of elements - this is happening occasionaly when something like data binding or whatever occurs. You can choose to ignore it. The wait method that i am using is:
/**
* If no timeout is given, default to 60 sec.
*
* #param element - WebElement to wait for
*/
public void waitUntil(WebElement element) {
waitUntil(element, 60);
}
/**
* Waits for given WebElement to be present and visible (height and length > 1px) in DOM.
*
* #param element
* #param timeOutInSeconds
*/
public void waitUntil(WebElement element, long timeOutInSeconds) {
new WebDriverWait(driver, timeOutInSeconds)
.ignoring(NoSuchElementException.class)
.ignoring(StaleElementReferenceException.class)
.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOf(element));
}

Selenium scan page for error elements while waiting

Ok, I'm not sure there is a ready solution to what my problem is, but essentially the website I am trying to do automated testing on is prone to "System Error"'s. I have a state machine that navigates through various webpages to get a desired result.
The crux of the issue is that selenium is doing a 120 second timeout while waiting for an element on the page but all the page has on it is the big "System Error" instead.
I already have some framework set up that can scan a page for the system errors and throw a CriticalPageException if it finds this. However, I want to be able to scan for this error in the WebDriverWait.
Is there a way to do this in the Java version of Selenium, or am I s.o.l.?

We had a similar issue. What we did was created a custom waitForWebElement method
that polls the site, you could do something similar
public WebElement waitForWebElement(final By by, final boolean isDisplayed) {
// Waiting 30 seconds for an element to be present on the page, checking
// for its presence once every 5 seconds.
Wait<SearchContext> wait = new FluentWait<SearchContext>(getSearchElement()).withTimeout(timeout, TimeUnit.SECONDS).pollingEvery(pollSeconds, TimeUnit.SECONDS).ignoring(NoSuchElementException.class);
WebElement webElement = wait.until(new Function<SearchContext, WebElement>() {
public WebElement apply(SearchContext search) {
try{
WebElement element = search.findElement(by);
catch(NoSuchElementException e){
if(CHECK_YOUR_ERROR_PRESENT){
throw CriticalPageException()
}else{
throw e;
}
}
return element;
}
});
return webElement;
}
EDIT : getSearchElement() just returns your search context

WebDriverWait for an element attribute to change

How can I use WebDriverWait to wait until an attribute changes?
In my AUT I have to wait for a button to become enabled before continuing, unfortunately due to the way the developer coded the page I can't use WebElement's isEnabled() method. The developer is using some CSS to just make the button look like it's disabled so the user can't click on it and the method isEnabled always returns true for me. So what I have to do is get the attribute "aria-disabled" and check whether the text is "true" or "false". What I've been doing so far is a for loop with Thread.sleep, something like this:
for(int i=0; i<6; ++i){
WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.xpath("xpath"));
String enabled = button.getText()
if(enabled.equals("true")){ break; }
Thread.sleep(10000);
}
(disregard the code above if incorrect, just pseudo code of what I'm doing)
I'm sure there's a way to achieve something similar using WebDriverWait which is the preferred method I just can't figure out how. This is what I'm trying to achieve even though the following won't work:
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, 60);
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOf(refresh.getText() == "true"));
Obviously it doesn't work because the function is expecting a WebElement not String but it's what I'm trying to evaluate. Any ideas?

The following might help your requirement.
In the following code, we override apply method incorporating the condition that we are looking for. So, as long as the condition is not true, in our case, the enabled is not true, we go in a loop for a maximum of 10 seconds, polling every 500 ms (this is the default) until the apply method returns true.
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver,10);
wait.until(new ExpectedCondition<Boolean>() {
public Boolean apply(WebDriver driver) {
WebElement button = driver.findElement(By.xpath("xpath"));
String enabled = button.getAttribute("aria-disabled");
if(enabled.equals("true"))
return true;
else
return false;
}
});

If someone wants to use #Sri as a method in a Selenium wrapper, here is a way to do it (thanks to this answer btw):
public void waitForAttributeChanged(By locator, String attr, String initialValue) {
WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(this.driver, 5);
wait.until(new ExpectedCondition<Boolean>() {
private By locator;
private String attr;
private String initialValue;
private ExpectedCondition<Boolean> init( By locator, String attr, String initialValue ) {
this.locator = locator;
this.attr = attr;
this.initialValue = initialValue;
return this;
}
public Boolean apply(WebDriver driver) {
WebElement button = driver.findElement(this.locator);
String enabled = button.getAttribute(this.attr);
if(enabled.equals(this.initialValue))
return false;
else
return true;
}
}.init(locator, attr, initialValue));
}

You can use the xpath to define the element with an attribute of your desired value and then wait until it occurs on the page.
In Python it could look like this:
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
xp = '//*[#id="element_id"][#aria-disabled="false"]'
WebDriverWait(browser, 60).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, xp)))

This worked for me when automating against a pretty slow bootstrap page waiting for the sort button to take effect.
new WebDriverWait(webDriver, 10)
.until(ExpectedConditions.attributeContains(BUTTON_SORT_ASCENDING_PRICE, "class", "sortButtonActive"));
"webDriver" - my current instance of WebDriver
"10" - timeout seconds
"BUTTON_SORT_ASCENDING_PRICE" - The By locator for the element
"class" - the attribute
"sortButtonActive" - the value of 'class' i am waiting for
Selenium V3.01

It can also be done using a simple do-while loop, System.currentTimeMillis(); method can be used to avoid an infinite loop
long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
String disabled;
do{
disabled = element.getAttribute("attributeName").trim();
}while(disabled!="false" && System.currentTimeMillis()-startTime<10000);