Creating Custom Expected Conditions in Selenium WebDriver Java

In Selenium WebDriver, built-in ExpectedConditions provide a great way to synchronize test execution with the state of web elements. However, real-world scenarios often demand more specific waiting conditions beyond the standard ones. This is where custom ExpectedConditions come into play.

Why Create Custom Expected Conditions?

Consider a scenario where a dropdown or expandable section gradually expands upon interaction. The built-in ExpectedConditions like visibilityOfElementLocated may not suffice, as they only ensure the element is visible but not necessarily fully expanded. To handle such cases, a custom ExpectedCondition is required to ensure the element reaches its final expanded state before proceeding.

Steps to Create a Custom Expected Condition

1. Implement the ExpectedCondition Interface: Define a new class implementing ExpectedCondition<T>.
2. Define the Required Condition: Implement the apply method to return a Boolean value based on the expected behavior.
3. Use in WebDriverWait: Instantiate WebDriverWait and pass the custom ExpectedCondition.

Here’s a version of a custom ExpectedCondition that ensures an element has fully expanded:

package com.pragmatic.selenium.examples.synchronisations;

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedCondition;

public class ElementHasExpandedFully implements ExpectedCondition<Boolean> {
    private final By expandingElement;
    private int lastHeight = -1;

    public ElementHasExpandedFully(By expandingElement) {
        this.expandingElement = expandingElement;
    }

    @Override
    public Boolean apply(WebDriver webDriver) {
        WebElement element = webDriver.findElement(expandingElement);
        int newHeight = element.getSize().height;
        
        if (newHeight > lastHeight) {
            lastHeight = newHeight;
            return false; // Still expanding
        }
        return true; // Fully expanded
    }
}        

Other Useful Custom Expected Conditions

• Wait for an element attribute to be changed

public class AttributeToBe implements ExpectedCondition<Boolean> {
    private final By elementLocator;
    private final String attribute;
    private final String expectedValue;

    public AttributeToBe(By elementLocator, String attribute, String expectedValue) {
        this.elementLocator = elementLocator;
        this.attribute = attribute;
        this.expectedValue = expectedValue;
    }

    @Override
    public Boolean apply(WebDriver driver) {
        return driver.findElement(elementLocator).getAttribute(attribute).equals(expectedValue);
    }
}        

Learn More

Explore more examples on our GitHub repository.

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