How to Use By.linkText() & By.partialLinkText() in Selenium WebDriver

In Selenium WebDriver, By.linkText() and By.partialLinkText() are used to locate anchor tags (<a>) with specific text.

🔎 What is By.linkText()?

By.linkText() is used when the exact text of a link is known. It matches the link exactly as written in the HTML.

<a href="https://example.com/login">Login</a>

✅ When to Use By.linkText()?

• ✅ When the full link text is unique and stable.
• ✅ Ideal for testing static pages where link text doesn’t change dynamically.

📌 Syntax in Java

driver.findElement(By.linkText("exact_link_text"));

💻 Example: Clicking on a Link with Exact Text

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

public class LinkTextExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

        driver.get("https://example.com");

        // Locate link with exact text
        WebElement loginLink = driver.findElement(By.linkText("Login"));

        // Click the link
        loginLink.click();

        driver.quit();
    }
}

🔎 What is By.partialLinkText()?

By.partialLinkText() is used when you want to match only a part of the link text. This locator is useful when the full link text is dynamic or when you only know part of the text.

<a href="https://example.com/login">Login Page</a>

✅ When to Use By.partialLinkText()?

• ✅ When the full link text is dynamic or you only know part of the text.
• ✅ When dealing with links that may contain common words or phrases (e.g., “Home”, “Contact”).

📌 Syntax in Java

driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("partial_link_text"));

💻 Example: Clicking on a Link with Partial Text

import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;

public class PartialLinkTextExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

        driver.get("https://example.com");

        // Locate link with partial text
        WebElement loginLink = driver.findElement(By.partialLinkText("Login"));

        // Click the link
        loginLink.click();

        driver.quit();
    }
}

✅ Best Practices

⚠️ Common Mistakes

📚 Summary

• By.linkText() is used for exact matches with link text.
• By.partialLinkText() is used when you know part of the link text.
• Use By.linkText() for static content and By.partialLinkText() for dynamic or partial content.

🚀 Keep Learning

Explore other locators in Selenium:

• By.id()
• By.name()
• By.className()
• By.xpath()
• By.cssSelector()
• By.tagName()