Stale Element all of a sudden

Russ_Thomas · March 29, 2022, 8:05pm

I see your future. You’ll be paying close attention to those from now on.

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 8:11pm

Perfect, I see it in your video. This is exactly what we’re looking for. Ok, now for the fun part: we need to find the HTML for that overlay. Since it appears/disappears really quickly, it wont be as easy as just pressing F12 like we usually do, so here’s a trick that will let you watch your page load step-by-step.

1.) Before setting the “country” field, open your console by pressing F12 and open the Elements tab.
2.) On the <body> tag, right click and select Break on > subtree modifications:

3.) Update the “country” field. Your browser will pause, probably when opening the dropdown to make a selection. Click the “Resume” button (or press F8) until you can make a selection, then choose your option. The browser will pause again.

4.) Continually click the “Resume” button until that overlay appears. At this point, we can find the element that represents this overlay in the HTML. Once you find it, please share the HTML for that element so we can write an xpath for it.

I know this is a bit tricky, so let me know if you have trouble with the above steps.

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 8:18pm

I definitely will! But now I have a Stale element reference for a Next button and normal setText (passport Number). It even has a wait for element visible for each object. What could be causing this now? It only has one object to either input text or click a button. There is no overlay when finishing entering all passwords to click next @Brandon_Hein

import static com.kms.katalon.core.checkpoint.CheckpointFactory.findCheckpoint
import static com.kms.katalon.core.testcase.TestCaseFactory.findTestCase
import static com.kms.katalon.core.testdata.TestDataFactory.findTestData
import static com.kms.katalon.core.testobject.ObjectRepository.findTestObject
import static com.kms.katalon.core.testobject.ObjectRepository.findWindowsObject
import com.kms.katalon.core.checkpoint.Checkpoint as Checkpoint
import com.kms.katalon.core.cucumber.keyword.CucumberBuiltinKeywords as CucumberKW
import com.kms.katalon.core.mobile.keyword.MobileBuiltInKeywords as Mobile
import com.kms.katalon.core.model.FailureHandling as FailureHandling
import com.kms.katalon.core.testcase.TestCase as TestCase
import com.kms.katalon.core.testdata.TestData as TestData
import com.kms.katalon.core.testng.keyword.TestNGBuiltinKeywords as TestNGKW
import com.kms.katalon.core.testobject.TestObject as TestObject
import com.kms.katalon.core.webservice.keyword.WSBuiltInKeywords as WS
import com.kms.katalon.core.webui.keyword.WebUiBuiltInKeywords as WebUI
import com.kms.katalon.core.windows.keyword.WindowsBuiltinKeywords as Windows
import internal.GlobalVariable as GlobalVariable
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver as Keys

import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver as ChromeDriver
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeOptions as ChromeOptions
import com.kms.katalon.core.webui.driver.DriverFactory as DriverFactory
import org.openqa.selenium.Dimension
import org.openqa.selenium.Point
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeOptions
import com.kms.katalon.core.testobject.ConditionType

firstName = 'Error'
surname = 'Test4'
email = 'ErrorTest4@gmail.com'
passportNumber = 'ErrorTest4!'
fileLocation = 'C:\\Users\\Thomas\\Pictures\\random\\random.jpg'

// open normal Chrome browser on the left side
WebDriver normalChrome = openChromeBrowserPlain()

resizeHorizontalHalfLocateLeft(normalChrome)

DriverFactory.changeWebDriver(normalChrome)

WebUI.navigateToUrl('https://inscape-operations-staging.stratusolvecloud.com/App/Student/Workflow/NewEnrolment/2022')

WebUI.waitForPageLoad(10)

// open incognito Chrome browser on the right side
ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions()

options.addArguments('--incognito')

WebDriver incognitoChrome = new ChromeDriver(options)

resizeHorizontalHalfLocateRight(incognitoChrome)

DriverFactory.changeWebDriver(incognitoChrome)

WebUI.navigateToUrl('https://inscape-connect-staging.stratusolvecloud.com/UserManagement/login/')

WebUI.waitForPageLoad(10)

WebUI.delay(2)

DriverFactory.changeWebDriver(normalChrome)

// Basic Personal Information Step
// Maximizes the Window
//WebUI.maximizeWindow()

// Enters the First Name
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_0eecac'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_0eecac'), 
    firstName)

// Enters the Last Name
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_d2ddfb'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_d2ddfb'), 
    surname)

// Enters the Cell Phone Number: This is not validated, so it can always be the same
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_land Islands_cell'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_land Islands_cell'), 
    '0790000000')

// Enters the Email Address: This is validated, it has to be unique
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c3'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c3'), 
    email)

// Country of Origin Selection of South Africa
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/country Of Origin_SouthAfrica'), 10)

WebUI.selectOptionByValue(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/select_Country of Origin Drop Down'), 
    '1', false)

// ID Type Selection of Passport Number
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/id Type_Passport Number'), 10)

WebUI.selectOptionByValue(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/select_--Select ID Type--'), 
    '2', false)

// Enters the Passport Number: This is validated, it has to be unique
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c7'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c7'), 
    passportNumber)

// Enters the Password
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c4'), 10)

WebUI.setEncryptedText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c4'), 
    'p4y+y39Ir5PEPmX20UxFKw==')

// Enters the Confirm Password
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_A digit (0-9) is required_c5'), 10)

WebUI.setEncryptedText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_A digit (0-9) is required_c5'), 
    'p4y+y39Ir5PEPmX20UxFKw==')

// Clicks the "Next" Button
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/button_Next'), 10)

WebUI.click(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/button_Next'))

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 8:18pm

Ok I am working on this. Do you want the HTML of the “spinning circle”? Because there is a grey screen that appears first, and then the page loading symbol

Tell you what, I will record a video of all the screens, and send HTML of the grey screen and the loading screen. Give me a sec

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 8:20pm

Go ahead and share all of it, but in general, we’re going to look for whatever appears first. This is usually the gray overlay.

Also: I know this may seem tedious and pointless, but I guarantee you that it will pay off. If we can write a wait condition for that overlay, then put it in a custom keyword, your life will get exponentially easier.

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 8:24pm

Thank you for this!! I am currently uploading the video to my drive then will share. Whilst its doing that, do you mind having a look a bit up regarding the other stale element that I am now facing. The setText (Passport Number) and Next buttons are interchangingly throwing errors as stale elements, even though there are no global waits

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 8:25pm

Here is the link for the video:

The HTML that you see in the video (I capture 4 elements) are as follows, in order

<div class="ajaxoverlay" style="z-index: 10000002; opacity: 0.7; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></div>

<div class="ajaxoverlaymessage BorderSpin" style="z-index: 10000003; width: 30px; height: 30px; border-radius: 100%; border-left: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); opacity: 1; background-color: transparent;"></div>

<div class="ajaxoverlayicon" style="z-index: 10000004; width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 100%; margin-top: 3px; background: url(&quot;/assets/images/InConnectLogoShort.svg&quot;) center center / contain no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div>

<div class="ajaxoverlaymessage BorderSpin" style="z-index: 10000003; width: 30px; height: 30px; border-radius: 100%; border-left: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); opacity: 1; background-color: transparent;"></div>

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 8:27pm

After you set the “ID Type” field, it appears that the overlay does appear. So my guess is that you set ID Type, then when you go to type a Passport Number and/or click Next, the page is still loading. Once we get this wait condition written, we’ll just put it between all of your field sets, and it should resolve.

I have a brief meeting, but will get back to you in a few.

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 8:30pm

Thank you for all the time. You guys are a real blessing to this noob. I hope that as I learn that I can start helping people in this community. I’m honestly loving this software and community.

Out of context kind of question: If the servers that are hosting this Universities web software is slow, will that affect the automation? As I said, yesterday my home pc and work pc ran these tests very fast, but the same scripts today are slow, and the whole day people at work were complaining that the University web software that we develop is really slow

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 8:32pm

Once you get your scripts into a state where they are as robust as possible, it shouldn’t matter how fast/slow the AUT is (as long as it doesn’t take more than the amount of time you specify in the “timeout” argument for each of your WebUI calls, basically). It will just take some refining. But for the purpose of demoing this to your superiors, we’ll get you to the right place fairly easily.

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 8:44pm

Ok so you’ll need to create a new Test Object. If you need help with creating your own Test Objects just let me know, but for now I’ll assume you know how to do this.

Add the following xpath to your object:

//div[@class='ajaxoverlay']

Share a screenshot of your test object if you’d like, so we can be sure it’s configured correctly.

Then, in your script, put the following line between all of your WebUI calls for setting the fields in the form:

WebUI.waitForElementNotVisible(findTestObject('path/to/object'), 30)

Give that a shot. If it still fails, then there’s one more thing we can add to supplement this, but lets start here.

Russ_Thomas · March 29, 2022, 8:50pm

This!

I’ll just add, even though this thread seems like it’s a mile long, what’s being hammered out is really quite simple. WWW stands for wait wait wait.

Every move you make (researching, considering, coding, testing) needs to be meticulous. Done right, it’s easy – easy to do and easy to spot the problems. Typing out the process in a forum is tedious, lengthy and prone to misunderstanding. Like I told you elsewhere, the quality of our answers is a testament to the quality of your posts So while it’s true that Brandon and I have the scars to prove we’re old battle-weary pros, we feel invigorated by noobs that genuinely listen and take on board what’s being said.

Hats off to you. Keep at it.

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 9:10pm

I might as well confirm, this is correct right? And then I can get its path and call that?

Brandon_Hein:

Then, in your script, put the following line between all of your WebUI calls for setting the fields in the form:
WebUI.waitForElementNotVisible(findTestObject('path/to/object'), 30)

Do I then put this before all the problem elements rather than the current WebUI.waitForElementVisible(...)

I will give this a shot, but if you do not mind, I will do it tomorrow (23:10 here in south africa). I really hope that we can carry on this conversation. I understand that you will probably be sleeping by the time I am able to work on this as we have many hotfixes to put into Production, but I will elequently state any further questions I have

Thank you both @Brandon_Hein and @Russ_Thomas for helping so much. I have quite often nearly given up on Katalon, but you guys are such a blessing. I cannot wait to learn more and keep at it.

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 9:18pm

Looks correct. And yes, you’ll reference the path to this Test Object in your WebUI call.

Sort of. You really want to put it after any WebUI calls that cause the overlay to appear (after setting a dropdown field, for example).

Of course, we’ll be around

Keep in mind, the things you are learning aren’t isolated to Katalon Studio, they are fundamental skills for the whole field of test automation. I for one don’t even use this tool anymore, but I learned a lot while I was.

thomas.bates · March 29, 2022, 9:29pm

I couldn’t help myself, I added it in the beginning of my script for a few of the cases, and wouldn’t you know it, this error popped up, calling the WebUI.waitForElementNotVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/ajaxoverlay/ajaxoverlay'), 30) to be a stale element

My code is attached below

firstName = 'FinalError'
surname = 'TestOfTheNight1'
email = 'FinalErrorTestOfTheNight1@gmail.com'
passportNumber = 'FinalErrorTest1!'
fileLocation = 'C:\\Users\\tomgb\\OneDrive\\Pictures\\3D image 1.jpg'

// open normal Chrome browser on the left side
WebDriver normalChrome = openChromeBrowserPlain()

resizeHorizontalHalfLocateLeft(normalChrome)

DriverFactory.changeWebDriver(normalChrome)

WebUI.navigateToUrl('https://inscape-operations-staging.stratusolvecloud.com/App/Student/Workflow/NewEnrolment/2022')

WebUI.waitForPageLoad(10)

// open incognito Chrome browser on the right side
ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions()

options.addArguments('--incognito')

WebDriver incognitoChrome = new ChromeDriver(options)

resizeHorizontalHalfLocateRight(incognitoChrome)

DriverFactory.changeWebDriver(incognitoChrome)

WebUI.navigateToUrl('https://inscape-connect-staging.stratusolvecloud.com/UserManagement/login/')

WebUI.waitForPageLoad(10)

WebUI.delay(2)

DriverFactory.changeWebDriver(normalChrome)

// Basic Personal Information Step
// Maximizes the Window
//WebUI.maximizeWindow()

// Enters the First Name
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_0eecac'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_0eecac'), 
    firstName)

// Enters the Last Name
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_d2ddfb'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Welcome to INCONNECT - our online stu_d2ddfb'), 
    surname)

// Enters the Cell Phone Number: This is not validated, so it can always be the same
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_land Islands_cell'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_land Islands_cell'), 
    '0790000000')

// Enters the Email Address: This is validated, it has to be unique
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c3'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c3'), 
    email)

// Country of Origin Selection of South Africa
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/country Of Origin_SouthAfrica'), 10)

WebUI.selectOptionByValue(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/select_Country of Origin Drop Down'), 
    '1', false)

// ID Type Selection of Passport Number
WebUI.waitForElementNotVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/ajaxoverlay/ajaxoverlay'), 30)

WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/id Type_Passport Number'), 10)

WebUI.selectOptionByValue(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/select_--Select ID Type--'), 
    '2', false)

// Enters the Passport Number: This is validated, it has to be unique
WebUI.waitForElementNotVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/ajaxoverlay/ajaxoverlay'), 30)

WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c7'), 10)

WebUI.setText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c7'), 
    passportNumber)

// Enters the Password
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c4'), 10)

WebUI.setEncryptedText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_Valid_c4'), 
    'p4y+y39Ir5PEPmX20UxFKw==')

// Enters the Confirm Password
WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_A digit (0-9) is required_c5'), 10)

WebUI.setEncryptedText(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/input_A digit (0-9) is required_c5'), 
    'p4y+y39Ir5PEPmX20UxFKw==')

// Clicks the "Next" Button
WebUI.waitForElementNotVisible(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/ajaxoverlay/ajaxoverlay'), 30)

WebUI.waitForElementVisible(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/button_Next'), 10)

WebUI.click(findTestObject('Enrolment/Page_Connect - Operations - Student Enrolment/button_Next'))

Brandon_Hein · March 29, 2022, 9:38pm

Feel free to pick this back up tomorrow, but:

Is that ajaxoverlay element present in the HTML, even when it’s not visible? If not, you can change the wait condition to WebUI.waitForElementNotPresent() instead:

WebUI.waitForElementNotPresent(findTestObject('Object Repository/Enrolment/ajaxoverlay/ajaxoverlay'), 30)

In all honesty, waitForElementNotVisible() should not throw a StaleElementReferenceException… that seems silly. But that’s an issue for the Katalon Developers I suppose.

thomas.bates · March 30, 2022, 4:56am

Good morning so I just had a quick look before I head out but in the HTML there is nothing with specifically class=“ajaxoverlay”. So I guess I can try that

Brandon_Hein · March 30, 2022, 11:11pm

Any updates on this? Don’t want to leave you hanging.

Topic		Replies	Views
Stale element not found, is this relate to using same Object? Web Testing katalon-studio	118	7335	December 17, 2024
Stale element reference: element is not attached to the page document. Web Testing katalon-studio	31	33703	December 31, 2021
Stale Element Reference Web Testing katalon-studio	15	6953	February 18, 2024
Reproducing Selenium StaleElementReferenceException in Katalon Studio Tips and Tricks katalon-studio , web-testing	12	302	December 17, 2024
Using waitForElementPresent without an Object Miscellaneous	35	8797	June 22, 2018

Stale Element all of a sudden

Related topics