Web Elements  

Watir automatically generates classes and methods for all HTML5.1 and SVG2 supported elements and their associated attributes. These classes leverage encapsulation to provide access to their specific attributes, making them easier to locate and use.

You can see an example of filling out a form in our Example Code

Overview

Watir::Element is the superclass that all other Element types inherit from. All Elements have these behaviors.

It is accessed by calling Browser#element. Creating an ElementCollection is accomplished with Browser#elements. For all of the different ways of locating an Element, take a look at our Locating Elements Guide.

You are discouraged from using this class directly, and use the correct subclass for the element type you are using.

Common Methods

Standard Setter Interface

This functionality was fully implemented in Watir 7 beta 2.

One of the coolest features implemented by Page Object gems is the ability to use Watir to automatically fill out a form based on Element type. As of Watir 7.0, every element will respond to #set and take an argument that ensures that the correct action will be taken for that element. Many of the element subclasses in the following section will take a specific obvious action (follow the links below to learn what they are). If the subclass isn’t specified, though, Watir will use Element#set to determine what kind of element it is and take the desired action based on that.

Example

browser = Watir::Browser.start 'watir.com/examples/simple_form.html'

header = browser.element(id: 'user')
header.present? # => true
header.text == 'Add user' # => true
header.attribute('data-test') == 'header' # => true
header.click

browser.close

Special Handling of Specific Elements

Last Updated: March 28, 2021