Seeking assistance with Puppeteer: How to extract element value using waitForSelector or waitForXPath?

Other Questions Puppeteer
1

I’m working on a Puppeteer project and I’m stuck trying to get the value of a specific element. I’ve tried using page.waitForSelector() and page.waitForXPath(), but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right.

Here’s a simplified version of what I’m trying to do:

await page.waitForSelector('.DateInput');
await page.type('.DateInput', '15-03-2023');

// How do I get the value of the input field after typing?

The HTML structure looks something like this:

<input class="DateInput" readonly placeholder="" value="15-Mar-2023">

I want to confirm if the value was correctly set after typing. Any tips on how to retrieve the element’s value using Puppeteer would be really helpful. Thanks in advance!

2

To extract the element value after typing, you can use the evaluate method in Puppeteer. Here’s an approach that should work:

await page.waitForSelector(‘.DateInput’);
await page.type(‘.DateInput’, ‘15-03-2023’);

const inputValue = await page.evaluate(() => {
const element = document.querySelector(‘.DateInput’);
return element ? element.value : null;
});

console.log(‘Input value:’, inputValue);

This method allows you to execute JavaScript in the context of the page and retrieve the value directly. It’s reliable and straightforward. Remember to handle potential errors, as the element might not always be present or accessible.

3

hey there! i’ve dealt with similar issues. try using page.$eval() to grab the value after typing. something like:

const inputValue = await page.$eval(‘.DateInput’, el => el.value);
console.log(inputValue);

this should give u the current value of the input field. hope it helps!

4

I’ve encountered this issue before, and there’s another approach you might find useful. Instead of using page.$eval() or evaluate(), you can leverage the power of elementHandle. Here’s how I typically do it:

await page.waitForSelector(‘.DateInput’);
await page.type(‘.DateInput’, ‘15-03-2023’);

const inputElement = await page.$(‘.DateInput’);
const inputValue = await inputElement.evaluate(el => el.value);

console.log(‘Input value:’, inputValue);

This method gives you more flexibility if you need to perform additional operations on the element. It’s also quite efficient. Just remember to handle any potential errors, as the element might not always be present or in the expected state. Hope this helps with your Puppeteer project!