Selecting Values from Dropdowns

 Dropdowns are a common UI element in web applications, allowing users to choose from a list of predefined options. Whether it's selecting a country, choosing a role, or picking a date, interacting with dropdown menus is a vital part of end-to-end testing. Automating dropdown selection ensures that your application handles user input correctly and consistently across different scenarios.

Types of Dropdowns

There are generally two types of dropdowns:

Standard HTML <select> Elements

These are native HTML elements and are easy to handle with most test automation tools.

Custom/Styled Dropdowns

Built using divs and spans with JavaScript, these require more advanced handling as they do not use native <select> tags.

Selecting Dropdowns in Selenium

Selenium provides built-in support for <select> elements using the Select class:

Select dropdown = new Select(driver.findElement(By.id("country")));

dropdown.selectByVisibleText("India");

dropdown.selectByValue("IN");

dropdown.selectByIndex(3);

For custom dropdowns, you'll need to click the dropdown and then click the desired option:

driver.findElement(By.id("customDropdown")).click();

driver.findElement(By.xpath("//li[text()='Option 2']")).click();

Handling Dropdowns in Playwright

Playwright supports both standard and custom dropdowns. For native dropdowns:

await page.selectOption('#country', 'IN');

For custom dropdowns:

await page.click('#customDropdown');

await page.click('text=Option 2');

Playwright’s selector engine and auto-waiting features make it reliable for dynamic UIs.

Handling Dropdowns in Cypress

Cypress works well with both dropdown types. For <select> elements:

cy.get('select#country').select('India');

For custom dropdowns:

cy.get('#dropdownButton').click();

cy.contains('Option 2').click();

Cypress automatically waits for elements, reducing the need for explicit waits.

Best Practices

Use visible text for selection when possible—it’s more readable and maintainable.

Avoid relying solely on index, as UI changes can affect test stability.

Wait for elements to be interactable, especially in dynamic applications.

Handle edge cases, such as disabled or empty dropdowns.

Conclusion

Dropdowns are a key interaction point in many applications. Whether you're using Selenium, Playwright, or Cypress, knowing how to handle both native and custom dropdowns effectively is essential. Properly automated dropdown tests contribute to better UI validation, reduced manual testing, and improved software quality.

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Opening a Website Using Selenium

Clicking Buttons with Python Selenium

Sending Text to Input Fields

Handling Checkboxes and Radio Buttons

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