Python Selenium create loop to click through links on a page and press button on each new page

Question

I'm fairly new to Python and Selenium, but starting to pick it up. I've been googling how to solve this coding issue, but can't find the exact solution.

What I'm trying to accomplish is click all of the username links on a page, click the follow button on the page that I'm taken to, then return to the original page and do the same for rest of the username links.

Basically, I want to create a loop that does this:

click on the first username
- click on the follow button
- go back to the previous page
click on the second username
- click on the follow button
- go back to the previous page

ETC..... through each link

Here is my current code and what I've tried so far:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys

browser = webdriver.Firefox()
browser.get('thewebpage')

search = browser.find_element_by_id('getSearch')
search.click()
search.send_keys('searchitem' + Keys.RETURN)

searchitem = browser.find_elements_by_class_name("name")[0]
searchitem.click()
#I am now on the page where it shows the users

#this is where I'm getting stuck
#here's the first code I tried
links = browser.find_elements_by_link_text("#/user/")
        for link in links:
            link.click()
            follow = browser.find_element_by_class_name("followAction")
            browser.back()

#here's the second code I tried
import selenium.webdriver.support.ui as UI

def test(self):
    driver = self.driver
    wait = UI.WebDriverWait(driver, 5000)
    links = driver.find_elements_by_link_text("#/user/")
    for link in links:
        link.click()
        follow = driver.find_element_by_class_name("followAction")
        follow.click()
        driver.implicityly_wait(5)
        driver.back()

The program completes and nothing happens on the screen. No error message either.

What must I change to click each link on the initial page and click a button on the pages that the links take me to?

Here's a link to a similar issue. Loop through links using Selenium Webdriver (Python)

Your help is greatly appreciated.

So what's wrong with your code? any errors? or it just doesn't behave as expected? if so- how exactly? — Andersson
– Andersson, Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 20:51
nothing happens after I click enter on the browser.back() line. It goes to another blank like with "...". I clicked enter after that and nothing happened on the webpage, but no error message popped up. — Gus Gabel
– Gus Gabel, Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 20:54
Hmm.. It's weird:) Can you try to add browser.implicitly_wait(5) after textsave.write(text+"\n\n") line and check again? — Andersson
– Andersson, Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 20:58
I didn't know how to use the test code you're referring to. My question is how to change that code into one that clicks on links then clicks a button rather than clicks on links and saves text — Gus Gabel
– Gus Gabel, Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 21:02
Have you tried just using browser.get(thewebpage) instead of back() to return to your starting point? — plocks
– plocks, Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 21:04

supputuri · Accepted Answer · 2019-06-15 03:16:53Z

It's been long time but just posting the answer, if someone still checking for the same kind issue some point.

from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
# need the below imports to work with Explicit wait
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

browser = webdriver.Firefox()
browser.get('thewebpage')

search = browser.find_element_by_id('getSearch')
search.click()
search.send_keys('searchitem' + Keys.RETURN)

searchitem = browser.find_elements_by_class_name("name")[0]
searchitem.click()

# Here is the logic that we have to update

# Get number of users rather than the users.
userElems = len(browser.find_elements_by_link_text("#/user/"))

# iterate through each user by using the index
  # if you try to use the find_elements as shown in OP, you will get StaleElement Exception
  # because the user elements references will be refreshed when navigated to next page and
  # load back (so we have to find the elements based on index on the page every time)

for userNum in range(1,userElems):
    # this below explicit wait will make sure the script will wait max 30 sec for the next user to be clicked
    user = WebDriverWait(driver,30).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH,"(#/user/)[" + str(userNum) + "]")))
    # scroll user into view
    user.location_once_scrolled_into_view
    # click on user
    user.click()
    # click on follow link
    follow = WebDriverWait(driver,30).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH,"followAction")))
    follow.click()
    # click on browser back button
    browser.back()

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