Selenium: `text` vs. `get_attribute('innerHTML') – Which Method Should I Use?

Difference Between Text and innerHTML Using Selenium

In Selenium, there are two methods you can use to retrieve content from an element: .text and .get_attribute("innerHTML"). While they may seem similar, there are distinct differences between the two.

get_attribute("innerHTML")

.get_attribute("innerHTML") retrieves the inner HTML of an element, including all the tags and text content within it. This method attempts to retrieve the property value with the specified name, and if that's not found, it returns the attribute value with the same name. If neither property nor attribute exists, None is returned. Truth values (equal to true or false) are returned as booleans, while all other non-None values are returned as strings.

Text

.text, on the other hand, retrieves only the visible text of an element. It ignores any HTML tags or other non-text content.

Attributes vs Properties

To further understand the difference, it's crucial to know the distinction between attributes and properties in HTML. When the browser parses HTML, it creates DOM objects from the tags. Standard HTML attributes are automatically converted into properties of these DOM objects. However, non-standard attributes remain accessible only through the .get_attribute() method.

When to Use innerHTML

Use .get_attribute("innerHTML") when you need to capture the entire HTML content within an element, including tags and any embedded scripts or CSS. This is useful for extracting complex content.

When to Use Text

Use .text when you're only interested in the visible text content of an element, excluding any HTML tags. This is commonly used for retrieving user-entered text or displaying it on screen.

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