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ButtonUtils

The ButtonUtils class provides convenient methods for interacting with button components in Appian applications. It simplifies button interactions by allowing you to locate and click buttons using their visible labels or HTML attributes.

Overview

ButtonUtils is designed to handle Appian's dynamic button structures, providing reliable methods to:

  • Click buttons by their visible label text
  • Click buttons by their HTML ID
  • Handle Appian's complex button hierarchies automatically

Class Methods

clickByLabelText()

Finds a button by its visible label text and clicks it.

Parameters: - wait (WebDriverWait): Selenium WebDriverWait instance for element waiting - label (str): The visible text label of the button to click

Usage Example: 

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from robo_appian.components.ButtonUtils import ButtonUtils

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)

# Click a submit button
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Submit")

# Click a cancel button
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Cancel")

# Click a save button
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Save Changes")

Error Handling: Raises RuntimeError if the button is not found or not clickable.

clickById()

Finds a button by its HTML ID attribute and clicks it.

Signature: 

@staticmethod
def clickById(wait: WebDriverWait, id: str) -> None

Parameters: - wait (WebDriverWait): Selenium WebDriverWait instance for element waiting - id (str): The HTML ID attribute of the button to click

Usage Example: 

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from robo_appian.components.ButtonUtils import ButtonUtils

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)

# Click a button by its ID
ButtonUtils.clickById(wait, "submit_button_id")

# Click another button by ID
ButtonUtils.clickById(wait, "cancel_btn")

Error Handling: Raises RuntimeError if the button with the specified ID is not found or not clickable.

Best Practices

Label-Based vs ID-Based Selection

Prefer label-based selection when possible: 

# ✅ Recommended - more readable and maintainable
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Submit Application")

# ❌ Less preferred - brittle and hard to understand
ButtonUtils.clickById(wait, "btn_submit_app_v2_final")

Handle Dynamic Labels

For buttons with dynamic or partial labels, ensure you use the exact text: 

# If button shows "Submit (3 items)"
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Submit (3 items)")

# For partial matching, consider using contains in custom XPath

Error Handling

Always wrap button interactions in try-catch blocks for robust error handling: 

try:
    ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Submit")
    print("Button clicked successfully")
except RuntimeError as e:
    print(f"Failed to click button: {e}")

Common Use Cases

Form Submission

# Fill form and submit
InputUtils.setValueByLabelText(wait, "Name", "John Doe")
InputUtils.setValueByLabelText(wait, "Email", "john@example.com")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Submit")

# Navigate through application
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Next")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Previous")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Finish")

Dialog Actions

# Handle confirmation dialogs
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Confirm")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Cancel")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "OK")

File Operations

# File upload/download actions
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Upload File")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Download")
ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(wait, "Browse")

Technical Details

XPath Strategy

ButtonUtils uses sophisticated XPath expressions to locate buttons: 

.//button[./span[contains(translate(normalize-space(.), '\u00a0', ' '), '{label}')]]

This XPath: - Looks for <button> elements - Searches for nested <span> elements containing the label text - Handles non-breaking spaces and whitespace normalization - Uses case-sensitive matching for precision

Element Wait Strategy

  • Uses EC.element_to_be_clickable() to ensure buttons are ready for interaction
  • Respects the WebDriverWait timeout settings
  • Automatically handles Appian's dynamic loading states

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Button Not Found: 

RuntimeError: Button with label 'Submit' not found or not clickable.
Solutions: - Verify the exact button text (check for extra spaces, special characters) - Ensure the button is visible and not disabled - Wait for any loading states to complete - Check if button is inside a frame or dialog

Button Not Clickable: 

RuntimeError: Button with label 'Submit' not found or not clickable.
Solutions: - Increase WebDriverWait timeout - Ensure no overlays or modals are blocking the button - Verify button is not disabled in the UI - Check if page is fully loaded

Debugging Tips

  1. Inspect the button element in browser developer tools
  2. Verify the exact text content including hidden characters
  3. Check button state (enabled/disabled, visible/hidden)
  4. Use explicit waits before button interactions

Integration Examples

With pytest

import pytest
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from robo_appian.components.ButtonUtils import ButtonUtils

class TestButtonInteractions:
    def setup_method(self):
        self.driver = webdriver.Chrome()
        self.wait = WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10)

    def teardown_method(self):
        self.driver.quit()

    def test_submit_button_click(self):
        self.driver.get("https://your-appian-app.com")
        ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(self.wait, "Submit")
        # Add assertions here

With Page Object Model

class AppianFormPage:
    def __init__(self, driver):
        self.driver = driver
        self.wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)

    def submit_form(self):
        ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(self.wait, "Submit")

    def cancel_form(self):
        ButtonUtils.clickByLabelText(self.wait, "Cancel")

ButtonUtils provides the foundation for reliable button interactions in Appian applications, abstracting away the complexity of Appian's dynamic UI structure.