How to Handle Dropdowns in Selenium: Select Class Methods + Easier Katalon Approach

In this article, we ’ ll quickly cover those core Selenium commands and then demonstrate how Katalon Studio streamlines the same summons - rental you charm a dropdown with Spy Web and select pick using built-in keywords likeselectOptionByValue or selectOptionByIndex, so you can automatise dropdown interactions without pen boilerplate codification, & nbsp; but inaugural ...

What is dropdown in Selenium?

In web coating, a dropdown menu (also called a dropdown tilt) is a graphical control element that lets users pick one option from a list. When inactive, it shows a single selected value. When clicked, it expands to display all useable pick. A dropdown is stage as follows in HTML:

& lt;! DOCTYPE html & gt;
& lt; html & gt;
& nbsp; & lt; caput & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; meta charset= '' UTF-8 '' / & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; title & gt; Select Element Example & lt; /title & gt;
& nbsp; & lt; /head & gt;
& nbsp; & lt; body & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; h1 & gt; The select element & lt; /h1 & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; p & gt; The select element is used to create a drop-down list. & lt; /p & gt;

& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; sort action= '' /action_page.php '' & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; label for= '' cars '' & gt; Choose a car: & lt; /label & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; choice name= '' automobile '' & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; choice value= '' volvo '' & gt; Volvo & lt; /option & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; selection value= '' saab '' & gt; Saab & lt; /option & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; option value= '' opel '' & gt; Opel & lt; /option & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; option value= '' audi '' & gt; Audi & lt; /option & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; /select & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; br / & gt; & lt; br / & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; input type= '' submit '' value= '' Submit '' / & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; /form & gt;

& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; p & gt;
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; Click the `` Submit '' button and the form-data will be sent to a page on
& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; the server name `` action_page.php ''.
& nbsp; & nbsp; & lt; /p & gt;
& nbsp; & lt; /body & gt;
& lt; /html & gt;

What is Select class in Selenium?

The Selectclass ply convenient method to interact with& lt; select & gt;HTML elements. You must first locate the dropdown element, so useSelectto select or deselect items. & nbsp;

Common & lt; prime & gt;class method

1. selectByIndex ()

Select dropdown = new Select (driver.findElement (By.id(`` cars '')));
dropdown.selectByIndex (2); 

What it execute: This code selects the option at index 2, which corresponds to the third option in the list.

2. selectByVisibleText ()

Select all options that display text matching the argument.

Example Java code:

Select dropdown = new Select (driver.findElement (By.id(`` machine '')));
dropdown.selectByVisibleText (`` Audi '');

What it does:The code chance the dropdown by its ID, wraps it with the ` Select ` class, and selects the choice with displayed text tally `` Audi ''.

3. selectByValue ()

Select all selection that hold a value matching the argument.

Example Java code:

Select dropdown = new Select (driver.findElement ([By.id]
dropdown.selectByValue (`` saab '');

What it does:The code selects the choice withvalueattribute as `` saab ''.

Pro tip: Tools like SUSA can handle this autonomously — upload your app and get results without writing a single test script.

4. deselectAll ()

Clear all selected items. Note that this method but works if the dropdown allows a multi-select dropdown.

Example Java code:

& nbsp; dropdown.deselectAll ();

Handle dropdown with Katalon Studio

Katalon Studio provides built-in keywords for the Select class that simplify dropdown handling and automatise your testing workflow. & nbsp;

Let ’ s give it a try! First we ’ ll need to capture some objects that we can use in the test case.

📄 Learn more in our corroboration:

Capture objects with Spy Web

Step 1. In your test project, open the Spy Web & nbsp; tool.

Step 2. Provide a link in the URL battleground. Here we ’ re using thehttps: //www.w3schools.com/tags/tryit.asp? filename=tryhtml_select site that contains a drop-down list.

Step 3. ClickStartto establish your session. Navigate your pointer to the dropdown and right-click & gt;Capture Object.

The object we captured is a& lt; select & gt;& nbsp; HTML element, and its XPath attributes are exhibit in theObject Spy& nbsp; dialog. & nbsp;
HTML element by its XPath in Katalon Studio '' srcset= '' https: //katalon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png? width=496 & amp; height=711 & amp; name=Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png 496w, https: //katalon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png? width=992 & amp; height=1422 & amp; name=Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png 992w, https: //katalon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png? width=1488 & amp; height=2133 & amp; name=Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png 1488w, https: //katalon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png? width=1984 & amp; height=2844 & amp; name=Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png 1984w, https: //katalon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png? width=2480 & amp; height=3555 & amp; name=Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png 2480w, https: //katalon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png? width=2976 & amp; height=4266 & amp; name=Screenshot % 202025-05-19 % 20at % 2013.54.08.png 2976w '' sizes= '' (max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px '' >
Click Save& nbsp; & gt;OK in the Add Element to Object Repository dialog.

Use Katalon built-in keywords

With the objects you have capture, you can start creating test steps with Katalon Studio built-in keywords.

Open your test event in theManualvista, make a examination cause using theWebUI.selectOptionByValuekeyword that finds thevalue= '' saab ”



You can essay it out with this handwriting:

WebUI. * openBrowser * (``)

WebUI. * navigateToUrl * ('https: //www.w3schools.com/tags/tryit.asp? filename=tryhtml_select ')

WebUI. * selectOptionByValue * (* findTestObject * ('Object Repository/Page_W3Schools/select_Cars '),

'saab ', * * true * *)

WebUI. * wait * (3)

WebUI. * closeBrowser * ()

If you want to use another keyword, for exampleWebUI.selectOptionByIndex, try:

WebUI.selectOptionByIndex (findTestObject ('Object Repository/Page_W3Schools/select_Cars '), 2, FailureHandling.STOP_ON_FAILURE)

Conclusion

Handling dropdowns is straightforward with Selenium ’ sSelectclass - just locate the& lt; select & gt;element and call methods likeselectByIndex, selectByVisibleText, or selectByValue - but maintaining those scripts can become tedious over clip. Katalon Studio streamlines the like workflow by letting you capture the dropdown with Spy Web and so call keywords likeselectOptionByValueor selectOptionByIndexwithout writing extra boilerplate. Whether you prefer total control through Selenium code or a faster, low-code approach in Katalon, both paths ensure your dropdown interactions stay reliable and easygoing to maintain.