WebDriver select element that has ::before

Question

I have 2 elements that have the same attributes but shown one at a time on the page (When one is shown, the other disappears).The only difference between the two is that the element which is displayed will have the '::before' selector. Is it possible to use an xpath or css selector to retrieve the element based on its id and whether or not it has ::before

Answer 1

I bet also to try with the javascript solution above.

Since ::after & ::before are a pseudo element which allows you to insert content onto a page from CSS (without it needing to be in the HTML). While the end result is not actually in the DOM, it appears on the page as if it is - you see it but can't really locate it with xpath for example (https://css-tricks.com/almanac/selectors/a/after-and-before/).

I can also suggest if possible to have different IDs or if they in different place in the DOM make more complex xpath using above/below elements and see if it is displayed.

Answer 2

String script = "return window.getComputedStyle(document.querySelector('.analyzer_search_inner.tooltipstered'),':after').getPropertyValue('content')";
                        Thread.sleep(3000);
                        JavascriptExecutor js = (JavascriptExecutor) driver;
                        String content = (String) js.executeScript(script);
                        System.out.println(content);