How to extend IWebElement interface to add a new method

Question

I am trying to extend the interface IWebElement in C# to add a new method to protect against StaleElementReferenceException.

The method I want to add is a simple retryingClick that will try to click the WebElement up to three times before giving up:

public static void retryingClick(this IWebElement element)
    {
        int attempts = 0;

        while (attempts <= 2)
        {
            try
            {
                element.Click();
            }
            catch (StaleElementReferenceException)
            {
                attempts++;
            }
        }
    }

The reason to add the method is that our webpage makes extensive use of jQuery and a lot of elements are dynamically created/destroyed, so adding protection for each WebElement becomes a huge ordeal.

So the question becomes: how should I implement this method so the interface IWebElement can always make use of it?

Thank you, Regards.

Answer 1

For anyone that reaches the has the same question, here is how I fixed it:

Create a new static class ExtensionMethods:

---

public static class ExtensionMethods
{

    public static bool RetryingClick(this IWebElement element)
    {
        Stopwatch crono = Stopwatch.StartNew();

        while (crono.Elapsed < TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60))
        {
            try
            {
                element.Click();
                return true;
            }
            catch (ElementNotVisibleException)
            {
                Logger.LogMessage("El elemento no es visible. Reintentando...");
            }
            catch (StaleElementReferenceException)
            {
                Logger.LogMessage("El elemento ha desaparecido del DOM. Finalizando ejecución");
            }

            Thread.Sleep(250);
        }

        throw new WebDriverTimeoutException("El elemento no ha sido clicado en el tiempo límite. Finalizando ejecución");
    }
}

---

This should be enough for the method RetryingClick to appear as a method for the IWebElement type

If you have any doubts, check the Microsoft C# Programing guide for Extension Methods

Hope this helps