puppeteer/website/versioned_docs/version-16.1.0/api/puppeteer.elementhandle.md

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ElementHandle

ElementHandle class

ElementHandle represents an in-page DOM element.

Signature:

export declare class ElementHandle<ElementType extends Node = Element> extends JSHandle<ElementType>

Extends: JSHandle

Remarks

ElementHandles can be created with the Page.$() method.

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

(async () => {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  const hrefElement = await page.$('a');
  await hrefElement.click();
  // ...
})();

ElementHandle prevents the DOM element from being garbage-collected unless the handle is disposed. ElementHandles are auto-disposed when their origin frame gets navigated.

ElementHandle instances can be used as arguments in Page.$eval() and Page.evaluate() methods.

If you're using TypeScript, ElementHandle takes a generic argument that denotes the type of element the handle is holding within. For example, if you have a handle to a <select> element, you can type it as ElementHandle<HTMLSelectElement> and you get some nicer type checks.

The constructor for this class is marked as internal. Third-party code should not call the constructor directly or create subclasses that extend the ElementHandle class.

Methods

Method	Modifiers	Description
$(selector)		Runs element.querySelector within the page.
$$(selector)		Runs element.querySelectorAll within the page.
$$eval(selector, pageFunction, args)		This method runs document.querySelectorAll within the element and passes it as the first argument to pageFunction. If there's no element matching selector, the method throws an error. If pageFunction returns a Promise, then frame.$$eval would wait for the promise to resolve and return its value.
$eval(selector, pageFunction, args)		This method runs document.querySelector within the element and passes it as the first argument to pageFunction. If there's no element matching selector, the method throws an error. If pageFunction returns a Promise, then frame.$eval would wait for the promise to resolve and return its value.
$x(expression)
asElement()
boundingBox()		This method returns the bounding box of the element (relative to the main frame), or null if the element is not visible.
boxModel()		This method returns boxes of the element, or null if the element is not visible.
click(this, options)		This method scrolls element into view if needed, and then uses Page.mouse to click in the center of the element. If the element is detached from DOM, the method throws an error.
clickablePoint(offset)		Returns the middle point within an element unless a specific offset is provided.
contentFrame()		Resolves to the content frame for element handles referencing iframe nodes, or null otherwise
drag(this, target)		This method creates and captures a dragevent from the element.
dragAndDrop(this, target, options)		This method triggers a dragenter, dragover, and drop on the element.
dragEnter(this, data)		This method creates a dragenter event on the element.
dragOver(this, data)		This method creates a dragover event on the element.
drop(this, data)		This method triggers a drop on the element.
focus()		Calls focus on the element.
hover(this)		This method scrolls element into view if needed, and then uses Page.mouse to hover over the center of the element. If the element is detached from DOM, the method throws an error.
isIntersectingViewport(this, options)		Resolves to true if the element is visible in the current viewport.
press(key, options)		Focuses the element, and then uses Keyboard.down() and Keyboard.up().
screenshot(this, options)		This method scrolls element into view if needed, and then uses Page.screenshot() to take a screenshot of the element. If the element is detached from DOM, the method throws an error.
select(values)		Triggers a change and input event once all the provided options have been selected. If there's no <select> element matching selector, the method throws an error.
tap(this)		This method scrolls element into view if needed, and then uses Touchscreen.tap() to tap in the center of the element. If the element is detached from DOM, the method throws an error.
type(text, options)		Focuses the element, and then sends a keydown, keypress/input, and keyup event for each character in the text. To press a special key, like Control or ArrowDown, use ElementHandle.press().
uploadFile(this, filePaths)		This method expects elementHandle to point to an input element.
waitForSelector(selector, options)		Wait for the selector to appear within the element. If at the moment of calling the method the selector already exists, the method will return immediately. If the selector doesn't appear after the timeout milliseconds of waiting, the function will throw. This method does not work across navigations or if the element is detached from DOM.
waitForXPath(xpath, options)