Get the Text of a Hidden Element

Problem

getText() returns an empty string for an element that is present but not displayed, such as a collapsed accordion panel or a hidden validation message. You need the text without changing the page.

Solution

Read the textContent (raw DOM text) or innerText (rendered text, respects CSS) property instead of calling getText().

WebElement panel = driver.findElement(By.id("terms-panel"));

// getText() -> "" when hidden. Read the DOM property instead:
String raw = panel.getDomProperty("textContent");      // Selenium 4.x: getDomProperty
String rendered = panel.getDomProperty("innerText");   // respects CSS visibility rules

// Older bindings: getAttribute works for both
String legacy = panel.getAttribute("textContent");

panel = driver.find_element(By.ID, "terms-panel")

raw = panel.get_dom_attribute("textContent") or panel.get_property("textContent")
rendered = panel.get_property("innerText")

# Or with JavaScript for full control
raw = driver.execute_script("return arguments[0].textContent;", panel).strip()

const panel = await driver.findElement(By.id('terms-panel'));

const raw = await panel.getProperty('textContent');
const rendered = await panel.getProperty('innerText');

var panel = driver.FindElement(By.Id("terms-panel"));

var raw = panel.GetDomProperty("textContent");
var rendered = panel.GetDomProperty("innerText");

Why It Works

getText() is specified to return the rendered text, which excludes hidden content by design. textContent is the concatenation of all text nodes regardless of styling; innerText applies CSS rules but, unlike getText(), is available even when the element itself is not displayed in some browsers.

Gotchas

• textContent includes text from <script> and <style> children and preserves whitespace; call trim() and expect newlines.
• If the text is empty even with textContent, the content is not in the DOM yet (lazy rendered). Expand the section or wait for the data.
• Prefer getText() for assertions on what a user sees; this recipe is for reading data, not verifying visibility.