Question

Using XPath, how do I determine if a node is within a form tag? I guess I am trying to locate the form tag of its ancestor/preceding (but I couldn’t get it to work).

example 1:

<form id="doNotKnowIDofForm">
<div id="level1">
    <span id="mySpan">someText</span>
</div>
</form>

example 2:

<form id="doNotKnowIDofForm">
   This is a closed form.
</form>
<div id="level1">
    <span id="mySpan">someText</span>
</div>
</form>

I can use xpath "//span[id='mySpan']" to locate the span node. But I would like to know if mySpan is inside a form (I do not know the id of the form). I have tried "//span[id='mySpan']/preceding::form/" and "//span[id='mySpan']/ancestor::form/"

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I would like the XPath to select the myForm form tag in Example1 but NOT in Example2

Answer 1

Your own attempt

//span[id='mySpan']/ancestor::form/

looks fine to me.