Getting text in <td> element using SpecFlow and Selenium - unit-testing

Question

I am getting an error in my SpecFlow unit test:
System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException : The given key was not present in the dictionary.
at TechTalk.SpecFlow.SpecFlowContext.Get[T](String key)
at F*****.Live.PS.*******.Steps.*******.EnterStagingDateAndSaveSteps.ThenUserSeesInNEXTRE_ENROLMENTWINDOWTextFieldInPENSIONASSESSMENTDATESPageInPENSIONModule(String p0) in c:\Git\LivePeopleSystemTests\Fourth.Live.PS.AutomationTests\F*****.Live.PS.*******.Steps*******\EnterStagingDateAndSaveSteps.cs:line 175
Here is the referenced method in EnterStagingDateAndSaveSteps.cs
[Then(#"user sees ""(.*)"" in NEXT RE-ENROLMENT WINDOW Text Field in PENSION ASSESSMENT DATES page in PENSION module")]
public void ThenUserSeesInNEXTRE_ENROLMENTWINDOWTextFieldInPENSIONASSESSMENTDATESPageInPENSIONModule(string p0)
{
// GetNextReEnrollmentWindow
string validator =
ScenarioContext.Current.Get<PensionAssessmentDates>("_nextReEnrollmentWindow")
.GetNextReEnrollmentWindow();
Assert.IsTrue(validator == p0);
}
(I also tried return Driver.WaitAndGetText(_nextReEnrollmentWindow); in there)
so it looks like the key _nextReEnrollmentWindow doesn't exist, but here it is defined in PensionAssessmentDates.cs:
private readonly By _nextReEnrollmentWindow = By.Id("NextReEnrollmentWindow");
The PensionAssessmentSteps is set into the ScenarioContext.Current like this:
[Then(#"user sees ""(.*)"" in NEXT RE-ENROLMENT WINDOW Text Field in PENSION ASSESSMENT DATES page in PENSION module")]
public void ThenUserSeesInNEXTRE_ENROLMENTWINDOWTextFieldInPENSIONASSESSMENTDATESPageInPENSIONModule(string p0)
{
// GetNextReEnrollmentWindow
string validator =
ScenarioContext.Current.Get<PensionAssessmentDates>("_nextReEnrollmentWindow")
.GetNextReEnrollmentWindow();
Assert.IsTrue(validator == p0);
}
and here is the actual web-page I am trying to test showing the element exists:
I'd be grateful for any pointers or advice on what I have missed which is causing my unit test to stop as below:
EnterStagingDateAndSaveSteps.WhenUserClicksSAVEButtonUnderAUTOMATICENROLMENTATSTAGINGDATEFrameInPENSIONASSESSMENTDATESPageInPENSIONModule() (0.7s)
Then user sees "02 Oct 2019 to 02 Apr 2020" in NEXT RE-ENROLMENT WINDOW Text Field in PENSION ASSESSMENT DATES page in PENSION module
-> error: The given key was not present in the dictionary.

Answer 1

The ScenarioContext.Current.Get and Set methods simply allow you to add an object to the dictionary of values attached to the current scenario using a key.
Once you have added an element to the dictionary in one step, you can retrieve it in another step. The exception you are getting implies that you have not added anything to the dictionary using the key _nextReEnrollmentWindow.
Do you call ScenarioContext.Current.Set("_nextReEnrollmentWindow", something); anywhere in your code? I suspect not.
Given the way you have asked the question I'm suspecting that you expect the ScenarioContext.Current.Get<PensionAssessmentDates>("_nextReEnrollmentWindow") call to get you the current instance of the page object of type PensionAssessmentDates and then get the element using the selector _nextReEnrollmentWindow. This is not how it works.
you want to do one of two things I believe. Either add your page object PensionAssessmentDates to the ScenarioContext.Current and then get the page object out and call the method which uses the private field _nextReEnrollmentWindow.
Or (much better in my opinion) ditch your use of the ScenarioContext.Current altogether and instead create objects which hold your page objects and let Specflows internal DI framework provide those to your step classes using context injection.