But when I try to output the text of
each specific node
//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')][1]
//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')][2]
//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')][3]
Node 1 ends up containing all the text
and nodes 2 and 3 are blank
This is a FAQ.
//SomeExpression[1]
is not the equivalent to
(//someExpression)[1]
The former selects all //SomeExpression nodes that are the first child of their parent.
The latter selects the first (in document order) of all //SomeExpression nodes in the whole document.
How does this apply to your problem?
//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')][1]
This selects all elements that have at least one child whose string value contains 'Lockwood' and that are the first such child of their parent. All three elements that have a text node containing the string 'Lockwood' are the first such child of their parents, so the result is that three elements are selected.
//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')][2]
There is no element that has a child with string value containing the string 'Lockwood' and is the second such child of its parent. No nodes are selected.
//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')][3]
There is no element that has a child with string value containing the string 'Lockwood' and is the third such child of its parent. No nodes are selected.
Solution:
Use:
(//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')])[1]
(//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')])[2]
(//*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')])[3]
Each of these selects exactly the Nth element (N = {1,2,3}) selected by //*[contains(./*,'Lockwood')], correspondingly: BusinesLetter, Recipient and Body.
Remember:
The [] operator has higher priority (precedence) than the // abbreviation.
