Win Wait For

Win Wait For

Type: win-wait-for  ·  Package: Desktop Activities v1.0.8  ·  Output: boolean

Pauses the flow until an element appears (visible) or disappears (hidden). It’s the essential tool to make desktop automations reliable: instead of guessing with a fixed Delay how long a window or control takes to load, you wait exactly until it is ready.

How it works

It searches for the element given by the selector every 250 ms until it reaches the requested state. As soon as it does, the flow continues; if timeout runs out, the activity fails.

• visible: waits until the element can be located.
• hidden: waits until it can no longer be located. If it is already gone at the start, it continues immediately.
• It doesn’t interact with the application or bring it to the front.

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
selector	selector	—	The element to wait for.

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
session	ZoanDesktopSession	—	Win Attach session. Inside a body it is taken automatically; without a session, the selector must include the window.
state	string	visible	Expected state: visible (appear) · hidden (disappear).
timeout	number	30000	Maximum ms to wait. Empty = the project’s UI timeout or, if not set, 30000.

Output

Returns a boolean: always true when the element reaches the expected state. If it doesn’t, the activity fails (it doesn’t return false); for a check that doesn’t fail, use Win Element Exists.

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
Timed out waiting for the element to appear.	The element didn’t appear within timeout. Raise timeout if the application is slow, or check the selector in UI Discover.
Timed out waiting for the element to disappear.	The element was still there when timeout ran out (a “Loading…” that never ends). Check the application or raise timeout.
'selector' is required.	The selector is missing or invalid.

With a session, the search happens inside its window

Inside a Win Attach body the selector’s window node is ignored: Win Wait For can’t wait for another top-level window from there. To wait for a new window, use a Win Attach to that window (which waits up to its timeout) outside the body.

Example

Wait for a “Loading…” message to disappear and for the result to appear:

Win Click      selector = (button "Search")
Win Wait For   selector = (label "Loading...")   state = hidden     // wait for it to finish
Win Wait For   selector = (table "Results")      state = visible    // and for the result
Win Extract Table   selector = (table "Results")   → output: results

The key to reliability on the desktop

Before reading or clicking something that appears after an action (login, opening a window, running a process), add a Win Wait For. It’s the difference between a stable bot and one that fails when the app is slow. Avoid fixed Delays whenever you can.

Related activities

• Win Element Exists — check presence without failing (true/false).
• Win Get Attribute — query enabled and other states.