Using Wait for window action

Use Wait for window action in your automation to pause the execution of a script until a specific window or application is available or reaches a certain state. This enables you to automate tasks that involve interacting with different applications or windows that might take longer to load or are available for interaction.

For example, a Human Resources (HR) personnel automating leave-management tasks might require the attendance application to open before they enter the user credentials. This action enables the automation task to wait until the application window opens.

Procedure

  1. In the Actions palette, double-click or drag the Wait for window action from the Wait package.
  2. In the Wait for window field, select the option you want the automation to wait for:
    • Wait for window to open
    • Wait for window to close
  3. Select an application window:
    OptionSteps
    Application From the drop-down list, select the window title from the open applications.
    • The Application field displays the title of the application window you have selected.

      Insert a wildcard character (*) in the Window title field to search for window titles that can change. You can specify one or more wildcards (*) at the start, middle, or end of the value. For example, to perform an operation on any window that has Microsoft in the title, use a wildcard to indicate any string by adding it before or after the value: *Microsoft*. The bot first searches for the exact window title (Microsoft), and if it does not find a match, it searches for windows with the term Microsoft anywhere in the title.

      You can use a regular expression (regex) to identify a window title. Select the regular expression condition as either String or a Pattern and then enter the value. By default, the Window title field is case-sensitive.

      To identify a browser title, you can enable the Case sensitive option to match the letter case, or disable the option to identify a window title where the letter case does not match.
      Note: Ensure that the minimum Bot Agent version installed on your system is the version that was released with Automation 360 v.26. If you have a Bot Agent version released with Automation 360 v.25 or earlier, then by default, the window title will be identified only with matching letter case (case-sensitive).
      For example, to match all window title names beginning with a word followed by - Notepad, you can enter the String value as * -Notepad, or use Pattern value as ((\w)\s)*document-Notepad for only those window titles that match this pattern.
      Note:
      • When you use a regular expression of type String with -title as the input value for a window title in any action, the bot might encounter a run time error. To prevent the run time error, ensure that when you add the string input as *-title, the application with the specific title is open. The asterisk (*) is just a character, not a wild card character.
      • When you use a regular expression of type Pattern with -title as the input value for a window title in any action, the bot might encounter a run time error because the input value *-title is incorrect.

        Ensure that you use valid regex patterns.

    • The Executable field displays the complete path of the executable file to identify the right window.
    Browser Select from a list of supported browser tabs.
    Note: This option supports Google Chrome, Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer browsers.
    Variable Use a window variable to specify the application window you want to use.
  4. In the How long you would like to wait for this condition to be true? field, specify the wait time (in seconds) for the window to open or close.
    If the window does not open or close within the time you specify, the task proceeds to execute the next set of actions.
  5. Select the Throw an exception if wait for window is unsuccessful option to show an error message and terminate the bot if the window does not open or close within the specified amount of time.
    If the option is deselected and the window does not open or close within the specified amount of time, the task proceeds with the next action.
  6. Click Save.