Idle Condition

Description

Monitors for the absence of user interaction (for example, no mouse or keyboard input) within the time period specified and evaluates as TRUE when the condition is met. The Idle condition can be used in the following manners:

  • Trigger element - Launches a workflow when the monitored condition evaluates to TRUE.
  • Wait element - Suspends workflow execution until the monitored condition evaluates to TRUE.
  • Conditional element - Determines the course of a workflow depending on whether or not the monitored condition evaluates to TRUE.

Practical usage

Occasionally, workflows are better run when the computer is not in use. The Idle condition can be configured for such scenarios. It can launch a task/workflow when no keyboard or mouse input intervenes within the specified period of time (that is, the system is idle).

NOTE: Some computers may become locked or a screensaver may appear (which automatically locks a computer) when the system is idle for a specific time period. In such cases, tasks containing steps that interact with the desktop (for example, Move mouse, Send Keystrokes or Close window activity) will fail if a workstation is in a locked or logged off state. Make sure that the Logon parameters of such tasks are set to unlock the workstation when it is locked or log onto the workstation when a user is logged out.

Related Topics  

Parameters

General

Property Type Description
Idle period Options The time interval on which the idle period will be based. The available options are:
  • milliseconds
  • seconds
  • minutes
  • hours
  • days

Behavior

The Behavior tab properties dictate how the system should react upon the occurrence of a condition. These properties are significant in determining whether the Automate Condition should act as a trigger object (used to fire off workflow execution), wait object (used to suspend workflow execution) or conditional (decision making) object.

More on condition behavior

Additional notes

AMTrigger

When the Idle condition is used to trigger workflow execution, it automatically creates an AMTrigger dataset which can be used much like the datasets created by the Database - SQL query activity and Email action. The fields that AMTrigger generates can be used to determine properties of the object that caused the workflow to launch, such as the type of trigger, when the trigger was activated and what system event or condition took place to activate the trigger. Along with a collection of global AMTrigger fields that are created and populated by every instance of AMTrigger, a unique set of AMTrigger fields exclusive to each Automate trigger are created as well.

To view AMTrigger values exclusive to the Idle condition, see AMTrigger - Idle.

AMCondition

When the Idle condition is used in the middle of a workflow as wait or conditional object, it automatically creates an AMCondition dataset. Similar to AMTrigger, the fields that AMCondition generates can be used to determine properties of the object that caused the condition to activate. Along with a collection of global AMCondition fields that are created and populated by every instance of AMCondition, a unique set of AMCondition fields exclusive to each Automate condition are created as well.

To view AMCondition values exclusive to the Idle condition, see AMCondition - Idle.

NOTE: A full list of AMTrigger and AMCondition fields exclusive to each trigger/condition can be viewed from Expression Builder by expanding the Objects folder and selecting the desired object from either the Triggers or Conditions folder.