Wait for file

Description

The Wait for file action waits and periodically checks for the existence a file.

This workflow action will sleep and periodically check whether the specified file exists after which the flow will continue.

The action can either wait indefinitely for the file or it can time out after a certain time.

This action requires the definition of a single file. Variables can be used, but this action does not support wildcards, and therefore can’t wait for the existence of multiple files according to a filename pattern.

Options

Option	Description
Action name	The name of the workflow action.
File name	The name and path of the file to wait for.
Maximum timeout	The maximum timeout in number of seconds, or 0 to wait indefinitely.
Check cycle time	The time in seconds between checking for the file. The file will be checked for in the start of the execution and then every "check cycle time" seconds until the maximum timeout is reached. A workflow can only be stopped every "check cycle time" as else the workflow action will be sleeping. A check cycle time of 30 or 60 seconds seems to be a good trade-off between the period until the file is detected and the required CPU usage.
Success on timeout	This option determines what to do when the "Maximum timeout" has been reached and the file has not been found: when it is selected, the action is true and the success hop is followed; otherwise the action is false.
File size check	When this is switched on, once the workflow action detects the specified file, and will only continue if the file size hasn’t changed the last check "cycle time seconds". This is useful in cases where a file is created in the final place, and another process is still writing to the file. (As a best practice, files should be written to a temporary location, and then moved when completed)
Add filename to result	Add the file to the result files of this action. See Result.

Option

Description

Action name

The name of the workflow action.

File name

The name and path of the file to wait for.

Maximum timeout

The maximum timeout in number of seconds, or 0 to wait indefinitely.

Check cycle time

The time in seconds between checking for the file. The file will be checked for in the start of the execution and then every "check cycle time" seconds until the maximum timeout is reached. A workflow can only be stopped every "check cycle time" as else the workflow action will be sleeping. A check cycle time of 30 or 60 seconds seems to be a good trade-off between the period until the file is detected and the required CPU usage.

Success on timeout

This option determines what to do when the "Maximum timeout" has been reached and the file has not been found: when it is selected, the action is true and the success hop is followed; otherwise the action is false.

File size check

When this is switched on, once the workflow action detects the specified file, and will only continue if the file size hasn’t changed the last check "cycle time seconds". This is useful in cases where a file is created in the final place, and another process is still writing to the file. (As a best practice, files should be written to a temporary location, and then moved when completed)

Add filename to result

Add the file to the result files of this action. See Result.

Result

What this action passes on to the next action. See Action results for how results travel through a workflow.

Result Value

Result	Value
True	The file or folder exists, or appears before Maximum timeout. With Success on timeout, the action is also true when the timeout is reached without it. With File size check, the action first waits until the size stays the same between two checks. A Maximum timeout of 0 waits until the file appears or the workflow is stopped.
False	The timeout is reached without the file and Success on timeout is not selected, no file name is set, the path cannot be read (for example a `zip:` path into a file that is not a zip), or the workflow is stopped while waiting. When the path cannot be read, the action is false with 1 error.
Result files	With Add filename to result, the file is added when it is found. A folder is not added, and nothing is added when the action ends on the timeout. The result files of the previous action are kept.
Result rows	Passed on unchanged.

True

The file or folder exists, or appears before Maximum timeout. With Success on timeout, the action is also true when the timeout is reached without it. With File size check, the action first waits until the size stays the same between two checks. A Maximum timeout of 0 waits until the file appears or the workflow is stopped.

False

The timeout is reached without the file and Success on timeout is not selected, no file name is set, the path cannot be read (for example a zip: path into a file that is not a zip), or the workflow is stopped while waiting. When the path cannot be read, the action is false with 1 error.

Result files

With Add filename to result, the file is added when it is found. A folder is not added, and nothing is added when the action ends on the timeout. The result files of the previous action are kept.

Result rows

Passed on unchanged.