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Loop

Repeats the actions up to “If it takes too long”, with a pause between rounds.

Where
+ Add actionFlowLoop
Comes with
If it takes too long, End loop, added and removed as one set
Loop until obs.streaming equals true, checked before each round, every 500 ms and up to 20000 ms, containing a Get window action for OBS, then If it takes too long with a Text to speech action, then End loop

A loop repeats the actions inside it, round after round, with a pause between rounds. It can count, wait for a variable to pass a check, or simply run until the macro is stopped. A time limit keeps it from running forever: when it hits, a separate branch runs instead, where a Stop this macro or a warning belongs.

The three markers

Section titled “The three markers”

Adding a loop adds three rows at once:

  • Loop: holds the settings. The actions below it, up to If it takes too long, are the body that repeats.
  • If it takes too long: the actions between it and End loop run once when the time limit hits. Leave this part empty if the loop should just give up quietly.
  • End loop: everything after it runs either way.

Drag other actions between the markers to put them in the loop. The markers keep their order and cannot be dragged past each other. Removing one of them removes all three; the actions in between stay. An empty If it takes too long and the End loop row fold to a single line until something is dragged, so a loop without a timeout branch takes little room.

Settings

Section titled “Settings”
Setting What it does
Count / Until a check holds / Until stopped What makes the loop go round; see below.
From, To, Step For Count: the first number, the last number and how far each round moves. Placeholders work, for example {{n}} as To. A negative step counts down; a step of 0 counts as 1. When From already lies past To, the body never runs.
Check before each round / Check after each round For Until a check holds: whether the check runs before a round (the body may never run when the check holds from the start) or after it (the body runs at least once).
Repeat until, Check, Value For Until a check holds: the variable and the check, exactly as in a Condition. The loop ends once the check holds.
Pause between rounds (ms) How long the loop rests between two rounds. 100 ms by default, and never less than 10 ms: a loop without a delay of its own cannot eat the CPU.
Give up after (ms) The time limit, counted from the first round. 10 seconds by default; 0 means no limit, the loop then runs until it is done or the macro is stopped.

What the loop provides

Section titled “What the loop provides”

Inside the loop, three values are available as {{placeholders}} and to a script, for this run only:

Name What it holds
loop.iteration The round, counting from 1.
loop.elapsedMs Milliseconds since the first round.
loop.value For Count: the current number.

How it runs

Section titled “How it runs”
  • Count runs the body once per number: with From 1, To 3 and Step 1, three times with loop.value at 1, 2 and 3.
  • Until a check holds reads the variable at the moment of the check, so an action inside the body, or another macro, can change it. With the check before each round the loop behaves like a while loop, with the check after each round like a do … until loop.
  • Until stopped is a loop with no way out but Stop this macro, Stop all macros or the time limit.
  • Neither a check nor the pause holds up other macros or the interface, and stopping the macro ends the loop at once, even in the middle of a pause.
  • When the time limit hits, the actions under If it takes too long run once and the list goes on after End loop. When the loop is done on its own, that branch is skipped.
  • Loops can sit inside a Condition or another loop, and a condition can sit inside a loop.

Examples

Section titled “Examples”

Wait for OBS to be live, then announce it, giving up after 20 seconds:

  1. Loop: Until a check holds, obs.streaming equals true, checked before each round, every 500 ms, give up after 20000 ms
  2. Get window: the OBS window, kept in obs
  3. If it takes too long
  4. Text to speech: “OBS did not go live.”
  5. End loop
  6. Text to speech: “We are live.”

Count down from 3 with a sound on every step:

  1. Loop: Count, from 3 to 1, step -1, every 1000 ms
  2. Text to speech: {{loop.value}}
  3. If it takes too long
  4. End loop
  5. Play sound: the airhorn
Section titled “Related”