docs » hs.uielement.watcher

Watch for events on certain UI elements (including windows and applications)

You can watch the following events:

Application-level events

See hs.application.watcher for more events you can watch.

Focus change events

These events are watched on the application level, but send the relevant child element to the handler.

Window-level events

Element-level events

These work on all UI elements, including windows.

API Overview

API Documentation

Methods

element
Signature hs.uielement.watcher:element() -> object
Type Method
Description

Returns the element the watcher is watching.

Parameters:

  • None

Returns:

  • The element the watcher is watching.
start
Signature hs.uielement.watcher:start(events) -> hs.uielement.watcher
Type Method
Description

Tells the watcher to start watching for the given list of events.

Parameters:

  • An array of events to be watched for.

Returns:

  • hs.uielement.watcher

Notes:

  • See hs.uielement.watcher for a list of events. You may also specify arbitrary event names as strings.
  • Does nothing if the watcher has already been started. To start with different events, stop it first.
stop
Signature hs.uielement.watcher:stop() -> hs.uielement.watcher
Type Method
Description

Tells the watcher to stop listening for events.

Parameters:

  • None

Returns:

  • hs.uielement.watcher

Notes:

  • This is automatically called if the element is destroyed.