Description:

The WaitForDateTime workflow step pauses the workflow instance until the configured date and time is reached.

Unlike the Wait step, which pauses a workflow for a specified duration, WaitForDateTime uses a specific target date and time. The step also provides an optional time zone setting for evaluating the configured date and time.

The step supports:

• Waiting until a specific date and time
• Configurable time zone
• Date/time-based workflow scheduling
• True and False return paths

This step can be used for:

• Waiting until a business deadline
• Scheduling future workflow activities
• Delaying processing until a specific date
• Contract and subscription processing
• Scheduled notifications
• Appointment and event-related workflows
• Time-based approvals and escalations
• Coordinating activities with external schedules

Usage:

The WaitForDateTime step is typically placed between workflow activities when a process must pause until a particular date and time rather than for a relative duration.

For example, a workflow can:

• Wait until a specified business deadline.
• Schedule a notification for a particular date and time.
• Delay processing until an appointment or event date.
• Wait until a contract renewal date.
• Schedule a follow-up activity for a specific time.
• Coordinate workflow execution with an external system's scheduled activity.

When the configured date and time is reached, the workflow continues through the configured return path.

When the workflow reaches the WaitForDateTime step, the workflow pauses until the configured date and time is reached. The step then allows the workflow to proceed through its configured return path.

Typical Workflow Suggestions

Scheduled Notifications

Use the WaitForDateTime step to delay a notification until a specific date and time.

Example:

Create Reminder → Wait to Date → Send Notification

This is useful when a notification must be sent at a predetermined time rather than after a fixed delay.

Contract Renewal

Use the step to hold a workflow until a contract's scheduled renewal date.

Example:

Complete Contract → Wait to Renewal Date → Start Renewal Process

This allows the workflow to remain paused until the predefined business date is reached.

Approval Deadlines

Use WaitForDateTime when an approval process has a specific deadline.

Example:

Request Approval → Wait to Deadline → Escalate Approval

The workflow can wait until the defined deadline before proceeding to the next stage.

Scheduled Business Processing

Use the step when an activity should not occur before a particular business date.

Example:

Prepare Data → Wait to Processing Date → Process Data

This can be useful for scheduled billing, reporting, or other date-driven business operations.

Appointments and Events

Use WaitForDateTime to coordinate workflow execution with a known appointment or event.

Example:

Schedule Appointment → Wait to Appointment Time → Send Reminder

Subscription or License Processing

Use the step when processing needs to occur on a known expiration or renewal date.

Example:

Create Subscription → Wait to Expiration Date → Process Expiration

External Schedule Coordination

Use WaitForDateTime when workflow processing needs to align with a known external schedule.

Example:

Prepare Request → Wait to Scheduled Time → Send Request

Example:

Let’s build and execute the “waitForDateTimeDef” example.          

• Create a new process definition called “waitForDateTimeDef” and open the definition in designer mode. 
• Drag a “waitForDateTime” and “placeHolder” step to the canvas.
• Connect the dots between the “Start” and other steps, as shown above.
• Select the line between the steps to configure the “Connection Properties”. The default property values are “None, Error, Evaluate, and Timeout”. Depending on the step’s purpose, additional values are available for configuration. 
• Click the “waitForDateTime” step to configure its “Required” properties. Provide a name for the step and set the wait date and time. Then click the Save button. Note: Click the "AI Predict" button to have Copilot add new process steps that match your process description. 

• Click the “waitForDateTime” step to configure its “Required” properties. Select the time zone from the dropdown list, then click the Save button. 

• The “Logging” configuration is necessary for documentation and also measures workflow progress and percent complete. This is achieved by configuring the step state and percent fields individually, as shown in the images below. Configure the “Logging” using the following properties.

• Save the process definition, create a new instance, and execute it. Render the process instance. At the wait step, the process instance is “sleeping.” It remains asleep until the configured date and time, then executes the next step.  

Tips:

• Use WaitForDateTime when the requirement is based on a specific calendar date and time.
• Use Wait instead when the requirement is based on a relative duration such as "wait 3 days."
• Configure the Wait till value carefully because it determines when the workflow is allowed to proceed.
• Configure the time zone in which the target date and time must be interpreted.
• Use meaningful step names such as “Wait for Approval Deadline”, “Wait for Renewal Date”, or “Wait for Scheduled Processing” to make workflow execution easier to understand.
• Verify the target date and time before deploying workflows that depend on business deadlines.
• Consider the time zone when workflows may be executed across geographically distributed environments.

Notes:

The WaitForDateTime step is defined in the Engine category with the internal name waitfordatetime and display name Wait to Date.

The workflow step is implemented by the FlowWright.Workflow.WaitForDateTimeStep namespace in FlowWright.Workflow.dll and is defined as a Process step. It supports 2 incoming connections and 2 outgoing connections.

The “Wait till” property is a required ClsDateTime input, while “Select time zone” is an optional TimeZoneList input.

The XML definition does not expose a duration, wait unit, start date, or weekend configuration for this step. The target is represented directly by the required Wait till date/time property.

Feature comparison:

Definition Sample:

You may download a sample definition when provided and import it into your FlowWright Process Definition.

Note: Verify and complete any missing configuration after importing a sample, including:

• Wait till date and time
• Time zone
• Outgoing workflow connections
• Environment-specific settings

After verifying the configuration, save the Process Definition before execution.

Click here to download the sample file.