Detect when hidden window exists

[GoroX]

Here's what I would like to do: Launch a window without showing it, send some messages to it and close it again. In order to do that, I thought I could use the following:

Run( ..., @SW_HIDE )   ; launch app
WinWait( ... )   ; wait for app's main window to become available so that we can send messages to it
WinMove( ... )   ; move window off screen to unhide it while still keeping it invisible from the user
SetWinState( ..., $SW_SHOW ) ; show window (off screen) so that I can send messages to it
ControlSend( ... ) ; send a bunch of messages including one that closes the window

...but it turns out that WinWait() goes into an infinite loop when I use Run() with the @SW_HIDE flag (works fine without the @SW_HIDE flag but window is briefly visible, which is unsightly). Which leads me to the following question:

Is there a different way to determine when a hidden window exists? Or, is there a different approach altogether to launch an app and send some messages to it without the user ever seeing it?

Thank you!

[Belini]

Take a look at these commands:

WinExists ("title", "text"); verffica if the window is
WinActivate ("title", "text"); active window
WinSetTrans ("title", "text", 0); leaves the invisible window

Edited March 20, 2012 by Belini

[GoroX]

Thanks Belini! I did have a look at the functions, alas, the problem was that I omitted a parameter from Run() so that the @SW_HIDE flag was passed as the "workingdir" parameter of Run()... So, the WinWait() function works just fine, even when using @SW_HIDE.

That said, I now have a different problem but that's a subject for a different post...