# Test step settings

> Per-step behavior during a run, from wait times and retries to screenshots, visual and accessibility checks, and bulk updates.

Step settings decide how one step behaves during a run: how long it waits, how often it retries, whether it captures a screenshot, and whether its result counts toward the test case result.

Click the ellipsis icon (⋮) on a step and select **Step Settings**. In the recorder, hover over a recorded step first, then click the ellipsis icon (⋮) and select **Step Settings** to open **Step Details**.

The recorder offers 6 of the settings below: **Max wait time**, shown without the period, **Pre-Requisite**, **Stop Test Case execution on Test Step**, **Ignore this step result in Test Case Result**, **Enable Visual Testing for the Step**, and **Disable Step**.

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Max. wait time | Fails the step when it takes longer than the limit. The maximum is 120 seconds |
| Retries on step failure | Re-attempts the step when it fails, up to 10 times |
| Screenshot capture | **Always**, **Only on step failure**, **No screenshot required**, or **Use step level settings**, which keeps what the step already has. The last option appears during execution only |
| Pre-Requisite | A step in the same test case that must pass before this one runs |
| Stop Test Case execution on Test Step | Ends the run when this step fails. Selected by default |
| Ignore this step result in Test Case Result | Leaves this step's outcome out of the test case result |
| Disable Step | Skips the step during execution. Cleared by default |
| Enable Visual Testing for the Step | Captures the UI on this step and compares it against a baseline. Off by default. See [Visual testing](https://testsigma.com/docs/v2/testing-types/visual-testing/) |
| Enable Accessibility Testing for the step | Validates the step against accessibility standards. Needs **Web Accessibility Testing - Step Level** turned on under **Settings > Preferences > Web Accessibility Testing** |
| Highlight element in screenshot | Marks the acted-on element in each screenshot |

**Highlight element in screenshot** is off until Testsigma support enables it for your account. It then appears under **Settings > Preferences**.

## Global step timeout

**Global Step Timeout**, in the **Additional Settings** section of the **Ad-hoc Run** overlay, sets one wait time for a whole run. Its toggle decides whether a step's own timeout survives.

| Step timeout | Global timeout | Toggle | What runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds, the default | 30 seconds, the default | Off | 30 seconds everywhere, since global and step match |
| 30 seconds, the default | 60 seconds | Off | 60 seconds, because global overrides the default |
| Some steps customized | Any value | Off | Customized steps keep their own timeout, the rest take the global one |
| Some steps customized | Any value | On | The global timeout overrides every step |

Two more run-level timeouts sit in the same **Additional Settings** section and apply to the whole run: **Page Timeout**, how long the test waits for a page to load, and **Element Timeout**, how long it waits for an element. **Screenshot Capture** there takes **All Steps** or **Failed Steps**, and applies across the run rather than per step.

![Additional settings in the Ad-Hoc Run panel, with Step Timeout and Apply to all steps](https://s3.amazonaws.com/website-static-docs.testsigma.com/new_images/projects/Updated_Doc_Images/Global_Settings.png)

## Step options

Click a step to reach its inline controls, or the ellipsis icon (⋮) for the rest.

- **Clear Step**: empties the step's action and data. The eraser icon does the same
- **Clone Step**: makes an identical copy of the step
- **Delete Step**: removes the step from the test case permanently
- **Step Above** and **Step Below**: add a step on either side of this one
- **Disable Step**: deactivates the step so it does not run
- **Ignore Step Result**: excludes this step's outcome from the test case result
- **Enable Visual Testing**: captures and compares the UI on this step
- **Step Settings**: opens the full per-step configuration

In the recorder, click an element on a step to reach **Edit**, **Change**, and **Create Element**. **Disable Step**, **Ignore Step Result**, and **Enable Visual Testing** are applied by selecting the option and then clicking **Update Step**.

To reorder steps, hover over the drag handle (⋮⋮) before a step, drag the step to its new position, then click **Save New Order**.

## Change several steps at once

Hover over a step number on the **Test Case Details** page, and the number becomes a checkbox. Select the steps you want, or click **Select All** in the menu bar to take every step on the page. The menu bar then offers 4 actions:

- **Update Settings**: changes settings across all the selected steps at once, which is how visual and accessibility testing are usually turned on. See [Visual testing](https://testsigma.com/docs/v2/testing-types/visual-testing/) and [Accessibility testing](https://testsigma.com/docs/v2/testing-types/accessibility-testing/)
- **Create Block**: builds a block from the selected steps
- **Create Step Group**: builds a step group from them
- **Delete**: removes them

The same 4 actions work on recorded steps in the recorder.

Bulk updates cannot change **Pre-Requisite** or **Retries on step failure**. Set those on each step individually.