showndisplayed

Showndisplayed is a conceptual term used in web development and automated UI testing to describe the condition in which an element is both shown in the document object model (DOM) and displayed on the screen. The term is not part of any formal specification; rather, it emerges in documentation and test scripts as a shorthand for combining two distinct checks: presence in the DOM (shown) and renderability (displayed).

Shown refers to an element that exists in the DOM tree and has not been removed or detached. It may still be hidden via CSS or obscured by parent elements.

Displayed refers to an element that is rendered and perceivable by the user. In most toolchains, this means the element’s computed display property is not none, its visibility is not hidden, and it is not obscured or off-screen; and the element’s ancestors are themselves renderable.

Showndisplayed is true when both conditions are met: the element is present in the DOM and it is rendered. In automated tests, this state is used to decide whether interactions (clicks, typing) can be attempted.

Common methods to evaluate it include:

- element != null and isConnected

- computedStyle.display != 'none' and computedStyle.visibility != 'hidden'

- element.getBoundingClientRect().width > 0 and height > 0

Variations exist across frameworks; some libraries use isDisplayed or isVisible to capture the same concept, with differences in how they handle off-screen or zero-sized elements.

See also: DOM, CSS display, isDisplayed, isVisible.