dees-wcctools/readme.plan.md

# Fix Properties Panel Element Detection (COMPLETED)

To fix the element detection issue, reread CLAUDE.md first.

## Problem Analysis
The properties panel has timing issues detecting rendered elements because:
1. Elements are rendered asynchronously via lit's `render()` in the dashboard
2. Properties panel tries to find elements immediately without waiting for render completion
3. Element search only looks at direct children, missing nested/shadow DOM elements

## Implementation Plan

### 1. Add proper synchronization ✅
- Add a delay or await render completion before element detection
- Use MutationObserver or lit's updateComplete promises

### 2. Improve element search algorithm ✅
- Search recursively through all descendants, not just direct children
- Handle shadow DOM boundaries properly
- Support elements wrapped in containers

### 3. Add retry mechanism ✅
- If element not found, retry after a delay
- Add maximum retry attempts to prevent infinite loops
- Clear error state when element is eventually found

## Code Changes Required
1. Modify `wcc-properties.ts` createProperties() method ✅
2. Add element search utility function ✅
3. Improve error handling and user feedback ✅

# Demo Wrapper Implementation (COMPLETED)

## Created DeesDemoWrapper Component
- Location: ts_demotools/demotools.ts
- Allows wrapping demo elements with post-render functionality
- Provides runAfterRender callback that receives ALL slotted elements as HTMLCollection
- Uses display: contents to not affect layout
- Handles timing automatically with 50ms delay after firstUpdated
- Supports both sync and async callbacks
- Exports available at @design.estate/dees-wcctools/demotools (lowercase)

# Documentation Update (COMPLETED)

## Updated readme.md with:
- Comprehensive overview with feature highlights
- Quick start guide with code examples
- Detailed feature documentation
- Advanced demo tools usage
- Best practices and guidelines
- API reference
- Browser support information
- Complete examples for all major features

# Enhanced DemoWrapper (COMPLETED)

## Modified runAfterRender callback:
- Now receives the wrapper element itself instead of just children
- Provides full DOM API access (querySelector, querySelectorAll, etc.)
- querySelector works on slotted content (light DOM children)
- Access children via wrapper.children property
- Updated documentation with correct import path (lowercase 'demotools')
- Examples show how to use querySelector for powerful element selection
- Added clarifying comment about querySelector working on slotted content

## Fixed Properties Panel Compatibility:
- Made element search generic - works with any container elements
- Searches both light DOM and shadow DOM recursively
- Improved error handling to prevent breaking the update cycle
- Errors in one property don't prevent others from rendering
- Detection continues working even after errors occur
- Maintains compatibility with all element structures

# Test Elements Created (COMPLETED)

## Created comprehensive test elements:
1. **test-noprops** - Element with no @property decorators
2. **test-complextypes** - Element with arrays, objects, dates, and complex nested data
3. **test-withwrapper** - Element that uses dees-demowrapper in its demo
4. **test-edgecases** - Element with edge cases (null, undefined, NaN, Infinity, circular refs)
5. **test-nested** - Element with deeply nested structure to test recursive search

These test various scenarios:
- Properties panel handling of elements without properties
- Complex data type display and editing
- Element detection inside dees-demowrapper
- Error handling for problematic values
- Deep nesting and shadow DOM traversal