  The Laplace operator in infinite quantum waveguides (e.g., a bent strip or a
twisted tube) often has a point-like eigenvalue below the essential spectrum
that corresponds to a trapped eigenmode of finite L2 norm. We revisit this
statement for resonators with long but finite branches that we call "finite
waveguides". Although now there is no essential spectrum and all eigenfunctions
have finite L2 norm, the trapping can be understood as an exponential decay of
the eigenfunction inside the branches. We describe a general variational
formalism for detecting trapped modes in such resonators. For finite waveguides
with general cylindrical branches, we obtain a sufficient condition which
determines the minimal length of branches for getting a trapped eigenmode.
Varying the branch lengths may switch certain eigenmodes from non-trapped to
trapped states. These concepts are illustrated for several typical waveguides
(L-shape, bent strip, crossing of two stripes, etc.). We conclude that the
well-established theory of trapping in infinite waveguides may be incomplete
and require further development for being applied to microscopic quantum
devices.
