Help with executing external program?

[UKDesign]

Hey folks,

My current application relies on a .bat file in order to convert the text files created in my MMF application into the appropriate file format. My .bat file works as intended when executed manually OUTSIDE of the MMF application, however when I launch it using MMF, it does nothing.

The .bat already contains the relevant command line parameters.

So, here's an example of my event:

[color:#33CC00]"Create button is clicked"[/color]
[color:#FF0000]Execute external program:[/color] [color:#000099]UserDirectory$( "File" )+"\AppData\Roaming\MyApp\Convert.exe"[/color]

Now, I wasn't sure if perhaps MMF had a problem with .bat files, so I ran the .bat through a converter to make it a .exe, still no result.

Here's a pic to show the event - as you can see, "Command Line" is empty because the .bat already contains the command line.

[img:left]http://i47.tinypic.com/2gwrsb6.png[/img]

All help appreciated

[UKDesign]

Ok quick update, I was able to catch a screenshot of the .bat as it quickly closes when launching via MMF and apparently:

'convert.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file. This makes me think there might be a problem with my .bat, but then again - why does it work fine when not launched from MMF?

The .bat is a simple two line file:

@echo off
convert.exe "BASEFILE.DAT"

Basefile is the file to convert passed as a parameter. Perhaps the .bat needs to be wrriten differently?

[Dynasoft]

I would guess your bat file relies on the current directory/folder being the one it is in, and when it's launched from MMF the current directory is your program's directory.

That or your bat file isn't in the appdata folder. I don't see why it would be, anything executable should be in program files with your app.

Also, if you do need to get at the appdata folder, use "%appdata%" instead of UserDirectory$( "File" )+"\AppData\". %appdata% always works, but on Windows XP (still the most common OS) the folder is called "Application Data" instead of "AppData", so your code wouldn't have worked.

[UKDesign]

Hi Dynasoft, thanks for the quick reply!

Yep that's right, the bat relies on the file to convert being in the current directory. I've been creating the files in the folder they will ultimately end up in, but perhaps I'll try just creating everything within the MMF application folder then when it's all created, simply move them to the folder they need to be in.

Thanks a lot for the excellent tip on file locations! I hadn't noticed that documented with the file object, you've saved a lot of potential grief with that tip - cheers!

I'll go and tweak some things and see what happens

Happy new year!