Curdir$ & Shell

[Manny Corrao]

I am using PBWIN 7.02 and I am using CURDIR$ to get the path to a data file I want to open in EXCEL via SHELL. The problem is if there is a space in the name of the folder, EXCEL stops checking the string and then fails to open the file. Here is the code I am using to get the drive and path:

' Get the current drive
DIM s$
s$ = CURDIR$
workingdrv$ = LEFT$(s$,1)

' Get the Program Path from s$
progpath$ = s$+"\"

Here is the code I am using to to SHELL to EXCEL:

SHELL(excelpath$+"EXCEL.EXE" + " " + progpath$+"MktgExp.csv")

Besides telling me not to use spaces in folder names, is there something more I can do?

Thanks.

Manny

[Dale Yarker]

Try:
SHELL(excelpath$+"EXCEL.EXE" + " " + $dq + progpath$+"MktgExp.csv" + $dq)

That way the path is between quotes when passed to Excel's command line.

[Manny Corrao]

That worked.

Thanks for the help.

Manny

[Michael Mattias]

If the target file name contains a space, double-quote it.

Or...

If Excel is the default program for "*.csv" files on your system, you should be able to " ShellExecute" the file. ShellExecute is a WinAPI function and there should be lots of examples right here for which you can search).

OR....
You can replace the SHELL statement with Win 32: Monitor Process with ShellExecuteEx June 22, 2001

That lets you put the program name and the parameter (target file) in separate variables and Windows will sort out the spaces thing.

But I think quoting the CSV name when it contains a space should be the first thing you try.

MCM

[Kev Peel]

Indeed, the Windows API function ShellExecute() is the one you want if your app could possibly be used on systems that use OpenOffice or another Excel replacement. It will open the associated file every time.

Example:

ShellExecute %HWND_DESKTOP, "open", progpath$ + "MktgExp.csv", "", "", %SW_SHOW

There is also function (FindExecutable) that will let you know what program a specific file type has been associated with (if any), so you could display an error message if none was found.

[Manny Corrao]

Problem solved. Thanks everyone for the help.

Manny

[Michael Mattias]

Microsoft clearly thinks little of the ability of programmers; that's about all which could explain the existence of this API:

PathQuoteSpaces Function

Searches a path for spaces. If spaces are found, the entire path is enclosed in quotation marks.

MCM

[Manny Corrao]

Indeed, the Windows API function ShellExecute() is the one you want if your app could possibly be used on systems that use OpenOffice or another Excel replacement. It will open the associated file every time.

Example:

ShellExecute %HWND_DESKTOP, "open", progpath$ + "MktgExp.csv", "", "", %SW_SHOW

There is also function (FindExecutable) that will let you know what program a specific file type has been associated with (if any), so you could display an error message if none was found.

Using the ShellExecute function, can the calling application be suspended until the called application is closed (similar to the SHELL statement in PowerBASIC)?

[Michael Mattias]

Using the ShellExecute function, can the calling application be suspended

No, but the link I posted above (ShellExecuteEx) does exactly that and you can use the same verbs, eg "open", "print" etc.

from the doc for ShellExecute...

To obtain information about the application that is launched as a result of calling ShellExecute, use ShellExecuteEx.

[Manny Corrao]

Thanks Michael; I'll give it a try.

Manny