Sys_open

[Mark Pearson]

I use the sys_open() to open documents. Works fine in xp but It doesn't do anything on a vista32 machine. Has anyone had this issue and is there a work around?

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Sys_open

Don't know much about vista. Is the file association correctly set for the document?

SYS_OPEN() opens the specified Filename, using the program associated with the corresponding file type of filename.

[Mark Pearson]

Re: Sys_open

properties show the association is correct (In this case word 2003). The test is when I double click on the document in explorer, it opens OK. There appears no reason for this not to work with the only diffence being the OS.

[Mark Pearson]

Re: Sys_open

It appears to be a word related [roblem. Works fine for xls and pdf files. Perplexing me at the moment. Will leave as is until I get another Vista machine to test

[robert]

Re: Sys_open

In 64 bit Vista, I created a script in the code editor which is follows:

file="D:\word\documents\aletter.doc"
sys_open(file)

After saving it, it did nothing when I said to run it.
either I'm confirming what you said or I'm doing something wrong.

If you search on sys_ in the XP windows help, does it come up with any subjects? I realize this is in Alpha but it's got to be using Windows to open the file.

[Mark Pearson]

Re: Sys_open

There is limited help in Alpha on the topic.

Your script looks fine to me. Can you replace the file with an xls or a pdf. If that works when you run the script then it is restricted to word

[DaveM]

Re: Sys_open

file="D:\word\documents\aletter.doc"
sys_open(file)

It may not matter but using a word like file could cause conflicts. Alpha has words reserved just for them and "file" seems a great candidate.

can you not run sys_shell()??

.

[robert]

Re: Sys_open

I replaced it with a .pdf and it didn't work.
I then created a script using the xbasic genie, chosing "open a non-Alpha file" and asking it to prompt me for the name of the file to open when run. It prompted me but didn't open the .pdf file. It did open a .xls file.

Note that I'm using V8.

[Mark Pearson]

Re: Sys_open

Sys_shell should work but as I understand you need to reference the full path name to the exe file. This takes away the flexibility as the path could be different on machines, particularly if the OS is different.

[MikeC]

Re: Sys_open

Mark,
Using a5.get_exe_path() makes it portable if you have the file located in the install path....otherwise a dialog box of some sort to navigate to the file in question is another way to make something portable.
http://support.alphasoftware.com/alp...EXE_PATH().htm

robert,
Are you certain that file has a value? Does placing the full path work? If not then closer to being able to say it is a Vista issue with Alpha (or vice-versa).

[Mark Pearson]

Re: Sys_open

Thanks Mike,

I was more relating to the word exe location. sys_shell requires the path to the exe for word, then the doc path.

I do not us "file" as the variable - that is a red herring. I am certain the path value I use opens the document on an xp machine but will not on the vista, however I am also certain the value will open excel and pdf on both, so this brings it down to a word and possibly a vista or a combination of both problem. I am also not certain if it is just the machine I use as I do not have another vista OS to use at the moment.

[DaveM]

Re: Sys_open

I am home now and on my Vista Ultimate machine

This works just fine here:

dim x as c
x = sys_open("C:\My Documents\Alpha Code.doc")

run in the interactive window


.

[robert]

Re: Sys_open

The little script that I created came straight out of the Alpha help. Could be another example of why the help needs to be updated if using "file" causes problems. The Word file I tried to open had a real value however, I used the .doc extension when the file is actually a .docx file.

Today, I re-created the script using the xbasic script genie and the "open a non-alpha file" selection- This is the code it uses:

'Date Created: 14-Oct-2009 10:22:40 PM
'Last Updated: 14-Oct-2009 10:22:40 PM
'Created By : Administrator
'Updated By : Administrator
'Open file. Prompt user at runtime.
Dim filename as c
filename = ui_get_file("Enter name of file to open","Files (*.*)")
if filename <> "" then
if file.exists(filename) then
sys_open(filename)
else
ui_msg_box("Error Opening File","File '"+filename+"' does not exist.",ui_stop_symbol)
end if
end if

It will open a Word and Excel file but won't open a PDF.

[Mark Pearson]

Re: Sys_open

I have no issues with sys_open() other than trying to open worgd on my vista machine. It appears to machine related as I can open everything but word

[robert]

Re: Sys_open

okay, I re-created the original script from the help file that I showed in my 3:07, 10-12 post in the interactive window.

When I use the word "file", it gives an error message that the variable file doesn't exist. However, if I replace "file" with "filename", it will open the word file. It will not open a .pdf.

I think it proves that the help needs updating.