General Features of Execution Strings

Execution strings may include:

• File and non-file arguments

• Shell syntax

• Absolute paths or names of executables

Action Arguments

An argument is information required by a command or application for it to run properly. For example, consider the command line you could use to open a file in Text Editor:

dtpad filename

In this command, filename is a file argument of the dtpad command.

Actions, like applications and commands, can have arguments. There are two types of data that a COMMAND action can use:

• Files

• String data

Using Shells in Execution Strings

The execution string is executed directly, rather than through a shell. However, you can explicitly invoke a shell in the execution string.

For example:

EXEC_STRING				\
 		/bin/sh -c \
 		'tar -tvf %(File)Arg_1% 2>&1 | \${PAGER:-more};\
 		echo "\\n*** Select Close from the Window menu to close ***"'

Name or Absolute Path of the Executable

If your application is located in a directory listed in the PATH variable, you can use the simple executable name. If the application is elsewhere, you must use the absolute path to the executable file.