From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

I'm using in Tcl with Windows

exec explorer.exe /e, "[file nativename $path]" &

to open files with the OS default program.

Now I have an issue with a text file path that contains "=" in the file
name, e.g. t=4.out

The issue seems to be explorer.exe which does not like the "=" sign.
If I execute the command in cmd.exe and use double quotes, then the
command works:

explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

But executed from Tcl, it does not:

exec explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

The result is, that the given file is not found and a generig Explorer
window is opened instead of the file in my default text editor.

I tried to force the double quotes by using \" and so on, but nothing
worked.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Alex


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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

I noticed the same problem in my poApps program using files with "=" in the file name.

Previously I had the following command to open a file with the associated command on Windows:
exec cmd /c "t=4.txt" &
which did not work.

Changing the above command to
exec cmd /c start "t=4.txt" &
works with files using "=" in the name.

Paul

Am 19.10.2026 um 21:39 schrieb meshparts:

I'm using in Tcl with Windows

exec explorer.exe /e, "[file nativename $path]" &

to open files with the OS default program.

Now I have an issue with a text file path that contains "=" in the file name, e.g. t=4.out

The issue seems to be explorer.exe which does not like the "=" sign.
If I execute the command in cmd.exe and use double quotes, then the command works:

explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

But executed from Tcl, it does not:

exec explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

The result is, that the given file is not found and a generig Explorer window is opened instead of the file in my default text editor.

I tried to force the double quotes by using \" and so on, but nothing worked.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Alex

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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

El 19/10/2026 a las 16:39, meshparts escribió:

I'm using in Tcl with Windows

exec explorer.exe /e, "[file nativename $path]" &

to open files with the OS default program.

Now I have an issue with a text file path that contains "=" in the file name, e.g. t=4.out

The issue seems to be explorer.exe which does not like the "=" sign.
If I execute the command in cmd.exe and use double quotes, then the
command works:

explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

But executed from Tcl, it does not:

exec explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

The result is, that the given file is not found and a generig Explorer window is opened instead of the file in my default text editor.

I tried to force the double quotes by using \" and so on, but nothing worked.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Alex

Hello,

may be with twapi ?
For example,

package require twapi
::twapi::shell_execute -path "c:\\temp\\a=b.tcl"

Alejandro


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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 20.10.2026 um 00:05 schrieb Luis Alejandro Muzzachiodi:

Hello,

may be with twapi ?
For example,

package require twapi
::twapi::shell_execute -path "c:\\temp\\a=b.tcl"

Alejandro

Thank you Paul and Alejandro for the solutions.
Both work with this file.
What I wonder: Which one is best compatible with all sort of files?
I remember in the past having problems with this and landing at
explorer.exe. I don't remember which issues dough...
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Hi:

In cmd.exe, = (like , and ;) acts as an argument delimiter, the same as a space, unless it is inside double quotes. So an unquoted t=4.out can be split into t and 4.out. Tcl's exec only quotes arguments containing whitespace, a double quote, or one of & | ^ < > ! ( ). The = sign isn't on that list, so t=4.out reaches the command line unquoted and gets mangled, and the quotes in your script are eaten by Tcl's parser.

Skip explorer and use start with an empty title:

exec cmd /c start "" [file nativename $path] &

The "" matters: start treats its first argument, if quoted as the window title, so without it a quoted path (for example one with spaces) can be taken as the title instead of the file. Tcl passes the empty argument through as "", so start gets a real (empty) title and opens the path with the default program.

-e

On 10/19/2026 12:39 PM, meshparts wrote:

I'm using in Tcl with Windows

exec explorer.exe /e, "[file nativename $path]" &

to open files with the OS default program.

Now I have an issue with a text file path that contains "=" in the file name, e.g. t=4.out

The issue seems to be explorer.exe which does not like the "=" sign.
If I execute the command in cmd.exe and use double quotes, then the command works:

explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

But executed from Tcl, it does not:

exec explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

The result is, that the given file is not found and a generig Explorer window is opened instead of the file in my default text editor.

I tried to force the double quotes by using \" and so on, but nothing worked.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Alex

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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 20.10.2026 um 08:36 schrieb et99:

Hi:

In cmd.exe, = (like , and ;) acts as an argument delimiter, the same as
a space, unless it is inside double quotes. So an unquoted t=4.out can
be split into t and 4.out. Tcl's exec only quotes arguments containing whitespace, a double quote, or one of & | ^ < > ! ( ). The = sign isn't
on that list, so t=4.out reaches the command line unquoted and gets
mangled, and the quotes in your script are eaten by Tcl's parser.

Skip explorer and use start with an empty title:

exec cmd /c start "" [file nativename $path] &

The "" matters: start treats its first argument, if quoted as the window title, so without it a quoted path (for example one with spaces) can be taken as the title instead of the file. Tcl passes the empty argument through as "", so start gets a real (empty) title and opens the path
with the default program.

-e

Thank you! This is very important thing to know.
So now I have the cmd and the twapi methods that seems to work fine.
Still, which one should I use?
Are there any other hidden traps that will crash either one?
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 19.10.26 um 21:39 schrieb meshparts:

I'm using in Tcl with Windows

exec explorer.exe /e, "[file nativename $path]" &

to open files with the OS default program.

Now I have an issue with a text file path that contains "=" in the file name, e.g. t=4.out

The issue seems to be explorer.exe which does not like the "=" sign.
If I execute the command in cmd.exe and use double quotes, then the
command works:

explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

But executed from Tcl, it does not:

exec explorer.exe /e, "t=4.out" &

The result is, that the given file is not found and a generig Explorer window is opened instead of the file in my default text editor.

I tried to force the double quotes by using \" and so on, but nothing worked.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Alex

Hello,

explorer and =

https://www.geoffchappell.com/studies/windows/shell/explorer/cmdline.htm





#with auto_execok

exec {*}[auto_execok start] "" file nativename $path &


Gregor
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

El 20/10/2026 a las 3:52, meshparts escribió:

Am 20.10.2026 um 08:36 schrieb et99:

Hi:

In cmd.exe, = (like , and ;) acts as an argument delimiter, the same
as a space, unless it is inside double quotes. So an unquoted t=4.out
can be split into t and 4.out. Tcl's exec only quotes arguments
containing whitespace, a double quote, or one of & | ^ < > ! ( ). The
= sign isn't on that list, so t=4.out reaches the command line
unquoted and gets mangled, and the quotes in your script are eaten by
Tcl's parser.

Skip explorer and use start with an empty title:

exec cmd /c start "" [file nativename $path] &

The "" matters: start treats its first argument, if quoted as the
window title, so without it a quoted path (for example one with
spaces) can be taken as the title instead of the file. Tcl passes the
empty argument through as "", so start gets a real (empty) title and
opens the path with the default program.

-e

Thank you! This is very important thing to know.
So now I have the cmd and the twapi methods that seems to work fine.
Still, which one should I use?
Are there any other hidden traps that will crash either one?

I guess the person who could best answer this is the author of twapi
(Ashok P. Nadkarni).
In any case, something to keep in mind:

«The START command uses the same underlying Windows Shell API
(ShellExecute) that explorer.exe uses when you double-click a file. It
looks at the file's extension, checks the registry for the associated "FileType" (managed by the assoc command), and then looks up the command associated with that FileType (managed by the ftype command) to launch
the correct program. This ensures your script respects the user's
personal application choices.» (Credit : https://tutorialreference.com/batch-scripting/examples/faq/batch-script-how-to-open-a-file-with-its-default-program)

Alejandro
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From Newsgroup: comp.lang.tcl

Am 20.10.2026 um 23:26 schrieb Luis Alejandro Muzzachiodi:

I guess the person who could best answer this is the author of twapi
(Ashok P. Nadkarni).
In any case, something to keep in mind:

«The START command uses the same underlying Windows Shell API (ShellExecute) that explorer.exe uses when you double-click a file. It
looks at the file's extension, checks the registry for the associated "FileType" (managed by the assoc command), and then looks up the command associated with that FileType (managed by the ftype command) to launch
the correct program. This ensures your script respects the user's
personal application choices.» (Credit : https://tutorialreference.com/batch-scripting/examples/faq/batch-script- how-to-open-a-file-with-its-default-program)

Alejandro

Thanks. Looks like the two methods would be equivalent.
I made my choice by counting the number of usages of each method in my application.
twapi won, so I'll use it.
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