OPEN URL

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4D v16.3

OPEN URL


OPEN URL ( path {; appName}{; *} )

Parameter	Type	Description
path	String	Path of document or URL to open
appName	String	Name of application to use
*	Operator	If specified = URL is not translated, If omitted = URL is translated

Description

The OPEN URL command opens the file or URL passed in the path parameter with the application indicated in appName (if any).

The path parameter can contain either a standard URL or a file pathname. The command accepts colons (':') under OS X, slashes ('\') under Windows or a Posix URL beginning with file://.

If the appName parameter is omitted, 4D first attempts to interpret the path parameter as a file pathname. If this is the case, 4D will request the system to open the file using the most suitable application (for example, a browser for .html files, Word for .doc files, etc.). The * parameter is ignored in this case.
If the path parameter contains a standard URL (mailto:, news:, http:, etc. protocols), 4D starts the default Web browser and accesses the URL. If there is no browser on the volumes connected to the computer, this command has no effect.

When the appName parameter is passed, the command interrogates the system. If an application with this name is installed, it is started and the command requests it to open the specified URL or document.
Under Windows, the mechanism for recognizing the application name is the same as the one used by the "Run" command of the Start menu. For example, you could pass:

"iexplore" to start the Internet Explorer.
"chrome" to start Chrome (if installed)
"winword" to start MS Word (if installed)

Note: You will find the list of applications installed in the registry at the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths

Under OS X, the mechanism uses the Finder which automatically indexes all the applications installed. It can recognize any .app application by means of its package name (with or without the .app suffix). For example, you could pass:

"safari"
"FireFox"
"TextEdit"

When the appName application is not found, no error is returned; the command is run as if this parameter had not been specified.

4D automatically encodes the URL’s special characters. If you pass the * character, 4D will not translate the URL’s special characters. This option allows you to access and to send URLs of the type: "http://www.server.net/page.htm?q=something".

Note: This command does not work when called from a Web process.

Example 1

The following examples illustrate different types of strings that are accepted as URLs by the command:

 OPEN URL("http://www.4d.com")

 OPEN URL("file://C:/Users/Laurent/Documents/pending.htm")

 OPEN URL("C:\\Users\\Laurent\\Documents\\pending.htm")

 OPEN URL("mailto:jean_martin@4d.fr")

Example 2

This example can be used to launch the most suitable application:

 $file:=Select document("";"";0)

 If(OK=1)

    OPEN URL(Document)

 End if

Example 3

The appName parameter lets you open the same text file using different applications:

 OPEN URL("C:\\temp\\cookies.txt") //open the file with Notepad

 OPEN URL("C:\\temp\\cookies.txt";"winword") //open the file with MS Word (if installed)

 OPEN URL("C:\\temp\\cookies.txt";"excel") //open the file with MS Excel (if installed)