Escaping dots in paths?

Targets Windows
1

I have a desktop app that starts a web app from a shell. Everything running nicely, except for the customer informed me in some cases the web app does not start. That was connected to him setting the desktop app folder name to something like “appname_4.0.1” whereas “appname_4_0_1” is working. I believe this could have to do with Windows’ assumption that the last dot would introduce a file extension (but I might be wrong).
Are there any means to fix a path so that it works even with dots?

2

Where is the “.exe” as: “appname_4.0.1.exe” ?

Calling the application from a schell ? Enclose the application’s name inside two quotes (standard)…

The customer my have added a space in the file name (and say nothing); only the Lord knows what a customer is capable of…

3

No, the app is named without numbers. The web app resides in its resources folder and is not changed/renamed, so it’s basically being started from a shell that addresses the resources folder of the app. Dots by definition are allowed parts of paths in Windows, but it seems to be the fact that he used some in the folder name of the desktop app that stops the app from finding the web app.

4

Are you able to replicate it with a small test project? If so, can you post it and we’ll take a look. Could you also let us know your Xojo version as there have been some recent changes to shell path stuff in the framework.

5

I tried with the original project on my Win10 Parallels installation. And while it did work with dots for me, the web app crashes when it is started from within a desktop app folder that contains umlauts in its name. Are shell paths not umlaut savvy?

6

Depends on the Xojo version.

7

Oh I see. Sorry for missing that. 2018r2.

8

… and I see the reason for the exception is the web app trying to load an icon from a path that was forwarded to it via shell command. So basically the web app start works, but it cannot read the shell path with umlauts correctly.

9

Interesting, are you starting it with Shell.Execute ? That was apparently fixed in 2018r1 <https://xojo.com/issue/51246>. If not, what does your Shell command look like? Does the web project work if you run it by hand in the OS from the folder with the umlaut?

10

Can you copy and paste the shell path as your app is seeing it?

11

That’s from debugview on a path that isn’t working. Looks perfectly fine: