Open notepad with PHP??!!

jjjamie

Can anyone tell me how I could use PHP to open a windows program, e.g. Notepad. It's not quite as easy as "shell_exec". Just try it and see! :o)

Thanks

Jamie

Weedpacket

system('start notepad.exe');

Of course, PHP won't end until Notepad is closed down again.

NoandbeforeyouaskI'mstillnotsurewhatthedifferenceisbetweensystemandexec'costheybothseemtodothesamethinginthiscase,okay?

jjjamie

I have tried what you suggested and it does not work. The browser just hangs and notepad doesn't open.

<HTML>
  <HEAD>
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>
    testing
    <?php
      system("start notepad.exe");
    ?>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

Weedpacket

😕 - it worked fine for me...odd.

KoshNaranek

Nice try 🙂

This will only work, if

you've got an Win32-Apache/PHP-Server... :rolleyes:
you are using a webbrowser on that machine

A linux-based machine would log "sh: start: command not found"
or "sh: exec: notepad.exe: not found"

What he is looking for is somthing completely different - e.g. OLE

Weedpacket

Originally posted by KoshNaranek

1. you've got an Win32-Apache/PHP-Server... :rolleyes:
2. you are using a webbrowser on that machine

I don't have any http server on the machine I tried this, just the PHP executable.
The browser is irrelevant, since this is all happening on the server (you're not going to have arbitrary programs being run on the client).

Originally posted by KoshNaranek

A linux-based machine would log "sh: start: command not found"
or "sh: exec: notepad.exe: not found"

Most probably, but this is explicitly a Windows problem.

Originally posted by KoshNaranek

What he is looking for is somthing completely different - e.g. OLE

Perhaps, but will Notepad cooperate?

KoshNaranek

As is said 🙂 You are working "local"

The PHP on YOUR machine calls "notepad" on YOUR machine.

let's exec("format C: | y") ... huuuuu.... :rolleyes: 😕

You see - there is a reason, why this should not work on a "remote" machine (=not the webserver) :rolleyes:

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME 🙂 😃

I was assuming, he works the normal way:

Coding a php-script - running it on a webserver (NOT HIS WORKSTATION) ... isn't that the "normal" way for webpages?😉

Weedpacket

Originally posted by KoshNaranek

let's exec("format C: | y") ... huuuuu.... :rolleyes: 😕

You see - there is a reason, why this should not work on a "remote" machine (=not the webserver) :rolleyes:

Which is so obvious that it was why I assumed he was wanting Notepad opened on the host for some reason (and yes, I do use PHP for shell scripting on my workstation. Doesn't everyone?)

Sure his client will hang - PHP opens Notepad (on the server), and sits idle waiting for Notepad to return. So the client is sitting idle waiting for the server which is waiting for PHP which is waiting for Notepad.