The shell command doesn't seem to work

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  The shell command doesn't seem to work

Author Topic:   The shell command doesn't seem to work

Tyrant posted 19-02-2001 02:02 GMT
Hello, me again.
I tried doing the shell command to bring up the SWF flash file, but it didn't work. I went to "Other Script Command", and typed shell in the Other box. I then typed movie.swf in the parameters box (movie.swf is the name of my flash file, and it's located in the same folder as my game so there isn't a need to provide a full path). Am I doing something wrong?
MaDbRiT posted 19-02-2001 12:11 GMT
Hello there

quote:
I then typed movie.swf in the parameters box (movie.swf is the name of my flash file, and it's located in the same folder as my game so there isn't a need to provide a full path). Am I doing something wrong?

I tried this myself - initially I got an "error 3", which is of course because there is no executable file associated with a *.swf file. D'ohhh!
That makes sense really, flash is basically a Web Browser plug in, not a stand alone executable. It is easy to test if a file is associated with a run time, locate it in Windows Explorer and double click it - if Windows doesn't start something to run it, then Quest won't be able to either.
An obvious idea is to write a little HTML file to display the *.swf in a "sized to fit" browser window, then shell the HTML file. I tried that but unfortunately Quest generates an 'Out Of Memory" error.....
I'm guessing IE5 is just TOO BIG an app. to successfully SHELL out of Quest, but any thoughts / explanation of that one would be appreciated Alex!
Al Bampton ( a.k.a. MaDbRiT )
Alex posted 19-02-2001 12:50 GMT
An "Out of memory" error sounds completely bonkers to me, unless you're running out of hard disk space or something. A test file I just created has no trouble displaying an ordinary HTML file. Hmm....
MaDbRiT posted 19-02-2001 13:22 GMT
I've done a little more testing - and this is most definitely a 'weird' one...
If I write a DOS batch file to start IE and load in my html document ( which runs the *.swf file ) - I can shell the *.bat file from Quest and it works perfectly. However if I try to run the same commands as the batch file direct from Quest I get "Out of Memory" or "Shell Suceeded" ( depending on syntax tried ) although in either case it doesn't actually run anything.
I think there is something slightly awry with the 'shell' tag here...
Al

MaDbRiT posted 19-02-2001 13:49 GMT
Alex..
My #1 PC has loads (20 Gbytes plus ) of disk space free, 256 Mb of RAM and at the time of asking was running ONLY Q2.19 :o) So I hope to GOD that it isn't a problem of lack of resources... LOL
I've e-mailed you my test ASL, HTML and log files so's you can see what is happening - I might just be having a mental block and not using the command properly.
Al
MaDbRiT posted 19-02-2001 19:42 GMT
Problem resolved :-)
Seems that something somewhere was squiffy with my downloaded copy of Quest, because having got a fresh copy and re-installed using that, the "bonkers" Out of Memory message has departed and shell-ing files works perfectly!
Either my original was damaged or something else I've loaded since has updated a system file somewhere.
Oh yes... the original topic of this post was shelling *.swf files... Obviously if one sets up an association of *.swf to IEXPLORE.EXE (or its Netscape equiv) then Quest can start flash movies without involving an HTML file at all... I was having a bit of a "blonde moment" there - sorry guys. :)
Al
Tyrant posted 20-02-2001 04:21 GMT
lol, thanks for the help. I've decided not to use any flash anyway since it'd take up too much extra memory for the file download, since my huge RPG/Adventure in production has lots of music and some sound effects. I'm hoping to keep the file under 1 MB (I made the mistake of make my last game, which was the Silent Rage Demo in the games list, almost 3 MB!).

Author	Topic: The shell command doesn't seem to work
Tyrant	posted 19-02-2001 02:02 GMT Hello, me again. I tried doing the shell command to bring up the SWF flash file, but it didn't work. I went to "Other Script Command", and typed shell in the Other box. I then typed movie.swf in the parameters box (movie.swf is the name of my flash file, and it's located in the same folder as my game so there isn't a need to provide a full path). Am I doing something wrong?
MaDbRiT	posted 19-02-2001 12:11 GMT Hello there quote: I then typed movie.swf in the parameters box (movie.swf is the name of my flash file, and it's located in the same folder as my game so there isn't a need to provide a full path). Am I doing something wrong? I tried this myself - initially I got an "error 3", which is of course because there is no executable file associated with a .swf file. D'ohhh! That makes sense really, flash is basically a Web Browser plug in, not a stand alone executable. It is easy to test if a file is associated with a run time, locate it in Windows Explorer and double click it - if Windows doesn't start something to run it, then Quest won't be able to either. An obvious idea is to write a little HTML file to display the .swf in a "sized to fit" browser window, then shell the HTML file. I tried that but unfortunately Quest generates an 'Out Of Memory" error..... I'm guessing IE5 is just TOO BIG an app. to successfully SHELL out of Quest, but any thoughts / explanation of that one would be appreciated Alex! Al Bampton ( a.k.a. MaDbRiT )
Alex	posted 19-02-2001 12:50 GMT An "Out of memory" error sounds completely bonkers to me, unless you're running out of hard disk space or something. A test file I just created has no trouble displaying an ordinary HTML file. Hmm....
MaDbRiT	posted 19-02-2001 13:22 GMT I've done a little more testing - and this is most definitely a 'weird' one... If I write a DOS batch file to start IE and load in my html document ( which runs the .swf file ) - I can shell the .bat file from Quest and it works perfectly. However if I try to run the same commands as the batch file direct from Quest I get "Out of Memory" or "Shell Suceeded" ( depending on syntax tried ) although in either case it doesn't actually run anything. I think there is something slightly awry with the 'shell' tag here... Al
MaDbRiT	posted 19-02-2001 13:49 GMT Alex.. My #1 PC has loads (20 Gbytes plus ) of disk space free, 256 Mb of RAM and at the time of asking was running ONLY Q2.19 :o) So I hope to GOD that it isn't a problem of lack of resources... LOL I've e-mailed you my test ASL, HTML and log files so's you can see what is happening - I might just be having a mental block and not using the command properly. Al
MaDbRiT	posted 19-02-2001 19:42 GMT Problem resolved :-) Seems that something somewhere was squiffy with my downloaded copy of Quest, because having got a fresh copy and re-installed using that, the "bonkers" Out of Memory message has departed and shell-ing files works perfectly! Either my original was damaged or something else I've loaded since has updated a system file somewhere. Oh yes... the original topic of this post was shelling .swf files... Obviously* if one sets up an association of *.swf to IEXPLORE.EXE (or its Netscape equiv) then Quest can start flash movies without involving an HTML file at all... I was having a bit of a "blonde moment" there - sorry guys. :) Al
Tyrant	posted 20-02-2001 04:21 GMT lol, thanks for the help. I've decided not to use any flash anyway since it'd take up too much extra memory for the file download, since my huge RPG/Adventure in production has lots of music and some sound effects. I'm hoping to keep the file under 1 MB (I made the mistake of make my last game, which was the Silent Rage Demo in the games list, almost 3 MB!).