Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!apple!apple.com!jkc
From: jkc@apple.com (John Kevin Calhoun)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Opening file with Multifinder (was openField handlers)
Message-ID: <52245@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 1 May 91 16:23:14 GMT
Sender: jkc@Apple.COM
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 42


In article <41861@cup.portal.com> David_Greg_Herlihy@cup.portal.com writes:

>When you use the command "open file x with [application]" while running
>the single finder, Hypercard obediently finds the file and opens it
>with the specified application (if such file exists).  What I find
>annoying, however, is that this command does not seem to work if you
>are running multifinder and the specified application is already opened.
>Rather than opening the file, Hypercard merely switches you to whatever
>file is currently opened in the application rather than the file you requested
>
>Does anyone know how to make this command behave with multifinder?  Is
>this something we can expect to go away with system 7.0 or a HyperCard upgrade
>Thanks for your help.  David

In order for this to work, a number of things have to change:

1) there has to be some service at the system level that applications can
   use to communicate with one another
2) HyperCard has to know how to use this service to tell another application
   to open a document
3) the target application has to know how to listen and how to respond

Fortunately, there's some good news:

1) under System 7.0, applications can communicate with one another via
   Apple events
2) in HyperCard 2.1, the "open" command will be extended -- it will know
   how to send an "open document" event to another running application
   that's "Apple event-aware"
3) other applications are being revised and will also become "Apple event-
   aware"

(No promises as to the availability of any of the pieces of software I've
mentioned!)


Kevin Calhoun
formerly of the former HyperCard Team
Apple Computer, Inc.

Disclaimer: I'm just a tired raving fool.