OS: Windows 2000 I'm using a program that accepts the command line argument -file_name and opens the file specified in the argument immediately following. Here is an example: program.exe -file_name input.dat It would open input.dat where input.dat is in the same folder as program.exe. I would like to be able to double-click a file in Windows Explorer and have it be opened by the program. I thought it would be a simple matter of modifying the DAT association in the Windows Explorer settings to run: "C:\Program Files\prog\program.exe" -file_name %1 However, the %1 is replaced with the full path of the DAT file that is double-clicked. If this full path contains any spaces, program.exe complains that it cannot open the file because the arguments passed to program.exe are separated by spaces. For example: program.exe -file_name C:\My Folder\input.dat The program would try to open "C:\My" and fail. However, if the short filename format of the above path is used intead, then the program works fine. Here is the short format: program.exe -filename c:\myfold~1\input.dat Is there any way to write a batch file that accepts a long filename and converts it into its short format and runs the exe properly? For example, convert: program.bat C:\My Folder\input.dat OR program.bat "C:\My Folder\input.dat" TO program.exe -file_name c:\myfold~1\input.dat Any help would be greatly appreciated! - Urkle10

If you are calling it from the command prompt or a batch file you can use the new % values found here or by typing "CALL /?" into the command prompt. In your example, you'll want to use it like this in your batch file: "program.exe %~s1". Is that what you're looking for?

That is exaclty what I was looking for, thank you. This is what I used in my program.bat file: @echo off c:\progra~1\prog\program.exe %~s1 Where in the Windows Explorer file association settings, I told it to call: "C:\Program Files\prog\program.bat" -file_name "%1" The double quotation marks around the %1 were important as it told the batch file that it was all one argument. I appreciate the help! Thanks! Urkle10