Programmer's Reference > Sending data to DPlot from another application

Macro commands may be used either in macros or by sending the commands to DPlot via dynamic data exchange (DDE). Some commands are valid only in macros (noted by Macros Only). Commands sent to DPlot via DDE must be enclosed by square brackets [ ]. Macro commands should not include the brackets.

Command parameters shown in the descriptions below are placeholders for the actual values. Command parameters are either numeric values, equations that evaluate to numbers, or character strings. Character string parameters are always bound by double quotation marks. Equations must be preceded by an equals sign (=).

The pipe symbol (|) in the command syntax indicates that a parameter is optional, and should not be included in your macro unless otherwise noted.

All indices into arrays are 1-based, e.g. Curve1=1 refers to the first curve in a plot.

A 0x prefix for numbers in the descriptions below indicates hexadecimal notation; e.g. 0x0010 = 16.

JR/Viewer indicates that the command is supported by DPlot Jr or DPlot Viewer.
JR/Viewer indicates that the command is NOT supported by DPlot Jr or DPlot Viewer.

Shell(command,nShowState)] Macros Only

JR Viewer

Executes another program. command is the name of the program to execute along with any required arguments or command line switches. If the filename extension is omitted, ".EXE" is assumed. nShowState corresponds to the style of the window in which the program is to be executed. If omitted, defaults to 1.

The following table identifies the values for nShowState and the resulting style of window:

Value	Window style
1	Normal with focus.
2	Minimized with focus.
3	Maximized with focus.
4	Normal without focus.
6	Minimized without focus.

Note: Macro processing continues as soon as the Shell function returns. You cannot depend on a program started with Shell to be finished executing before the macro commands following the Shell function in your macro are executed.

If the command includes spaces (e.g. c:\Program Files) and any commandline parameters, the executable name should be surrounded by double quotation marks, as in:

Shell(""c:\Program Files\My Application\test.bat" param1 param2",1)

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