Simple Noob question - may be why I'm so confused and lost

[BarrySumpter]

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      -- why does this work
      set the defaultFolder to specialFolderPath("engine")
      put defaultFolder into theFolderName
      answer theFolderName  -- works on win32 showing a path
      
      -- but this doesn't
      put specialFolderPath("engine") into theFolderName
      answer theFolderName  -- shows blank win32
      -- this script may be why my research tests are off

[Dixie]

Barry…

In the first block of your code you are setting the folder, i.e. the starting location from where you wish to start manipulating files and/or folders. In the second block of your code you are just calling the specialFolderPath() function but have not given it anything to work with, as it were.

Dixie

[BarrySumpter]

...
In the second block of your code you are just calling the specialFolderPath() function but have not given it anything to work with, as it were.
...

Hi Dixie,
Thanks heaps for replying.

I'm not following at the moment.
Is there any way you could expand on that reply.

I had deduced that all variables are strings of characters.
Perhaps both the defaultFolder is something more thans a string
and the specialFolderPath returns something more than a string?

I found this examle in the dictionary:

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put specialFolderPath("asup") into appSupportFolder

So I had deduced my script should work.

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put specialFolderPath("engine") into theFolderName

Any further comment would be greatly appreciated.

[Dixie]

Barry...

Try this...

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   put specialFolderPath("engine") & slash into tFolderName
   put tFolderName

It will show "/"... that you are at the folder containing the standalone engine, so from here you could carry on building a path to various resources that had been copied to the 'engine' folder when the standalone was built... So..

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   put specialFolderPath("engine") & slash & "barrysFolder/barrysText.txt" into tFolderName
   put tFolderName

would give you the path to 'barrysText.txt' file in the form of .... /barrysFolder/barrysText.txt... that was placed there when you built your app.

Dixie

[BarrySumpter]

...at the folder containing the standalone engine...

Well thats embarassing.
So specialFolderPath ("engine") means standalone engine.
Instead of Standalone Application.
Even though the IDE browser mode doesn't have a standalone engine.
OK. I was just accepting the fact that specialFolderPath("engine") means the app .exe path.
Now I understand the reason.
Thanks heaps for that.

I know I keep reading "its relative".
And I've always wanted to see it fully qualified.
So I can chase down my files using a file explorer.

Dinner guests. Can't finish. Gotta run for tonigh.

Thanks again for you support and patience.

[Klaus]

specialfolderpath("engine")

This will currently only work on iOS and ANDROID, as undoubtfully stated in the LiveCode dictionary!

[BarrySumpter]

I don't understand why this is so hard.
I'm starting to think like I'm in over my head again.

Is this script returning an error under win32 and I don't see it cause I'm not trapping for errors?
Or simply not updating the defaultFolder.

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set the defaultFolder to specialFolderPath("engine")

And since there is always something in defaultFolder
this script will always return something?

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    put defaultFolder into  theFolderName
    answer theFolderName

If the folder is not found, the specialFolderPath function returns empty.
If the folderIdentifier is either not supported on the current platform
or doesn't exist on the current system, the result is set to folder not found.

Found it:
set the defaultFolder to specialFolderPath("engine")
answer the result
-- on win32 returns: can't open directory

So, to me, set the defaultFolder to specialFolderPath("engine")
does execute on win32
but returns an error in 'the result'

I wonder which other LiveCode commands do this and I'm missing them.