Problem Launching Google Earth from TCMD

[Jay Sage]

I've encountered a strange problem that I hope someone can explain, or,
even better, fix. This is happening with the 64-bit version of TCMD
under Windows 7.

If I launch Google Earth using either an alias

earth="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Earth\client\googleearth.exe"

or using a toolbar button with the same command line, or if I use a
command line that references the desktop LNK, the program launches and
runs, but my 3D controller does not work.

However, when I launch the command by double-clicking the desktop icon,
or by double-clicking on the EXE file using Windows Explorer
("Computer"), the 3D controller works just fine.

This is really frustrating, because I generally do EVERYTHING from Take
Command!

-- Jay

 

[Steve Fabian]

Jay Sage wrote:
| I've encountered a strange problem that I hope someone can explain,
| or, even better, fix. This is happening with the 64-bit version of
| TCMD
| under Windows 7.
|
| If I launch Google Earth using either an alias
|
| earth="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google
| Earth\client\googleearth.exe"
|
| or using a toolbar button with the same command line, or if I use a
| command line that references the desktop LNK, the program launches
| and runs, but my 3D controller does not work.
|
| However, when I launch the command by double-clicking the desktop
| icon,
| or by double-clicking on the EXE file using Windows Explorer
| ("Computer"), the 3D controller works just fine.
|
| This is really frustrating, because I generally do EVERYTHING from
| Take Command!
Did you try using TCC's START command (using the /I option) to launch
the desktop LNK? Another alternate to try is to assign a HOTKEY to the
desktop icon. I use many hotkeys, which -BTW - all require alt-shift-cntrl
with another key, because I have not come across any software that uses all
3 "modifier" keys together for its internal use. OTOH, if you are a
rodentophile, did you try the quick launch bar?
Any of these methods (possibly excluding START) should go directly to
the OS as if TCMD and TCC weren't even there.
BTW, did you make sure when trying it from TCC that the start directory
for Google Earth is the same as whatever the Google-created shortcut has?
--
HTH, Steve

 

[vefatica]

I'm curious if he tried it with CMD. TCC (and CMD, I guess) would use
CreateProcess directly, while Explorer might use it indirectly via
ShellExecute[Ex].

On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:53:40 -0500, Steve Fábián <> wrote:

|Jay Sage wrote:
|| I've encountered a strange problem that I hope someone can explain,
|| or, even better, fix. This is happening with the 64-bit version of
|| TCMD
|| under Windows 7.
||
|| If I launch Google Earth using either an alias
||
|| earth="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google
|| Earth\client\googleearth.exe"
||
|| or using a toolbar button with the same command line, or if I use a
|| command line that references the desktop LNK, the program launches
|| and runs, but my 3D controller does not work.
||
|| However, when I launch the command by double-clicking the desktop
|| icon,
|| or by double-clicking on the EXE file using Windows Explorer
|| ("Computer"), the 3D controller works just fine.
||
|| This is really frustrating, because I generally do EVERYTHING from
|| Take Command!
| Did you try using TCC's START command (using the /I option) to launch
|the desktop LNK? Another alternate to try is to assign a HOTKEY to the
|desktop icon. I use many hotkeys, which -BTW - all require alt-shift-cntrl
|with another key, because I have not come across any software that uses all
|3 "modifier" keys together for its internal use. OTOH, if you are a
|rodentophile, did you try the quick launch bar?
| Any of these methods (possibly excluding START) should go directly to
|the OS as if TCMD and TCC weren't even there.
| BTW, did you make sure when trying it from TCC that the start directory
|for Google Earth is the same as whatever the Google-created shortcut has?
--
- Vince

 

[Jay Sage]

>
> Did you try using TCC's START command (using the /I option) to launch
> the desktop LNK?

I hadn't tried that, but I just did, and the problem remains.

> Another alternate to try is to assign a HOTKEY to the
> desktop icon.

That works fine, as does invoking the program as a command from CMD. It
seems to be only when Google Earth is invoked from Take Command that the
problem occurs.

-- Jay

 

[rconn]

> I've encountered a strange problem that I hope someone can explain, or,
> even better, fix. This is happening with the 64-bit version of TCMD
> under Windows 7.
>
> If I launch Google Earth using either an alias
>
> earth="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google
> Earth\client\googleearth.exe"
>
> or using a toolbar button with the same command line, or if I use a
> command line that references the desktop LNK, the program launches and
> runs, but my 3D controller does not work.
>
> However, when I launch the command by double-clicking the desktop icon,
> or by double-clicking on the EXE file using Windows Explorer
> ("Computer"), the 3D controller works just fine.

I have no idea what you mean by "3D controller".

 

[Jay Sage]

>
> I have no idea what you mean by "3D controller".

I have a mouse-like piece of hardware that attaches via a USB port. It
can be manipulated with many degrees of freedom and can be used to
navigate in Google Earth, among other things. Various drivers are loaded
to allow it to work with the various programs.

What I have reported is that when Google Earth is launched by TCC/TCMD,
the 3D mouse does not work. When it is launched any other way (by CMD,
by double-clicking its desktop icon, etc.), the 3D mouse works fine. The
question is, why does a program launched by TCC/TCMD behave differently
than when it is launched by CMD?

If you are interested in the device, it is called SpaceNavigator and can
be seen at

http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spacenavigator.html

-- Jay

 

[Charles Dye]

What I have reported is that when Google Earth is launched by TCC/TCMD, the 3D mouse does not work. When it is launched any other way (by CMD, by double-clicking its desktop icon, etc.), the 3D mouse works fine. The question is, why does a program launched by TCC/TCMD behave differently than when it is launched by CMD?

Have you tried it from TCC/LE ?

 

[Jay Sage]

> Have you tried it from TCC/LE ?

No. Is there any reason to think that the behavior would be any
different? In any case, I would like the program to run from TCMD, which
is the command processor environment in which I work.

I also expect that Rex would want to know when something does not run
properly from TCC/TCMD when it runs fine from CMD and Windows.
Unfortunately, this is not an easy problem to debug, since it depends on
a particular hardware item and complex set of special drivers. On the
other hand, Rex has a remarkable understanding of how these operating
systems work and might just figure out what the problem could be. In the
meantime, since I have assigned a hot key to the desktop icon, I can
launch the program quite easily without TCMD (I just have to remember to
do it that way).

-- Jay

 

[Charles Dye]

No. Is there any reason to think that the behavior would be any different?

Not really. But if the problem doesn't occur in TCC/LE, then that would be a clue for Rex; perhaps something to do with the new USB monitoring code? And if the problem *does* occur in TCC/LE, then that also would be a clue: something common to both products. (No, I'm not suggesting that you switch shells!)

 

[vefatica]

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:55:17 -0500, Jay Sage <> wrote:

|No. Is there any reason to think that the behavior would be any
|different? In any case, I would like the program to run from TCMD, which
|is the command processor environment in which I work.
|
|I also expect that Rex would want to know when something does not run
|properly from TCC/TCMD when it runs fine from CMD and Windows.
|Unfortunately, this is not an easy problem to debug, since it depends on
|a particular hardware item and complex set of special drivers. On the
|other hand, Rex has a remarkable understanding of how these operating
|systems work and might just figure out what the problem could be. In the
|meantime, since I have assigned a hot key to the desktop icon, I can
|launch the program quite easily without TCMD (I just have to remember to
|do it that way).

Jay, do you use any of my plugins? SYSUTILS has a SHELLEX command which starts
processes using ShellExecuteEx (as opposed to calling CreateProcess directly).
It might help and I'd be curious to know if that's the case.
--
- Vince

 

[rconn]

> I also expect that Rex would want to know when something does not run
> properly from TCC/TCMD when it runs fine from CMD and Windows.
> Unfortunately, this is not an easy problem to debug, since it depends
> on
> a particular hardware item and complex set of special drivers. On the
> other hand, Rex has a remarkable understanding of how these operating
> systems work and might just figure out what the problem could be. In
> the
> meantime, since I have assigned a hot key to the desktop icon, I can
> launch the program quite easily without TCMD (I just have to remember
> to do it that way).

There have been a lot of past reports about apps that didn't run correctly
in TCC/TCMD, but in *all* cases thus far it's turned out to be configuration
and/or environment differences.

If you run CMD from TCC, does it work? If you run TCC from CMD, does it
work?

 

[Jay Sage]

>
> SYSUTILS has a SHELLEX command which starts
> processes using ShellExecuteEx (as opposed to calling CreateProcess directly).
> It might help and I'd be curious to know if that's the case.

I just tried running SHELLEX "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google
Earth\client\googleearth.exe"

Google Earth ran, but the 3D mouse would not work.

-- Jay

 

[Jay Sage]

>
> If you run CMD from TCC, does it work? If you run TCC from CMD, does it
> work?

I'm not completely sure what you mean, but here is what I just tried.

I started a CMD process using the Windows RUN command and then attached
the CMD session to TCMD. From that tab I ran the command "C:\Program
Files (x86)\Google\Google Earth\client\googleearth.exe". Google Earth
started running, and my 3D mouse worked.

I started another CMD process using Windows RUN. From that command
prompt I invoked TCC by executing the command
That opened a TCC window, in which I ran "C:\Program Files
(x86)\Google\Google Earth\client\googleearth.exe". Google Earth
launched, but the 3D mouse did not work.

So it appears that it is TCC that starts Google Earth in a way that
differs from what CMD does.

Here is something else that might be a clue. When I try to close a TCC
session using the EXIT command or by clicking the X box, it does not
close. Instead, I get an error message that "TCC has stopped working".
Eventually I get a "Close program" button, but it often takes several
tries before the session actually terminates.

-- Jay

 

[vefatica]

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:41:25 -0500, Jay Sage <> wrote:

|> SYSUTILS has a SHELLEX command which starts
|> processes using ShellExecuteEx (as opposed to calling CreateProcess directly).
|> It might help and I'd be curious to know if that's the case.
|---End Quote---
|I just tried running SHELLEX "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google
|Earth\client\googleearth.exe"
|
|Google Earth ran, but the 3D mouse would not work.

Beats me, then. It's hard to imagine why **anything** would work differently
depending on whether an app were started from a command line in TCC/TCMD
vis-a-vis CMD. I'm looking forward to hearing what the difference really is.
--
- Vince

 

[Juanma Barranquero]

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 04:12, vefatica <> wrote:

> Beats me, then. Â*It's hard to imagine why **anything** would work differently
> depending on whether an app were started from a command line in TCC/TCMD
> vis-a-vis CMD. Â*I'm looking forward to hearing what the difference really is.

There's a difference, I think: programs launched from TCC get App
Paths added to the start of their PATH, while CMD does not do that
(though Explorer does).

Juanma

 

[vefatica]

On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:12:24 -0500, Jay Sage <> wrote:

|Here is something else that might be a clue. When I try to close a TCC
|session using the EXIT command or by clicking the X box, it does not
|close. Instead, I get an error message that "TCC has stopped working".
|Eventually I get a "Close program" button, but it often takes several
|tries before the session actually terminates.

That's pretty drastic ... every time ... any TCC session at all ... how long has
that been going on? Do you do anything fancy in TCSTART or TCEXIT?
--
- Vince

 

[dim]

On 2010-02-02 04:12, Jay Sage wrote:

> Here is something else that might be a clue. When I try to close a TCC
> session using the EXIT command or by clicking the X box, it does not
> close. Instead, I get an error message that "TCC has stopped working".
> Eventually I get a "Close program" button, but it often takes several
> tries before the session actually terminates.

I would guess your 3D controller has some resident software that injects
itself into processes. Does it run any tray icons or background
services?

 

[Jay Sage]

>
> I would guess your 3D controller has some resident software that injects
> itself into processes.

I'm sure that it does, but that doesn't explain why the program when
launched from TCC behaves differently than when it is launched from CMD.

> Does it run any tray icons or background
> services?

Yes. Something called 3DxWare is running in the tray. After launching
Google Earth from TCC, I have tried opening that program to see if I
could turn on the 3D mouse, but nothing succeeded. For a long time I
thought that the mouse had failed, but one day I happened to start
Google Earth from the desktop icon and found that everything ran fine.

-- Jay