TakeCommandIPC( "START", args )

[Charles Dye]

I want to attach a console window programatically. TakeCommandIPC() supports this, but I suspect the docs for the START command need revision or clarification. According to the help file, pszArguments should be the PID, in hex, of the process to attach. Well....

A hex PID with a leading 0X does nothing; the function returns 2 (not found?)

A decimal PID also does nothing and returns 2.

A hex PID with no leading 0X crashes Take Command, leaving TCC stranded....

A hex PID with no leading 0X, followed by a space and another number (e.g. just a zero) works! ...but still returns 2. Still not right, but close enough for Take Command to fudge it?

So: I think there is a second numeric argument, not explained in the docs, which is required but not critical. But what? And in what format?

 

[vefatica]

Hmmm! I tried it with a simple TakeCommandIPC(L"START", L"A08"). The console of that target process changed its font to the (new) hidden console font and did not disappear. Then TCMD crashed.

TCMD  16.02.48
Module=G:\TC16\TakeCmd.dll
Address=1004337D
Exception=C0000005
EAX=06851E8C  EBX=7633BDE8  ECX=00000000  EDX=77B370F4
ESI=06824C58  EDI=00000000  EBP=01BBE3FC  ESP=01BBE198
CS=0000001B  DS=00000023  ES=00000023  SS=00000023
Flags=00010246

Stack:
1 : TakeCmd.dll 0001:0004237d

 

[vefatica]

Then, after noticing that the docs say "Attach a hidden console window whose hex PID is in pszArguments", I hid the console in question first and tried again ... with the same result.

When I tried L"0XA08", TCMD opened a new tab with a **new** instance of TCC.

The results are the same with TCMDv15.

Since, in my first experiment, with the arg L"A08", TCMD managed to change the console's font, I suppose it correctly identified the console. But something went wrong after that.

 

[vefatica]

Thinking TCMD might need to write to those strings, I tried again like this, with the same result.

WCHAR szCommand[4096] = L"START", szArgs[4096] = L"884";
TakeCommandIPC(szCommand, szArgs));