by Richard Russell, May 2006

You don't need to take any special precautions when using OPENIN, OPENOUT or OPENUP to access files whose names (or paths) contain one or more spaces:

        filename$ = "Filename containing spaces"
        file% = OPENIN(filename$)
        file% = OPENUP(filename$)
        file% = OPENOUT(filename$)

However if you need to access such a file with a star command (or with OSCLI) then you should enclose the filename in quotes:

        *DISPLAY "Filename containing spaces"
        *COPY "Source file" "Destination file"

When using OSCLI (typically because the filename is a variable rather than a constant) then you must add quotes around the filename(s) in the command string. There are two main ways of doing this, firstly by using the CHR$34 character:

        filename$ = "Filename containing spaces"
        OSCLI "DISPLAY "+CHR$34+filename$+CHR$34
        srcfile$ = "Source file"
        dstfile$ = "Destination file"
        OSCLI "COPY "+CHR$34+srcfile$+CHR$34+" "+CHR$34+dstfile$+CHR$34

and secondly by using the ““ sequence:

        filename$ = "Filename containing spaces"
        OSCLI "DISPLAY """+filename$+""""
        srcfile$ = "Source file"
        dstfile$ = "Destination file"
        OSCLI "COPY """+srcfile$+""" """+dstfile$+""""

Forgetting to include the quotes can result in confusing (at first sight) symptoms. Some people find that the method using CHR$34 tends to produce clearer code and is easier to debug. Others prefer the compactness of the ”” method. Use whichever you feel happier with.