+---------------------------------+
|             RUN | !             |
+---------------------------------+
RUN [/N [K]] <DOS command>
        | <program name>

!   [/N [K]] <DOS command>
        | <program name>

-----------------------------------
Executes external program.
-----------------------------------

The RUN command runs external DOS commands or DOS programs.  RUN may be
issued from within the Command window or from a program.

        . To use the RUN command under DOS, the operating system file
COMMAND.COM must be in the current directory, or otherwise locatable by
the DOS COMSPEC parameter.  See your DOS manual for more information on
SET COMSPEC.

        . Don't RUN disk reorganization programs like CHKDSK from within
FoxPro.  They modify the contents of your disk in a manner which can
confuse FoxPro.

FoxPro includes a memory manager utility, FoxSwap.  FoxSwap is used to
make more memory available for RUN.

The RUN command options /N or /NK specify the amount of memory FoxPro
makes available for running external programs.  N is a numeric value
that specifies the amount of memory in kilobytes (K) that is made
available to the RUN command.  Do not include the letter N when
specifying how much memory to make available.

Specifying N = 0 uses FoxSwap to its fullest extent.  As much memory as
possible is made available to the RUN command.

If a value greater than 0 is specified for N, FoxPro does the following:

        . Buffers are flushed to disk.

        . If N kilobytes of memory are available to RUN, RUN is invoked.  If N
kilobytes of memory are not available, FoxSwap is invoked.

For example, to make 120 kilobytes of memory available to run an
external text editor called MYEDITOR you could issue the commands:

RUN /120 MYEDITOR
! /120K MYEDITOR

Although you may run larger external programs with FoxSwap, FoxSwap is
slower than the RUN that does not invoke FoxSwap.

        . Determine the amount of memory required to execute RUN <dosprogram
name>.  Do not specify more than needed.  If enough memory is available,
FoxSwap will not be utilized and the RUN command will execute faster.

+---------------------------------+
|         Program Example         |
+---------------------------------+
STORE '10/31/91' TO today

? DATE()

! DATE &today  && Change the system date with the RUN | ! command

? DATE()

-----------------------------------

See Also:  GETENV()

-----------------------------------