I have a script that creates a file with a registered file type extension. When it is completed, I want to automagically run an application to open and display it.

I can use exec() as the last command of my script, and it works, except that the script waits for the app to close, just like system().

I'm not calling a program to open the doc, instead, I'm calling directly the created file, and expect Windows to chose for the proper or default app for that extension (just like a double click over the file in explorer).

Is there a workaround to this problem other than to call the application with my doc as a parameter using a list? My file is pure HTML, and I don't want to force the use of IE.

BTW, if I run a second instance of my script while the first one is waiting for IE to exit, it exits as expected just after the doc is displayed on a second tab, even if I use system()!!! (i.e. it does not wait... Argh!)

#!perl -w
use strict;
warn "Calling a son...\n";
# Choose one:
exec("son.html");
#system("son.html");
#exec("son.txt");
# The following does not wait:
#exec("notepad.exe son.txt");
#exec("notepad.exe","son.html");
exit 0;
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<h1>JAPH</h1>
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JAPH
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