Lauch default editor (like 'webbrowser' module)

Question

Is there a simple way to lauch the systems default editor from a Python command-line tool, like the webbrowser module?

Which filetype? For .txt and .py, opening with default application is good enough. For other filetypes, you might not get an editor. — u0b34a0f6ae, Sep 18 '09 at 11:34
In my case I need to edit .xml and normal text (like commit messag in svn). — pkit, Sep 18 '09 at 15:43

score 17 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 05 '13 at 05:20

17

Under windows you can simply "execute" the file and the default action will be taken:

os.system('c:/tmp/sample.txt')

For this example a default editor will spawn. Under UNIX there is an environment variable called EDITOR, so you need to use something like:

os.system('%s %s' % (os.getenv('EDITOR'), filename))

edited Apr 05 '13 at 05:20

Weston Ruter

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answered Sep 18 '09 at 08:01

user175390

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Mac users don't get any love? – Mazyod Mar 02 '14 at 17:24
And what if `EDITOR` is unset? – exhuma Jul 14 '15 at 06:38
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@exhuma if $EDITOR isn't set then you don't have *user-set* default to work with. On OS X you can `subprocess.call(["open, ""])` to use the default application, just like if you used the GUI. On linux you can `subprocess.call(["xdg-open", ""])` like @u0b34a0f6ae suggested. `suprocess` is used here instead of `system` since `subprocess` is intended to replace `system`. It's more secure and provides methods like `Popen` that provide greater flexibility. – conner.xyz Aug 27 '15 at 22:27
What if it's not a .txt file? What if you want to edit a .html file using default editor? – niCk cAMel May 05 '17 at 11:56

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 18 '09 at 09:38

4

The modern Linux way to open a file is using xdg-open; however it does not guarantee that a text editor will open the file. Using $EDITOR is appropriate if your program is command-line oriented (and your users).

answered Sep 18 '09 at 09:38

u0b34a0f6ae

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score 3 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

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If you need to open a file for editing, you could be interested in this question.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

Community

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answered Sep 18 '09 at 06:41

Joril

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(This caveat also applies to my answer) If viewer and editor are separate, this opens the viewer in 9/10 cases. Call it on a HTML file and the web browser will open it for *viewing*. – u0b34a0f6ae Sep 18 '09 at 11:32
You're right, of course :) Maybe the OP will clarify which filetype she needs to handle.. – Joril Sep 18 '09 at 13:04

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Feb 07 '19 at 03:12

You can actually use the webbrowser module to do this. All the answers given so far for both this and the linked question are just the same things the webbrowser module does behind the hood.

The ONLY difference is if they have $EDITOR set, which is rare. So perhaps a better flow would be:

editor = os.getenv('EDITOR')
if editor:
    os.system(editor + ' ' + filename)
else:
    webbrowser.open(filename)

OK, now that I’ve told you that, I should let you know that the webbrowser module does state that it does not support this case.

Note that on some platforms, trying to open a filename using this function, may work and start the operating system's associated program. However, this is neither supported nor portable.

So if it doesn't work, don’t submit a bug report. But for most uses, it should work.

Lauch default editor (like 'webbrowser' module)

4 Answers4

Linked