GML Functions: Executing Programs

Game Maker also has the possibility to start external programs. There are two functions available for this: execute_program and execute_ shell.

The function execute_program starts a program, possibly with some arguments. It can wait for the program to finish (pausing the game) or continue the game.

The function execute_shell opens a file. This can be any file for which some association is defined, e.g. an html-file, a word file, etc. Or it can be a program. It cannot wait for completion so the game will continue.


 * execute_program(prog,arg,wait) Executes program prog with arguments arg. wait indicates whether to wait for finishing.
 * execute_shell(prog,arg) Executes the program (or file) in the shell.

Both functions will not work if the player sets the secure mode in the preferences. You can check this using the read-only variable:


 * secure_mode* Whether the game is running in secure mode.