Command Line Arguments

Because processing more than one file at a time using command line arguments is inefficient (unless you use the -f command), we recommend that you use the drag and drop capability or the Batch Wizard to process multiple files. When using the drag and drop capability, the files to process can be dropped onto the Drag and Drop Window of a running instance of HTML Validator. Use File Explorer (previously known as Windows Explorer) to select the files to drop, and make sure that HTML Validator is set up to process the dropped files the way that you want (by validating and/or using a tool) using the Drag and Drop Default Tool Select Dialog Box.

•If you are executing cmdlineprocessor.exe from a command prompt, then you must include the path to cmdlineprocessor.exe if the folder that contains cmdlineprocessor.exe is not in the search path, otherwise the system will not be able to find cmdlineprocessor.exe. However, you can type the command in the Start | Run dialog box without a path to the executable (in this case, use htmlval.exe instead of cmdlineprocessor.exe; the system will automatically translate htmlval.exe to the correct executable).

•If you are executing HTML Validator's editor from a command prompt, then you must include the path to chv230.exe if the folder that contains chv230.exe is not in the search path, otherwise the system will not be able to find the editor. However, you can type the command in the Start | Run dialog box without a path to the executable.

•When cmdlineprocessor.exe is run with command line arguments, cmdlineprocessor.exe performs the operation specified by the command line arguments and then immediately exits (unless otherwise noted above for the specific argument).

•Be sure to include the full path to filename if it is not in the current folder.

•Letters following '-' are not case-sensitive. They may be either uppercase or lowercase such as -l or -L.

•When validating a file with cmdlineprocessor.exe, holding down the shift key will cause the page source to be opened in the viewer without validating it. This does not apply when -f is used and only works if the option to enable this functionality is checked in the Validator Engine Options (it is enabled by default).

•Link checking can only be done when using the -bx commands for the Batch Wizard.

•Use (prepend) "cmd /C" to call cmdlineprocessor.exe when you want to wait until it's finished (perhaps in a batch script) before the command returns.

•Do not enclose the executable name and its arguments in the same quoted string when entering the command in a command prompt or in a task scheduler. Quotes are sometimes used in the documentation to delimit the command line and its arguments from the description, and, in this case, are not meant to be used literally.

The -outputfile <filename> option can be used to specify the output file, overriding the default. Use this option only when doing a validation (but not with a Batch Wizard command).

(Pro, Home) The -xi option, where i is a number, can be used to override the default setting for generating XML output files that contain the results of the validation. Use this option only when doing a validation (but not with a Batch Wizard command). For more information, see the XML Output option in the Validator Engine Options. The following -xi options are allowed:

•-x0 - Do not generate an XML output file

•-x1 - Generate an XML output file

NOTE: Do not use -x by itself (without a number) as this command is reserved for a special purpose.

The -veofile <filename> option can be used to specify a validator engine options export file (VEO file) that is loaded before the main command. This allows commands to be performed using different sets of validator options.

NOTE: This option can now be used with -b, -q, or by itself. When used in one of these ways, it causes the validator engine options to be changed for all future validations. It works as if a user opened the editor then went to the Validator Engine Options, imported a VEO file and then saved the options.

The -v0 option can be used to suppress the viewer. Use this option only when doing a validation (but not with a Batch Wizard command).

The preferred way to open a file in the editor is to use cmdlineprocessor.exe with the -o option. Another method would be to call chv230.exe followed by the filename. For example, chv230.exe <filename>.

When cmdlineprocessor.exe exits, it returns one of the following exit codes:

•0 - no errors occurred in the cmdlineprocessor.exe portion of the command; however, it is possible an error occurred later

•1 - a filename was given on the command line but the file does not exist

•2 - miscellaneous error

•3 - a filename is required for the command but none was given

•4 - a timeout occurred waiting for HTML Validator's message window to become available; message could not be sent

The -rx option, where x is a number, can be used to change the exit code so that it is based on the number of errors and warnings found in a document.  This allows you to take different actions based on the results of a validation. Use this option only when doing a validation (but not with a Batch Wizard command). To use this option, make sure that it is used before the main command option. For example, to return the number of errors in test.html, use cmdlineprocessor.exe -r1 test.html or cmdlineprocessor.exe -r1 -v test.html. The following -rx options are allowed:

•-r0 - normal behavior (returns the default/normal exit code)

•-r1 - return the number of validator error messages

•-r2 - return the number of validator error messages plus the number of warning messages

NOTE: If the default exit codes are overridden with -rx and an error occurs, then the negative of the default exit code will be returned. For example, if -r1 or -r2 is used and a bad filename is given, then -1 will be returned.

NOTE: If the exit code would be 259 (STILL_ACTIVE) then the exit code is automatically reduced by 1 to 258. This is to prevent problems with applications that test the exit code for STILL_ACTIVE. This prevents the application from thinking that cmdlineprocessor.exe is still active when it really isn't, and from possibly getting into an infinite loop.