Windows: How to open apps from specific path and switch between apps only knowing the process ids

as already mentioned in our private conversation:

--- App.open()
cannot be used in your case, since it does not allow, to specify a start directory

--- os.popen()
can be used in combination with Window's start command, to start your app from one of your configuration directories, but it does not return an App instance, that can be used later

--- window title for app switching
If your different app instances do not have different window titles, you will not be able, to switch between these apps using Sikuli's switchApp() or App.focus().
If they have different window titles, use switchApp().

--- other possibilities
if the app window content makes them distinguishable, you might look for this and use alt-tab to switch the apps. Or you might use clicking the task bar to switch between the app instances, since they should stay there in the order they where started.

All instances of application have same title. That’s why I am trying to create instance. I was looking at getting process id from windows os. Is there any method in python to get process id of app?

Thanks & Regards,
Vinay Kulkarni
Ishnatek Systems & Services Pvt. Ltd.
Contact : +91 8956345939

-----Original Message-----
From: <email address hidden> [mailto:<email address hidden>] On Behalf Of RaiMan
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 3:01 PM
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: [Question #179709]: How to open any application from user defined path

Your question #179709 on Sikuli changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/sikuli/+question/179709

    Status: Open => Answered

RaiMan proposed the following answer:
as already mentioned in our private conversation:

--- App.open()
cannot be used in your case, since it does not allow, to specify a start directory

--- os.popen()
can be used in combination with Window's start command, to start your app from one of your configuration directories, but it does not return an App instance, that can be used later

--- window title for app switching
If your different app instances do not have different window titles, you will not be able, to switch between these apps using Sikuli's switchApp() or App.focus().
If they have different window titles, use switchApp().

--- other possibilities
if the app window content makes them distinguishable, you might look for this and use alt-tab to switch the apps. Or you might use clicking the task bar to switch between the app instances, since they should stay there in the order they where started.

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know that it is solved:
https://answers.launchpad.net/sikuli/+question/179709/+confirm?answer_id=0

If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
following page to enter your feedback:
https://answers.launchpad.net/sikuli/+question/179709

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This works on my Win7:

Needed to run successfully:
a folder c:\Tests containing 4 files test1.txt, test2.txt, test3.txt, test4.txt

What it does:
for ear of the above files a Notepad process is started and the process ids are stored in the sequence as the processes where started.
In the end pids contains the process ids in this order.
the last loop is to demonstrate, that the pids are in correct sequence

Hope it helps, to get a little bit further.

import os
s = Env.getOSUtil()
for i in range(4):
    os.popen(r'start /D "c:\Tests" notepad test'+str(i+1)+".txt")
    cmd = r'tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq notepad.exe" /FO csv /NH'
    ps = os.popen(cmd).readlines()
    pids = []
    for p in ps:
        #print p
        pid = int(eval("("+p+")")[1])
        print "ProcessID:", pid
        if not pid in pids:
            pids.append(pid)
for p in pids:
    s.switchApp(p, 0)
    s.getWindow(p).highlight(2)