AppleEvent handler failed." number -10000

Question

Level 1

6 points

AppleEvent handler failed." number -10000

I get this error in a script that ran fine under 10.5, now under 10.6 I get the following.

tell application "iCal"
open alias "Unibody:private:tmp:temp_invite.ics"
--> error number -10000
Result:
error "iCal got an error: AppleEvent handler failed." number -10000

That's the part of the script that fails. iCal opening an .ics file. For reference I've posted the .ics file up at http://thefragens.com/pub/temp_invite.ics

Any ideas?

Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Sep 5, 2009 8:58 AM

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Answer 1

Andy Fragen Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 7, 2009 3:31 PM in response to Andy Fragen

I still don't know why this fails under Snow Leopard but the fix is as follows.

set pPath to POSIX path of "Macintosh HD:tmp:temp_invite.ics"
do shell script "open " & pPath

So using a shell script within AppleScript will still open a file. Bizarre.

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Answer 2

red_menace

Level 6

17,066 points

Sep 7, 2009 6:00 PM in response to Andy Fragen

Using your example with either the alias or file keywords works for me. Is there something in the code surrounding the tell statement that could be confusing things?

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Answer 3

Andy Fragen Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 8, 2009 8:50 AM in response to red_menace

I do have to say that when I initially upgraded to 10.6 I dismissed the dialog asking where 'System Events' was.

Here is the entire script.

*set thepath to (path to startup disk as string) & "tmp:temp_invite.ics"*
*tell application "iCal" to open alias thepath*

Here is the result that I consistently get.

Result:
*error "iCal got an error: AppleEvent handler failed." number -10000*

Changing alias to file doesn't help me. I've only gotten it to work by using +do shell script..+

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Answer 4

red_menace

Level 6

17,066 points

Sep 8, 2009 4:21 PM in response to Andy Fragen

If AppleScript didn't/doesn't know where *System Events* is, it may also be having a problem with *Standard Additions*, which is where the path to command is. You should be able to see if there is a problem with that by looking at the contents of your thepath variable to see if the startup disk keyword is getting put in there.

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Answer 5

Andy Fragen Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 8, 2009 4:35 PM in response to red_menace

+path to+ is being done correctly. Where I get the error is having iCal try to open an .ics file. The correct path is being sent to the +tell application "iCal" to open alias thepath+ command.

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Answer 6

JLG89

Level 1

138 points

Sep 9, 2009 7:53 AM in response to Andy Fragen

Same problem here. A script that ran fine under 10.5 fails under 10.6.

The script text is:

set icsfile to (path to desktop folder as text) & "iCalEvent.ics"
tell application "iCal"
activate
open file icsfile
end tell

And it fails with this error:

error "iCal got an error: AppleEvent handler failed." number -10000

Now, if I insert a "return icsfile," it returns the correct Macintosh path, so whatever it is that "knows" how to find the desktop is working properly.

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Answer 7

JLG89

Level 1

138 points

Sep 9, 2009 7:57 AM in response to JLG89

And, just to confirm:

do shell script ("open " & (POSIX path of icsfile))

Works.

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Answer 8

Andy Fragen Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 9, 2009 8:15 AM in response to JLG89

Exactly. But why?

open file icsfile

BTW, +open alias icsfile+ will fail similarly.

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Answer 9

Andy Fragen Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 9, 2009 8:37 AM in response to JLG89

FWIW, here's the code I've inserted in my script to fix this.

tell application "iCal" to activate
try
tell application "iCal" to open alias thepath
on error
--Snow Leopard kludge
set tPath to POSIX path of thepath
do shell script "open " & tPath
end try

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Answer 10

Hiroto

Level 5

7,467 points

Sep 9, 2009 1:47 PM in response to Andy Fragen

Hello

I'd first try -
tell application "iCal" to open (thepath as alias)

in lieu of -
tell application "iCal" to open alias thepath

The 'alias x' and 'x as alias' are technically two things.
Good luck,
H

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Answer 11

Andy Fragen Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 9, 2009 4:13 PM in response to Hiroto

I tried it. It didn't work. Same error.

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