Executing System Commands

Any QNX command may be executed from within the editor by preceding it with an exclamation mark (!).

For example, to list the contents of the current working directory:

!ls

or to edit the file another_file:

!qed  another_file

After executing the QNX command, the editor will pause, waiting for the user to type carriage-return before redisplaying the screen. If you type two exclamation marks (!!) the screen clear and pause will be suppressed allowing you to invoke commands via macros in a hidden manner.

Note that Ctrl–Z is recognized within the editor and will bring up an interactive shell allowing you to execute multiple commands. To return to the editor type a Ctrl–D or issue the shell exit command to terminate the new shell.