Running headless (without GUI/display)

[MrBLJ]

Hi all,

First, thanks @taviso for your amazing work, it's been of great help.

I'm in a peculiar situation, where I have the regular need of converting xls files to wk1. So far, I'm making use of a script that handles this part like so :

# [...]
# Convert .csv to .wk1 using 123elf
command = f'{tool_path} -e /FIN{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{temp_csv_path}~/fs{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{wk1_output_path}~/qy'
# [...]
# Using subprocess.run to execute the command
subprocess.run(command, shell=True, env=my_env )
# [...]

Short story : I export the xls to csv, then import to 123 using a macro, and finally save to wk1.

This works, when I run the script in the terminal but not if I run it as a service (which is the intended goal). After some experimentation, it looks like it's related to the GUI that's messing things up in the service. I get some weird errors like 123: [69B blob data].

Anyway, looking at 123 -h, there appear to be some kind of way to run this headless :

-n to run without using a video display

However I could not find any information about the autoretrieve file which seems to be needed.

I tried running, just to test : ./123 -n -w /home/me/test.wk1 -e /qy but the terminal screen goes blank and from here I can't do nothing.

▶ Before I start looking at alternate solutions, more complicated, like running the process under 'xvfb' :

1. Do my explanations make sense ?
2. Is there a way to execute 123elf from cli, without GUI ?
3. Should I keep using macros, or is there a better way ?

Thanks for any insight you can provide and again, thanks a lot for your work !

[taviso]

Thanks for the clear report! Yes, your explanation makes sense, and it sounds like this should work... let me look into it!

I think as a temporary workaround maybe something like...

$ screen -dmS lotus env TERM=xterm 123 -w worksheet.wk3 -e '/qy'

If you want to debug any errors, add something like screen -L -Logfile debug.log ....

You can tell when it completes with pidwait -f lotus, or check the return code of screen -list lotus, I guess.

You could probably use tmux too, I'm just not as familiar with it as screen!

[MrBLJ]

$ screen -dmS lotus env TERM=xterm 123 -w worksheet.wk3 -e '/qy'

This is working well, thanks a lot I learned something new today !

In the interest of helping others that might have a similar situation than mine, if you want to convert xls files to lotus, here's my method :

[!NOTE] Commands are called from a python script, hence the specific syntax.

1. Convert xls to csv using libreoffice :

   # Convert .xls to .csv using libreoffice
   subprocess.run([
   'libreoffice',
   '--headless',
   '--convert-to', 
   'csv:Text - txt - csv (StarCalc):44,34,ANSI,1,,0,false,true,true',
   filepath,
   '--outdir', 
   temp_folder
   ])

2. Process the csv to add quotes to every cell, including the empty ones. As example. if the csv file contains a line with :

   data,,,data,,

   It should become :

   "data","","","data","",

3. Use the command suggested by @taviso to convert the file using a macro :

   
   # Convert .csv to .wk1 using 123elf
   command = f'screen -dmS lotus env TERM=xterm {tool_path} -e /FIN{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{temp_csv_path}~/fs{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{wk1_output_path}~/qy'

Using subprocess.run to execute the command

my_env = os.environ.copy() my_env["PATH"] = f"/usr/sbin:/sbin:{my_env['PATH']}" subprocess.run(command, shell=True, env=my_env )

[krackout]

Out of curiosity and if of course you can tell, why is xls needed in your situation to be converted to wk1? Does anybody still prefer to work on 1-2-3 for professional reasons? Personally the last time I met somebody demanding 1-2-3 over Excel was up until 2007! (Probably later also, I left that company on 2007. Due to her position the demand was fullfilled, using the last Windows version of 1-2-3).

On 2024-09-16 10:53 MrBLJ @.***> wrote:

$ screen -dmS lotus env TERM=xterm 123 -w worksheet.wk3 -e '/qy'

This is working well, thanks a lot I learned something new today !

In the interest of helping others that might have a similar situation than mine, if you want to convert xls files to lotus, here's my method :

Note

Commands are called from a python script, hence the specific syntax.

1. Convert xls to csv using libreoffice :

Convert .xls to .csv using libreoffice

subprocess.run([ 'libreoffice', '--headless', '--convert-to', 'csv:Text - txt - csv (StarCalc):44,34,ANSI,1,,0,false,true,true', filepath, '--outdir', temp_folder ])

2. Process the csv to add quotes to every cell, including the empty ones. As example. if the csv file contains a line with :

data,,,data,,

It should become :

"data","","","data","",

4. Use the command suggested by @taviso to convert the file using a macro :

Convert .csv to .wk1 using 123elf

command = f'screen -dmS lotus env TERM=xterm {tool_path} -e /FIN{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{temp_csv_path}~/fs{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{{ESC}}{wk1_output_path}~ /qy'

Using subprocess.run to execute the command

my_env = os.environ.copy() my_env["PATH"] = f"/usr/sbin:/sbin:{my_env['PATH']}" subprocess.run(command, shell=True, env=my_env )

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[MrBLJ]

Does anybody still prefer to work on 1-2-3 for professional reasons ?

I wouldn't say people prefer to use 1-2-3, the reality is that it still sees significant usage in professional environments (even in large companies, working in tech, R&D or industrial).

The main reason is the continued reliance on legacy hardware—not just old computers, but also the machines they control. These are often worth anywhere between $50 to $100k, are not upgraded but repaired over time (kind of a "Ship of Theseus" scenario). As long as they remain functional, companies will continue to use them.

As a result, even in 2024, some systems are still running WFW3.11, with data transferred via floppy disks. I'm working to improve this situation, but I have limited time and knowledge.