How to paste to another app from a shell script

Question

I've been getting very vexed by the following.

Goal: Take the clipboard contents and paste them into another application by using a shell script called by Emacs, followed by a Return. [This is for entering a command in another application.]

Problem: A shell script using automation tools (to simulate typing) which works from a Terminal window acts goofy when called by Emacs, because all paste actions happen only after the Emacs function has completed, so the Return precedes the pasting. [Negating the value of entering the command from Emacs.]

I put steps to illustrate the problem below.

The simplified example uses xdotool, but I had the same problem when using xte. The example pastes into gedit, but the problem exists for other applications as well. Finally, I tried both shell-command and call-process-shell-command and tried all possible settings of select-enable-clipboard and select-enable-primary, all to no avail. If only I could trip the paste before the Return, I would be happy.

FWIW, I've tried such things as shell-scripts calling shell-scripts and emacs functions calling emacs functions, but all I can get is having the paste happen at the very end. I'm clearly very lost.

Any ideas about how to get the paste to happen when it happens in the script?

Thanks,

Bill

Steps to duplicate problem, because the explanation above is likely not sufficient.

Here is hunh.sh---copy, paste, save it, make it executable.

#!/bin/bash
xdotool search --name --onlyvisible "gedit" windowactivate

# select text to replace
xdotool key ctrl+a
# paste in the clipboard
xdotool key ctrl+v
# do stupid stuff before finally hitting Return, so that it's clear
#    that the paste (ctrl-v) gets misplaced
xdotool key space space h u n h
sleep 1
xdotool key BackSpace BackSpace BackSpace BackSpace BackSpace BackSpace
sleep 1
xdotool key Return

Here is in hunh.el. Copy it, paste it, save it as hunh.el, then load it in Emacs

(defun hunh ()
 (interactive)
 (funcall interprogram-cut-function "Fighting with clipboards is no fun")
 (shell-command "hunh.sh")
 )

1. Be sure that you have xdotool.

2. Assuming you have it, open a single window for gedit.

3. Type a bunch of garbage in the gedit window so that it can get replaced later.

4. Run the script hunh.sh from the place you're working: ./hunh.sh

Result: Everything will work fine, with the text being replaced, some extra typing and deleting, and then a Return.

5. Start emacs

6. Within emacs, load hunh.el, then run its one function M-x hunh

Result: The text in gedit will be replaced with the extra typing and deleting, then a Return, and finally the paste of the text.

Answer 1

I'd expect that the problem will disappear if you run the process in the background with (shell-command "hunh.sh&")