Opening files using a script...

Question

Every time I use the "open" command in applescript, I get the message "cannot get file." How do I open files with a script?

Answer 1

Your usage of documents folder in this case is incorrect. They are reserved words, but as part of *Standard Additions'* path to command. The Finder is expecting a file path, so try this instead:
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
font-weight: normal;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #000000;
width: 720px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #DAFFB6;
overflow: auto;"
title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor">
tell application "Finder"
open every document file of (path to documents folder) whose name contains searchtext
--where searchtext is text input from the user
end tell
</pre>