In 4D 2004, the command LAUNCH EXTERNAL PROCESS was introduced. This command allows applications to be executed in a separate process.

On Windows, a black console window would appear when executing a console-based application with the command. In 2004.1, the command SET ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE has been updated to allow the console window to be hidden from view.

To hide a console window you could execute the following code:

SET ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE("_4D_OPTION_HIDE_CONSOLE";"True")
LAUNCH EXTERNAL PROCESS("dir.exe";$input;$output)

Now the console window is suppressed and hidden from view. To have it appear again, simply run LAUNCH EXTERNAL PROCESS without SET ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE or set the parameter to "False."