I want to suggest an new argument for the External Tools setup:

$(Para: description)

To give even more flexibility to the external tools command
and allow us to insert the current needed parameters on the fly.

If this argument is present (one time or more often),
the user is prompted by an input() dialog box.

What the user enter to that box is inserted
into the tool argument before executing the tool.
(if the prompt dialog is canceled, nothing is inserted)



Example
Command: .\unix\gawk
Argument: $(Para: Enter an AWK command:) $(SelText) $(Para: awk para?)



On executing this tool the user is prompted:
-----------------------------
Enter an AWK command:
-----------------------------
"{print $2, $1}"
-----------------------------
[OK] [Cancel]
-----------------------------


-----------------------------
awk para?
-----------------------------
/eg
-----------------------------
[OK] [Cancel]
-----------------------------



and the command line is build like
p:\ath\to\EmEditor\unix\gawk "{print $2, $1}" SelText /eg




With this i also reduce the need to set up several
tools as text filter to replace the selection
which only differ in the parameters given.

If the prompt dialog would provide an drop-down history list
would be even more nifty.
This history must not be different for different tools
but could share the history for all tools.



.