updated for version 7.3.446

Problem:    Win32: External commands with special characters don't work.
Solution:   Add the 'shellxescape' option.

runtime/doc/options.txt

@@ -6043,8 +6043,9 @@ A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
 
 						*'shellxquote'* *'sxq'*
 'shellxquote' 'sxq'	string	(default: "";
-					for Win32, when 'shell' is cmd.exe or
+					for Win32, when 'shell' is cmd.exe: "("
-					contains "sh" somewhere: "\""
+					for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
+					somewhere: "\""
 					for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
 			global
 			{not in Vi}
@@ -6052,6 +6053,9 @@ A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
 	the "!" and ":!" commands.  Includes the redirection.  See
 	'shellquote' to exclude the redirection.  It's probably not useful
 	to set both options.
+	When the value is '(' then ')' is appended. When the value is '"('
+	then ')"' is appended.
+	When the value is '(' then also see 'shellxescape'.
 	This is an empty string by default on most systems, but is known to be
 	useful for on Win32 version, either for cmd.exe which automatically
 	strips off the first and last quote on a command, or 3rd-party shells
@@ -6061,6 +6065,16 @@ A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
 	This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
 	security reasons.
 
+						*'shellxescape'* *'sxe'*
+'shellxescape' 'sxe'	string	(default: "";
+				 for MS-DOS and MS-Windows: "\"&|<>()@^")
+			global
+			{not in Vi}
+	When 'shellxquote' is set to "(" then the characters listed in this
+	option will be escaped with a '^' character.  This makes it possible
+	to execute most external commands with cmd.exe.
+
+
 			*'shiftround'* *'sr'* *'noshiftround'* *'nosr'*
 'shiftround' 'sr'	boolean	(default off)
 			global

src/misc2.c

@@ -3225,11 +3225,19 @@ call_shell(cmd, opt)
 	    retval = mch_call_shell(cmd, opt);
 	else
 	{
-	    ncmd = alloc((unsigned)(STRLEN(cmd) + STRLEN(p_sxq) * 2 + 1));
+	    char_u *ecmd = cmd;
+
+	    if (*p_sxe != NUL && STRCMP(p_sxq, "(") == 0)
+	    {
+		ecmd = vim_strsave_escaped_ext(cmd, p_sxe, '^', FALSE);
+		if (ecmd == NULL)
+		    ecmd = cmd;
+	    }
+	    ncmd = alloc((unsigned)(STRLEN(ecmd) + STRLEN(p_sxq) * 2 + 1));
 	    if (ncmd != NULL)
 	    {
 		STRCPY(ncmd, p_sxq);
-		STRCAT(ncmd, cmd);
+		STRCAT(ncmd, ecmd);
 		/* When 'shellxquote' is ( append ).
 		 * When 'shellxquote' is "( append )". */
 		STRCAT(ncmd, STRCMP(p_sxq, "(") == 0 ? (char_u *)")"
@@ -3240,6 +3248,8 @@ call_shell(cmd, opt)
 	    }
 	    else
 		retval = -1;
+	    if (ecmd != cmd)
+		vim_free(ecmd);
 	}
 #ifdef FEAT_GUI
 	--hold_gui_events;

src/option.c

@@ -2271,6 +2271,15 @@ static struct vimoption
 			    (char_u *)"\"",
 #else
 			    (char_u *)"",
+#endif
+				(char_u *)0L} SCRIPTID_INIT},
+    {"shellxescape", "sxe", P_STRING|P_VI_DEF|P_SECURE,
+			    (char_u *)&p_sxe, PV_NONE,
+			    {
+#if defined(MSDOS) || defined(WIN16) || defined(WIN3264)
+			    (char_u *)"\"&|<>()@^",
+#else
+			    (char_u *)"",
 #endif
 				(char_u *)0L} SCRIPTID_INIT},
     {"shiftround",  "sr",   P_BOOL|P_VI_DEF|P_VIM,

src/option.h

@@ -712,6 +712,7 @@ EXTERN char_u	*p_sp;		/* 'shellpipe' */
 #endif
 EXTERN char_u	*p_shq;		/* 'shellquote' */
 EXTERN char_u	*p_sxq;		/* 'shellxquote' */
+EXTERN char_u	*p_sxe;		/* 'shellxescape' */
 EXTERN char_u	*p_srr;		/* 'shellredir' */
 #ifdef AMIGA
 EXTERN long	p_st;		/* 'shelltype' */

src/version.c

@@ -714,6 +714,8 @@ static char *(features[]) =
 
 static int included_patches[] =
 {   /* Add new patch number below this line */
+/**/
+    446,
 /**/
     445,
 /**/