Using an external program.

Hi all! I am trying to interact with a simple exe program. I manage to get the program started, but I need to send some commands to it as well. My script looks like this: <?php $var = exec('fax.exe'); $var = shell_exec('cmd S'); $var = shell_exec('cmd fax_test.txt'); $var = shell_exec('cmd 67590000'); ?> And do I need to run the exec() function everytime I would like the program to do some work for me? Is there a way to access the program later somehow, without opening a "new" program? Thankfull for all help and hints! : ) Best regards Raymond Lilleødegård