After some more testing, I think it’s the hot key you’re using. My guess is that if you hold down the control key when launching an applet, you get that dialog.
Put a pause in before calling the applet, to give you time to release the hot key, and see if I’m not right.
You are absolutely right! I guess this control key behavior is unique to applets since I have never seen this with any of my other macros (many of which use the control key). Just out of curiosity, is this behavior of applets documented anywhere? Thanks.
Carl
LOL. No idea. You're asking the wrong person! 
Hey Dan,
Testing is the best medicine, because you can see for yourself.
In general AppleScript will ask you for the location of an app it can't find.
In the case of apps with the same and and/or same Bundle-ID you can get unexpected results.
Naming conventions of AppleScript applets?
Aside from the .app file extension you can go-to-town.
-Chris
Hey Carl,
This is a consequence of using the Control key as part of your keyboard shortcut.
Holding down Control forces the applet to open and present a dialog.
-Chris
Yes Chris, as I said above, I now realize that the control key forces the applet to open the dialog, but I’m just curious as to where this behavior is documented?
Carl
Hey Carl,
Not particularly well by Apple.
You can find out a lot by searching the Net.
Or you can buy one of the many AppleScript reference books.
-Chris
Here's one I haven't found an answer to: I've got duplicate entries in Notification Preferences for the applets I'm working on, and I can't find a way to get rid of them. I know why they're there (I think), but nothing I try makes them go away.
I even tried looking in the Sqlite database that supposedly stores the Notification Preferences data. It does appear to store data that looks like you'd think it would, except it doesn't have my applets in it at all - neither the duplicates or the correct ones!
I even used EasyFind to search for files named like my applets, and although I found some stuff I could delete, none of it helped.
Ideas?
Hey Dan,
Well, that's pesky...
Try rebuilding launch-services.
-Chris
Thought that was going to do it, because when I opened up Notification Preferences, it took a few seconds, like it was rebuilding the list.
Dang. Any other ideas?
Hey Dan,
The only two promising hits I found on a Google search:
-Chris
Thanks. Tried them. No joy.