diff --git a/core/src/processing/core/PApplet.java b/core/src/processing/core/PApplet.java
index f6300f9bf..6607c1b10 100644
--- a/core/src/processing/core/PApplet.java
+++ b/core/src/processing/core/PApplet.java
@@ -3492,7 +3492,7 @@ public class PApplet implements PConstants {
     try {
       return Runtime.getRuntime().exec(args);
     } catch (Exception e) {
-      throw new RuntimeException("Could not open " + join(args, ' '), e);
+      throw new RuntimeException("Exception while attempting " + join(args, ' '), e);
     }
   }