Electrum custom data folder error (Mac OS)

[worth]

Hi. I was trying to set up Electrum on a Mac to use a custom data folder so that I could use an encrypted disk image for storing my wallet/multiple future wallets. 

If I run the application from the command line with the -w option I can get the program to run without problems using the custom folder.  However, I'd like to be able to have a Dock icon rather than have to use the command line.

With every other currency I'm using with a standard  -Qt wallet (including the official Bitcoin wallet) I have no problems using Automator to create an application that runs a shell script opening the wallet from a custom location, which lets me add the icon to my Dock. 

This doesn't work with Electrum for some reason and I get an error that says "The action 'Run Shell Script' encountered an error.  Check the action's properties and try running the workflow again."

I also tried using a .conf file to see if I could specify the datadir path there, but if I run Electrum from the GUI or the command line it crashes with an error "ConfigParser.MissingSectionHeaderError: File contains no section headers."  which makes me think I'm not formatting the .conf file correctly, but I'm not sure.

If anyone has run into this before and have any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.  Thanks.

[Smileyftw]

it's better to run the program from the command line

[worth]

it's better to run the program from the command line

Better is subjective. It's much less convenient, and it pretty much eliminates the possibility of getting it set up this way for friends and family who are not very tech-savvy.   

There must be a reason the Automator trick doesn't work -- I've set it up in a matter of seconds for about a dozen other wallets.