shelling a file

By the way, You can use the following code to see if program you started is running, Put it in a module:

Global ProgHandle As Long

Declare Function GetExitCodeProcess Lib "kernel32" _
    (ByVal hProcess As Long, lpExitCode As Long) As Long

Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "kernel32" _
    (ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, _
    ByVal dwProcessId As Long) As Long

Declare Function CloseHandle Lib "kernel32" _
    (ByVal hObject As Long) As Long

Declare Function SysSetFocus Lib "user32" Alias "SetFocus" _
    (ByVal hwnd As Long) As Long
Function IsActive(hprog) As Long
    Dim hProc, RetVal As Long
    hProc = OpenProcess(0, False, hprog)
    If hProc <> 0 Then GetExitCodeProcess hProc, RetVal
    IsActive = (RetVal = 259)
    CloseHandle hProc
End Function

------------------------------------------------------------

When you shell the program, do it like this, (remember ProgHandle is a global definition):

ProgHandle = Shell("notepad.exe", vbNormalFocus)

You can then make the following call to see if the shelled process is still running:

    If IsActive(ProgHandle) Then
        'THE SHELLED PROGRAM IS ACTIVE
        'DO WHATEVER YOUR GOING TO DO
    Else
        'THE SHELLED PROGRAM IS NOT ACTIVE
        'DO WHATEVER YOUR GOING TO DO
    End If


The "If Active" can be put in a loop, so that you poll the shelled program to see if it has terminated instead of freezing your app completely until the shell terminates.

You can do it like this:

---------------------------------------
   Do
      If IsActive(ProgHandle) Then
         DoEvents
      Else
         MsgBox "Execution completed"
         Exit Do
      End If
   Loop
'---------------------------------------

Remember, if you do it this way instead of the 1st answer I gave, you program events will still fire... So it would be a good idea to disable the button or menu item you use to get into this code before you start the DO...Loop.

You can then enable it again when the loop is complete.  That way you don't get multiple instanciations of the shell.


Cheers!

thanks

Thanks for the points! Glad I could help!


Cheers!