VBA 64 bit Excel, difficulty opening a file

**londonwelsh** · 08-30-2014, 10:46 AM

I'm a beginner with VBA so please be gentle, and thanks to all the great contributors here that have helped me so far.

I have a file called Output.glb

If I click on the file in explorer it opens with it's default application without problem.

Using the shell command I can only open the default application. (exe)

A lot of reading suggests that this may be a 64 bit issue.

Assuming that I can click the icon for the file in windows and it opens correctly in the default application - I must be able to do the same within VBA surely..

I've tried - Shell "C:\theprogram.exe C:\thefile.glb", 1 but it only opens the theprogram.exe

I've spent the day trying all sorts of code snippets found online (some quite complex) and it just refuses to work.. I believe its a 64 bit issue..

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

**fredlo2010** · 08-30-2014, 12:16 PM

The name of the program and a sample might be useful

**londonwelsh** · 08-30-2014, 12:19 PM

The software is specialist unlikely anyone would have heard of it, but I have answered my own question..

I put this up the top in the declarations

#If VBA7 Then
Private Declare PtrSafe Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" _
(ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long
#Else
Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" _
(ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long
#End If

and put this in my sub

doc = "L:\A-LBA TOOL PROTOTYPE\OUTPUT1.GLB"
ShellExecute 0&, vbNullString, doc, _
vbNullString, vbNullString, vbNormalFocus

and it works, don't ask me how, I am bluffing my way through this project

**londonwelsh** · 08-30-2014, 12:51 PM

OK Ive not quite cracked it yet...

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While the program does open with the file I want, the subroutine will not continue untill I have closed the program.

As a sanity check I put in the MSgbox

Once the program has opened I need to use the sendkeys command, but the msgbox does not appear unless I close the program.

Any ideas?