VB .NET Language in a Nutshell

Name

Shell Function

Class

Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction

Syntax

Shell(pathname[,style][, Wait][, Timeout] )

pathname

Use: Required

Data Type: String

Name of the program to execute

style

Use: Optional

Data Type: AppWinStyle enumeration

The style of window and whether it receives the focus; see Section .

Wait

Use: Optional

Data Type: Boolean

Boolean indicating whether to wait for the pathname application to finish execution before continuing execution of subsequent code

Timeout

Use: Optional

Data Type: Integer

If Wait is True, number of milliseconds to wait for the pathname application to terminate before the Shell function times out

Return Value

An Integer representing the Process ID, or 0

Description

Launches another application and, if successful, returns that application’s task ID

Rules at a Glance

• pathname can include a drive letter. If a drive letter is not included in pathname, the current drive is assumed.

• pathname can include a folder name. You can use either a fully qualified path (i.e., starting from the root directory) or a relative path (i.e., starting from the current directory). If the folder name is not included in pathname, the current folder is assumed.

• pathname can include any command-line arguments and switches required by the application. For example:

  Shell("notepad.exe c:\data.txt", AppWinStyle.NormalFocus)

  launches Notepad, which loads the file data.txt.

• Visual Basic includes the following intrinsic constants for setting the style argument:

  AppWinStyle.Hide

  Value: ...