Thread: running an external exe file

  1. #1
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    running an external exe file

    Hi all,

    When my program starts i want it to run notepad so notepad suddenly appears on the screen. I tried

    LoadLibraryEx("c:/windows/notepad.exe", NULL, NULL);

    but no luck. Any ideas.

    For those of you that know VB then im looking for the c++ equivelant of

    Shell("C:/windows/notepad.exe")

    Thanks

  2. #2
    VA National Guard The Brain's Avatar
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    Code:
    #include<cstdlib>
    
    
    system("c:\\windows\\notepad.exe");
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  3. #3
    Registered User mrafcho001's Avatar
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    what if the file is in the same directory as the program but you dont know the exact location?

  4. #4
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    You can sometimes get the directory of the current program from looking at the first entry in argv - though it's more reliable to use functions like the ones provided with the system SDK (in this case - Win32 - and I know it provides a function to find the directory of the current program).

    Since the OS is far more likely to have default directories set up than to actually use "windows" as the system folder, I would just use
    [code]
    system("notepad.exe")
    [code]
    There are plenty of system out there that use "Win95" or "Win98" as the system folder.

    Don't forget to read up on the potential problems that inherently come with the use of system(): http://www.cprogramming.com/tips/sho...ount=30&page=1

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Brain
    Code:
    #include<cstdlib>
    
    
    system("c:\\windows\\notepad.exe");
    system pops up an annoing command line window...

    Check these references
    http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...ateprocess.asp
    http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...ellexecute.asp

    a quick note

    if you use CreateProcess mind this
    CreateProcess("app.exe","app.exe arg1 arg2 ...", ... );
    yes, you must include the exe's name on both parameters.

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