[Now Supported on Windows NT]
The ShellExecuteEx function performs an action on a file. The file can be an executable file or a document.
WINSHELLAPI BOOL WINAPI ShellExecuteEx(
| LPSHELLEXECUTEINFO lpExecInfo | // pointer to SHELLEXECUTEINFO structure |
| ); |
Parameters
lpExecInfo
Pointer to a SHELLEXECUTEINFO structure that contains and receives information about the application to start.
Return Values
If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError.
Remarks
If the function succeeds, it sets the hInstApp member of the SHELLEXECUTEINFO structure to the instance handle of the application that the function started. If the function fails, hInstApp is one of the SE_ERR_ error values indicating the cause of the failure. (An instance handle will always be greater than 32, and an error value less than 32.) Note that the SE_ERR_ error values are for compatibility with the ShellExecute function; use the GetLastError function to retrieve error information.
Last error values returned by GetLastError correspond to the SE_ERR_ values and may be one of the following:
| Value | Meaning |
| ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND | The specified file was not found. |
| ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND | The specified path was not found. |
| ERROR_DDE_FAIL | The DDE transaction failed. |
| ERROR_NO_ASSOCIATION | There is no application associated with the given filename extension. |
| ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED | |
| ERROR_DLL_NOT_FOUND | |
| ERROR_CANCELLED | The function prompted the user for the location of the application, but the user cancelled the request. |
| ERROR_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY | |
| ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION | A sharing violation occurred. |
See Also