C# Signature:
[DllImport("shell32.dll")]
static extern bool ShellExecuteEx(ref SHELLEXECUTEINFO lpExecInfo);
VB.NET Signature:
<DllImport("Shell32", CharSet:=CharSet.Auto, SetLastError:=True)> _
Public Function ShellExecuteEx(ByRef lpExecInfo As SHELLEXECUTEINFO) As Boolean
End Function
User-Defined Types:
(VB.NET)
Public Structure SHELLEXECUTEINFO
Public cbSize As Integer
Public fMask As Integer
Public hwnd As IntPtr
<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public lpVerb As String
<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public lpFile As String
<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public lpParameters As String
<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public lpDirectory As String
Dim nShow As Integer
Dim hInstApp As IntPtr
Dim lpIDList As IntPtr
<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPTStr)> Public lpClass As String
Public hkeyClass As IntPtr
Public dwHotKey As Integer
Public hIcon As IntPtr
Public hProcess As IntPtr
End Structure
Notes:
Check the SW constants at to see what value to pas in the nShow member. Typically you'll pass SW_SHOW.
Tips & Tricks:
(C#)
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
(VB.NET)
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Sample Code:
VB.NET
Demonstrates how to open an HTML file in the browser:
Dim info As SHELLEXECUTEINFO
info.cbSize = System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.SizeOf(info)
info.lpVerb = "open"
info.lpFile = "somefile.html"
info.nShow = SW_SHOW
If Not ShellExecuteEx(info) Then
Dim ex As New System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception(System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetLastWin32Error())
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error")
End If
Alternative Managed API:
The Process class uses ShellExecuteEx by default:
Dim p As New Process
p.StartInfo.FileName = "somefile.html"
p.Start()
