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Open any Program from Excel

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This free excel macro allows you to open any program on your computer from excel. You can open a media player, file viewer, image editor, internet browser, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, or any other program on your computer. This is a really useful macro to, in essence, combine excel's functionality with that of another program. The vba code below can be used on its own or integrated into an existing macro in order to open some other program on your computer.

This macro uses a Shell Command to open a program.

Note: To use this macro to open a program on your computer, you must enter the full file path to the program's executable file. So, you need to enter the file path from the harddrive through all the folders up to the file. Also, each executable file will end in a ".exe" file format; don't forget to include that extension in the macro as well.

To change the file path and extension to point to the location of your program's executable file, simply change this line of code within the excel macro Shell ("C:\TEST\TEST.exe"). Change the file path which is between the quotation marks to whatever your file path is.

Where to install the macro: Module

Open any Program from Excel


					
					Sub Open_Program()


					  'Change the File Path below to point to any program

					  'on your computer.  Don't forget to include the file extension


					  Shell ("C:\TEST\TEST.exe")


			        End Sub

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How to Install the Macro

Select and copy the text from within the grey box above.

Open the Microsoft Excel file in which you would like the Macro to function.

Press "Alt + F11" - This will open the Visual Basic Editor - Works for all Excel Versions. Or For other ways to get there, Click Here.

On the new window that opens up, go to the left side where the vertical pane is located. Locate your Excel file; it will be called VBAProject (YOUR FILE'S NAME HERE) and click this.

If the Macro goes in a Module, Click Here, otherwise continue to Step 8.
1. Go to the menu at the top of the window and click Insert > Module
2. Another window should have opened within the Visual Basic Editor's window. Within this new window, paste the macro code. Make sure to paste the code underneath the last line of anything else that is in the window.
3. Go to Step 8.

If the Macro goes in the Workbook or ThisWorkbook, Click Here, otherwise continue to Step 8.
1. Directly underneath your excel file called VBAProject(your file's name here), click the Microsoft Excel Objects folder icon to open that drop-down list.
2. Then, at the bottom of the list that appears, double-click the ThisWorkbook text.
3. A new window inside the Visual Basic Editor's window will appear. In this new window, paste the code for the macro. Make sure to paste this code underneath the last line of any other code which is already in the window.
4. Go to Step 8.

If the Macro goes in the Worksheet Code, Click Here, otherwise continue to Step 8.
1. Directly underneath your excel file called VBAProject(your file's name here), click the Microsoft Excel Objects folder icon to open that drop-down list.
2. Within the list that appears you will see every worksheet that is in that excel file. They will be listed as such: Sheet1(NAME OF SHEET HERE) and under that will be Sheet2(NAME OF SHEET HERE). Select the sheet in which you want the macro to run and double-click that sheet.
3. A new window inside the Visual Basic Editor's window will appear. In this new window, paste the code for the macro. Make sure to paste this code underneath the last line of any other code which is already in the window.
4. Repeat steps b and c for every sheet you want the macro to work in. Putting the macro in one sheet will not enable it for any other sheets in the workbook.
5. Go to Step 8.

Close the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor window and save the Excel file. When you close the Visual Basic Editor window, the regular Excel window will not close.

You are now ready to run the macro.

Tutorial Details

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