After some research, I've found that using the CreateProcess() API seems to
solve the problem. Unlike ShellExecute(), it doesn't care whether the
application is 32- or 16-bit. The documentation of it notes that Windows 95
and NT have to be treated differently; for my XP application, the latter was
the proper choice.

Thanks to you folks for your interest in my problem.

"tbone" wrote:

Would kicking off a batch file instead do the trick for you?

tbone

On Fri, 1 Jun 2007 16:18:01 -0700, HC Hamaker
wrote:

Upon further research, I believe the underlying cause is that the application
I'm trying to start is 16-bit program, and the Shell function will choke on
that (even though it usually doesn't). The documentation says the workaround
is to use a 32-bit application to call 16-bit application, and use the Shell
function to start the 32-bit application. Does anyone have a suggestion on
how to do that? For example, does anyone know how to call the StartRun... on
the task bar from VBA?