Using excel to activate another application

[Cephus]

I am using Excel to analyze data generated from a linear encoder and a pressure transducer(plotting pressure verses distance).I am using a shell execute command to open the proper motion profile file(Compumotor) and data aqusition file(Dasylab). Does anyone know a way Excel can actually start the data aquistion and motion profile. Now I have to manually activate the two. Thanks for the help.

 

[SteelDesignerSV]

just some ideas. IF you can use the create object to expose the other applications object models then send them commands. and maybe an API spy to get the handels of the applications forms and controls then use the send message api to send commandes to the forms. These may or may not be possible depending on the apps you ar trying to start

 

[Bize]

Use the Shell command to get the program going, then the SendKeys command to send the same keys you would press if you were running it yourself from your keyboard. It is kind of tricky if you need to send more than one set of keys. Unless you do something tricky, the VBA program will send keys to the other program when it damned well wants to. (Using the Pause command doesn't work well because the timing of VBA programs is not consistent.)

 

[Cephus]

Thanks for the reply, but I licked this one a couple of days after I posted. I used a shell execute command to launch the DAQ. I set the preferences of the DAQ file to begin collection of data at startup, and i used a message box to pause the execution of the code until the DAQ was running.