Thanks David.
My description maybe misleading.
Firstly, I am displaying 70 mb NEF files that Access cannot handle, so have to use external software.
I need to be able to display the images in the default viewer on various computers, so have to be able to determine the default for each machine.
I use Honeyview as the default but others will use various other viewers and the shell needs to be told what the viewer in use is.
Ideally I need a method of reading the default and passing that to the shell programmatically.
John
Thanks David.
My description maybe misleading.
Firstly, I am displaying 70 mb NEF files that Access cannot handle, so have to use external software.
I need to be able to display the images in the default viewer on various computers, so have to be able to determine the default for each machine.
I use Honeyview as the default but others will use various other viewers and the shell needs to be told what the viewer in use is.
Ideally I need a method of reading the default and passing that to the shell programmatically.
John
In the interest of covering more bases, I wonder if you could not specify a particular image viewer for your users. Perhaps you could even install one as part of your deployment process.
Otherwise, it seems like a cat-and-mouse search for potential viewer software on each user's computer.
Maybe the number of possible viewers is small enough that you can create a search list based on that list, and inspect each user's hard drive for them. But even then, I wonder if the default selected by any given user would be easily determined if there is more than one potential candidate available.
In short, like a lot of deployment decisions, it might serve your needs, and the needs of the majority of your users, to take control of the choice and simplify the process by limiting the choices to one you can manage.
We have diferent viewers for 3D cad drawings installed on different machines, based on the licence of application.
This is how we close the viewers.
Find the name of default program associated application to the extension, in registry
close the application.
This finds the default application associated with any extension:
SQL:
Function GetDefaultViewerExe(ext As String) As String
Dim wsh As Object
Dim progID As String
Dim cmdKey As String
Dim openCmd As String
Dim shellApp As Object
Set wsh = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
On Error GoTo ErrHandler
progID = wsh.RegRead("HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\" & ext & "\")
If progID = "" Then Exit Function
cmdKey = "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\" & progID & "\shell\open\command\"
openCmd = wsh.RegRead(cmdKey)
' Extract the EXE name from the command'
openCmd = Trim(openCmd)
If Left(openCmd, 1) = Chr(34) Then
openCmd = Mid(openCmd, 2)
openCmd = Left(openCmd, InStr(openCmd, Chr(34)) - 1)
Else
openCmd = Left(openCmd, InStr(openCmd, " ") - 1)
End If
GetDefaultViewerExe = Mid(openCmd, InStrRev(openCmd, "\") + 1)
Exit Function
ErrHandler:
GetDefaultViewerExe = ""
End Function
Now that we have the application name, we can close it.
SQL:
Sub CloseViewer()
Dim sViewer As String
Dim Exe As Object
sViewer = GetDefaultViewerExe(".slddrw")
For Each Exe In GetObject("winmgmts:").ExecQuery("Select Name from Win32_Process Where Name = '" & sViewer & "'")
Exe.Terminate
Next
End Sub
Change the .slddrw to the extension of your files.
Becaues we have to do it frequently, we read the viewer name at login and set a tempvar. This way there's no need to repeat reading registry.
Good approach in theory.
In practice there might be a problem....
The default picture viewer, as defined in the Windows Registry, will often be: %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen %1
However, the actual running process with be "Photos.exe".
I would rather use ShellExecuteEx to invoke the verb ("open") and then use process id of the created process to close the application later. - That's probably the same as @cheekybuddha suggested.
Good approach in theory.
In practice there might be a problem....
The default picture viewer, as defined in the Windows Registry, will often be: %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen %1
However, the actual running process with be "Photos.exe".
I would rather use ShellExecuteEx to invoke the verb ("open") and then use process id of the created process to close the application later. - That's probably the same as @cheekybuddha suggested.
Since we use it for CAD files, we hadn't any problem so far. But in some cases as you explain, it may cause problems.
How about This method :
Read the list of running processes
Open your file
Find the new process and keep it in a public variable or a tempvar
Terminate the process when necessary
SQL:
Function GetProcessList() As Collection
Dim col As New Collection
Dim proc As Object
For Each proc In GetObject("winmgmts:").ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_Process")
col.Add proc.Name
Next
Set GetProcessList = col
End Function
Function FindNewProcess(before As Collection, after As Collection) As String
Dim item As Variant, found As Boolean
For Each item In after
found = False
Dim b As Variant
For Each b In before
If item = b Then
found = True
Exit For
End If
Next
If Not found Then
FindNewProcess = item
Exit Function
End If
Next
End Function
Usage:
SQL:
Sub test()
Dim beforeList As Collection, afterList As Collection
Dim oShell As Object
Dim newProc As String
Set oShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set beforeList = GetProcessList()
oShell.NameSpace(0).ParseName("D:\1.jpg").InvokeVerb "Open"
Application.Wait Now + TimeValue("0:00:01")
Set afterList = GetProcessList()
newProc = FindNewProcess(beforeList, afterList)
MsgBox "Likely viewer: " & newProc
TerminateProcessByName newProc
End Sub
I'll wait to see how @cheekybuddha solves the puzzle.
Sub TerminateProcessByName(procName As String)
Dim objWMIService As Object
Dim colProcessList As Object
Dim objProcess As Object
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\cimv2")
Set colProcessList = objWMIService.ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name = '" & procName & "'")
For Each objProcess In colProcessList
objProcess.Terminate
Next
End Sub
Now that I think about the process method (second method), I can see three problems.
This method fails if while the file is opening, another application, manually or from another script is launched.
If you have an unsaved file, the first method, (exe.terminate) asks if you want to save the file, but using process.terminate doesn't ask to save the file.
Our IT guy says working with running processes is less reliable on systems with a lot of background activity.
So it's safer to use the first method, if possibel.
Some of the computers are on a uni network so should be using the same viewer and I can control that to a certain degree.
It's the couple of private machines that are of concern.
I will try the suggestions put forward and see how that works, otherwise I might have to limit this particular function to machines controlled by the uni.
Thanks.
John
Good morning David and thank you.
In the load event, "sViewer = Photos.exe" .
This is passed to a shell object and opens whatever the default viewer happens to be.
I've tried this with a couple of different viewers and it opens whatever I set in settings as the default.
The path, obviously, varies with each image but is along the lines of
"H:\Images\All RAW Images\Herbarium_Collection\Group_M\Myrtaceae-myrt-14\DMHN000135.1A.NEF"
where "H" is a mapped drive.
The initialising routines determine the actual drive letter so it could vary from "H".
I have tried to get a return value from shell() but it seems to only return an indication of success.
Unfortunately, using "Photos.exe" in the closing statement does not work.
In some cases it minimises the window, in others it does nothing.
When I tried this code on a uni computer, "Photos.exe" opened, and closed, the inbuilt windows viewer.
I have tried this
Code:
pHandle = Shell(sPath, vbNormalFocus)
but it failed to open the viewer.
I should also mention "oShell" in the open sub.
I am using Daniel Pinault's system Vis.
Code:
Public Function oShell() As Object
If pShell Is Nothing Then
Set pShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
End If
Set oShell = pShell
End Function
This "might" be inhibiting a return value.
My knowledge of vba could best be described as basic, My knowledge of the windows system is minimal.
John
What might it be if it's not Photos.exe? (ie how do you determine other default programs used?)
You can add these functions to a module:
Code:
Function OpenNEF(PathToNEFfile As String) As Long
' TODO: add error handling
Const EXE_FILE As String = "Photos.exe"
Const DQ As String = """"
OpenNEF = Shell(EXE_FILE & " " & DQ & PathToNEFfile & DQ)
End Function
Function KillProcByPID(lPid As Long) As Boolean
Const WINMGMTS_PATH As String = "winmgmts:\\"
Const WINMGMTS_ROOT As String = "\root\cimv2"
Const SELECT_PROC As String = "Select * from Win32_Process Where "
Const SELECT_PROC_ID As String = SELECT_PROC & "ProcessID = "
Dim colProcList As Object, objProc As Object, strComputer As String
strComputer = "."
With GetObject(WINMGMTS_PATH & strComputer & WINMGMTS_ROOT)
Set colProcList = .ExecQuery(SELECT_PROC_ID & lPid)
For Each objProc In colProcList
objProc.Terminate
Next
End With
Set objProc = Nothing
Set colProcList = Nothing
KillProcByPID = Err = 0
End Function
Then, in you code, add a module level variable at the top in the declarations to hold the PID:
Code:
Option Explicit
Option Compare Database
' Module level variable to hold PID
Private m_PID As Long
Then you code can look like:
Code:
' ...
m_PID = OpenNEF(sPath)
' ...
And when you need to close the viewer:
Code:
' ...
' Ensure the user has saved their work first - it may be lost when just terminating a program!
Call KillProcByPID(m_PID)
' ...
@cheekybuddha Which version of Windows are you using?
I think it's the core problem here. Different PCs may run on different versions of Windows.
In Windows 11, the Photos app is a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) app and does not have a traditional .exe file like classic Win32 applications. Instead, it's part of the Microsoft Store app infrastructure.
The actual executable is inside a versioned folder, and its real name is: Microsoft.Photos.exe
The actual full path to Microsoft.Photos.exe is : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_<version>\Microsoft.Photos.exe
Even if you get the full path with some code, you still can't run it directly because WindowApps is protected by system permissions and they don't launch like normal exe files.
ms-photos: "D:\images\008.jpg"
Above, opens 008.jpg without error from Run command, but in vba I receive a "file can not be found" error, when I use your code as following:
There is a registry key in the Current User tree where you can get the name of the app that opens a certain file extension. Whatever is in the "a" key returns it. With that you could scan the processes running or their command line argument and if there is a match, you could then explore their instances in theory or kill everything like arnel saysa
then remove the dllhost.exe from the list.
the OP is opening the images using Default photo viewer of windows.
firstly, investigate (using TaskManager) which program is being used to open.
then include it in the list to kill.
The actual full path to Microsoft.Photos.exe is : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_<version>\Microsoft.Photos.exe
Even if you get the full path with some code, you still can't run it directly because WindowApps is protected by system permissions and they don't launch like normal exe files.
