My application generates Word and Excel files. Sometimes a user may wish to view these files using the Word or Excel. I do this via shellexec() which works fine.

My problem is that Word and Excel can take a long time to load on some users' workstations. I'm looking for ideas on how to inform my users that something is happening while Word or Excel load in the background. Something more professional than a wait window or a messsagebox.

My strawman idea is a small status form that monitors window captions looking for an application to appear before closing. I would like this status form to stay displayed until an application opens the file my app generated. Then I would like this status form to automatically close.

The problem with this approach is how do I know what window caption to look for? I can't depend on looking for a specific application because some users may use Open Office vs. MS Office to open the files my app generates.

Any suggestions?

Malcolm