>OK, we're almost there. It works if the file exists.
>
>1. In VFP 9, it seems that I could just use the _shellexecute foundation class.
>2. I do I create an empty WORD (or Excel, or ....) if the file does not exist, since I get a error if I try to open it if it doesn't exist.
>
>i.e.
>
>

>if !file(myFile)
>    Run code that creates it, using the correct version of WORD (or Excel, or ....), 
>    based on the provided extension (DOC or DOCX, XLSX etc)
>endif
>
>Open myFile with shellexecute
>

So, what is your question now?