>>oShell = CREATEOBJECT('Shell.Application')
>>oShell.Open('Mailto:esmoore@flash.net')
>
>I have two objections to that. First, I've found some original Win95 systems that didn't support the Shell.Application automation object without further add-ons (like installing and version of IE 3 or later).
>


On all the systems I had personally tested on, Shell.Application was registered. I didn't realize until just last night that it wasn't a standard object with all Win32 systems.

>The other is it also seems to launch a browser window, which often comes to the top initially, and doesn't close down by itself.

Yeah, this is why I have only recommended it for launching mail or web sites. This behavior is not consistent across different browsers, though. I am only just recently encountering it, but it comes up often enough that I think I will probably revert to ShellExecute.

>

>DECLARE INTEGER ShellExecute IN SHELL32 ;
>   INTEGER hWnd, ;
>   STRING lpOperation, ;
>   STRING lpFile, ;
>   STRING lpCmdLineParams, ;
>   STRING lpStartingDir, ;
>   INTEGER nShowCmd
>=ShellExecute(0,'OPEN','MAILTO:edrauh@earthlink.net',0,0,0)
>

I have been using df's shellexecute class for this for a long time. It encapsulates this logic nicely. Also allows for different calls (print, etc.).