>To add, the default Safety option for VFP DDE sessions in .T. This means that when you try to initiate a DDE conversation with an application that won't respond, VFP asks the user if she would like to open it. After selecting yes, VFP makes a lame effort at trying to open it, and it usually fails. To turn this behavior off, use
>
>DDESetOption("Safety", .F.)
>
Thanks, Erik, I'd overlooked that.

Just to add to what you said, if the application isn't running and if the "Safety" option is set to .F. the return result would also be -1 even if the application is present on the computer.