>>I need to execute a couple of exe's from within VFP. I get the exe names with
>>numfiles = ADIR(prgarray, "G:\phone bill\temp\*.exe")
>>fullname = "G:\phone bill\temp" + prgarray(1,1)
>>RUN &fullname
>>
>>I have tried this with and without the &. As the two self extracting exe's have a different name evey month, there is no way to hard code them in
>>
>>fullname holds the correct name, it SHOULD work, but won't.
>>What am I doing wrong?
>
>Your problem (if the name is formatted correctly) is you have a long file name with an embedded space. This will not work as a macro expansion without quotes. Try this:
>
>RUN "&fullname"


How about lcCommand='RUN '+fullname
&lcCommand

Another way - take ShellExecute route. I would recommend to take a look into Ed Rauh class and program.

********************************************************************
*  Description.......: LaunchAppAndWait
*  Calling Samples...: 
*  Parameter List....: 
*  Created by........: Ed Rauh  
*  Modified by.......: 
********************************************************************
FUNCTION LaunchAppAndWait
LPARAMETERS tcCommandLine, tuFromDir, tcWindowMode

*     tcCommandLine               (R) - command line to launch
*     tuFromDir                    (O) - Run from directory (default - CWD)
*     tcWindowMode               (O)     - Start Application Window mode, one of (HIDE, MIN, MAX, NOR)
*                                          (default - default setting of application)

*     Returns:
*     0 = CreateProcess didn't start what was asked
*     1 = Process ran to completion
*     -1= Process started but user aborted wait.  Danger - app is still running AFAIK

#DEFINE cnINFINITE           0xFFFFFFFF
#DEFINE cnHalfASecond     500     && milliseconds
#DEFINE cnTimedOut          0x0102

*     We need some API calls, declare here

*     GetCurrentProcess() returns the pseudohandle of the current process
DECLARE INTEGER GetCurrentProcess IN WIN32API AS GetCurrProc

*     WaitForIdleInput() waits until the target process is idle for input
DECLARE INTEGER WaitForInputIdle IN WIN32API AS WaitInpIdle ;
     INTEGER nProcessHandle, ;
     INTEGER nWaitForDuration

*     WaitForSingleObject() waits until the handle in parm 1 is signalled 
*     or the timeout period expires
DECLARE INTEGER WaitForSingleObject IN WIN32API AS WaitOnAppExit ;
     INTEGER hProcessHandle, ;
     INTEGER dwTimeOut

*     This API call does the work.  The parameters are as follows:
*          lpszModuleName - ptr-> file name of module to execute.  Since we aren't launching .CPLs, do not use
*          lpszCommandLine - ptr-> command to execute, as passed to us
*          lpSecurityAttributesProcess - ptr-> SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES structure for Process.  Pass a null pointer
*          lpSecurityAttributesThread - ptr-> SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES structure for first thread.  Pass a null pointer
*          bInheritHandles - whether or not chlid inherits parent handles.  Since no SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES passed, default to FALSE
*          dwCreateFlags - Process Creation Mode flag set.  We use the default mode at normal priority, ie 0
*          lpvEnvironment     - ptr-> a set of environment strings as if a MULTI_SZ.  We don't set, so pass a null pointer
*          lpszStartupDir - ptr-> the starting directory.  If none provided to us, pass a null pointer
*          lpStartInfo - ptr-> a STARTUPINFO structure.  We use one structure member at times.
*          lpProcessInfo - ptr-> a PROCESS_INFORMATION structure, used to return PID/PHANDLE detail.  
*                              We use one member on return
DECLARE SHORT CreateProcess IN WIN32API AS CrPr ;
     STRING lpszModuleName, ;
     STRING @lpszCommandLine, ;
     STRING lpSecurityAttributesProcess, ;
     STRING lpSecurityAttributesThread, ;
     SHORT bInheritHandles, ;
     INTEGER dwCreateFlags, ;
     STRING lpvEnvironment, ;
     STRING lpszStartupDir, ;
     STRING @lpStartInfo, ;
     STRING @lpProcessInfo

IF TYPE('tcCommandLine') # 'C'

     *     Command line must be a character string
     RETURN 0

ENDIF
IF TYPE('tuFromDir') # 'C'

     *     If not a character string, pass a null pointer, defaulting to Current Working Dir
     tuFromDir = 0

ELSE

     *     Otherwise, null pad the string
     tuFromDir = tuFromDir + CHR(0)

ENDIF
IF TYPE('tcWindowMode') # 'C'

     *     If not passed, set to null string
     tcWindowMode = ''

ELSE

     *     Translate the passed window mode to uppercase
     tcWindowMode = UPPER(tcWindowMode)

ENDIF

LOCAL nStartedProcessHandle, uResult, cProcessInfo, cStartUpInfo

*     Make default Structures for the CreateProcess call
*
*     ProcessInfo - 4 bytes, a Process handle, a Thread Handle, a (DWORD) ProcessId and a (DWORD) ThreadID
*                         we save the Process handle and return it to caller in tnReturnProcessHandle

cProcessInfo = REPL(CHR(0),16)

*     StartUpInfo is a 68 byte long complex structure;  we either have 68 bytes with a cb member (byte 1) 68
*     or with cb of 68, dwFlag low order byte (byte 45) of 1, and low order byte wShowWindow (byte 49) set to
*     the SW_ value appropriate for the Window Mode desired.

DO CASE
CASE tcWindowMode = 'HIDE'

     *     Hide - use STARTF_USESHOWFLAG and value of 0
     cStartUpInfo = CHR(68) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),43) + ;
                         CHR(1) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),23)

CASE tcWindowMode = 'NOR'

     *     Normal - use STARTF_USESHOWFLAG and value of 1
     cStartUpInfo = CHR(68) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),43) + ;
                         CHR(1) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),3) + ;
                         CHR(1) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),19)

CASE tcWindowMode = 'MIN'

     *     Minimize - use STARTF_USESHOWFLAG and value of 2
     cStartUpInfo = CHR(68) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),43) + ;
                         CHR(1) +  ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),3) + ;
                         CHR(2) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),19)

CASE tcWindowMode = 'MAX'

     *     Maximize - use STARTF_USESHOWFLAG and value of 3
     cStartUpInfo = CHR(68) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),43) + ;
                         CHR(1) +  ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),3) + ;
                         CHR(3) + ;
                         REPL(CHR(0),19)

*     Other options exist - see WINBASE.H for values

OTHERWISE

     *     Use default of application
     cStartUpInfo = CHR(68) + REPL(CHR(0),67)

ENDCASE

*     Do it now!
uResult = CrPr(     0, ;
                    tcCommandLine, ;
                    0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ;
                    tuFromDir, ;
                    @cStartUpInfo, ;
                    @cProcessInfo)

IF uResult = 1

     *     CreateProcess() started our app, but we have to wait until it finishes loading

     *     Strip the process handle from the PROCESS_INFORMATION structure

     nStartedProcessHandle = (((ASC(SUBST(cProcessInfo,4,1))*256) + ;
                                        ASC(SUBST(cProcessInfo,3,1)))*256 + ;
                                        ASC(SUBST(cProcessInfo,2,1)))*256 + ;
                                        ASC(LEFT(cProcessInfo,1))

     *     It's been launched;  wait until we're idling along

     =WaitInpIdle(GetCurrProc(),cnINFINITE)

     *     As long as the other process exists, wait for it

     DO WHILE WaitOnAppExit(nStartedProcessHandle, cnHalfASecond) = cnTimedOut

          *     Give us an out in case the other app hangs - lets the user quit via 
          IF INKEY() = 27
               *     Still running but we aren't waiting - return a -1 as a warning
               uResult = -1
               EXIT
          ENDIF

     ENDDO

ELSE

     *     Return 0 to indicate failure
     uResult = 0

ENDIF
RETURN uResult