>>I hate the "trap error" routine for trying to make a determination such as this. I'd use the registry class and check for the existence of the Word.Application key under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Then again, that's just me.
>
>But checking the registry only check to see if the class is registered. It doesn't ensure that the user didn't decide she likes WordStar better and delete the content of the Word folder.
>
>IOW, the error trapping routine is a catch-all, and checking the registry just checks the best clue...

Don't buy it, Erik. Assuming that you've got an existing file name

DECLARE INTEGER FindExecutable IN Shell32;
  STRING @lpFile, STRING @lpDirectory, STRING @lpResult
* lcfile is the fully qualified file name of the type you're looking for
lcbuffer = SPACE(260)
IF FindExecutable(@lcfile, 0, @lcbuffer) > 32
  lcbuffer = LEFT(lcbuffer, AT(CHR(0), lcbuffer) - 1)
  ? FILE(lcbuffer)
ENDIF

Determines both the associated application and whether or not it exists.