Thanks for the help, but I am still not getting what I am looking for. I might be going about it the wrong way. Here is what I am doing.

Dim oMapApp as Object

' Is MapPoint Open or has oMapApp been assigned
If VarType(oMapApp.Visible) = VariantType.Boolean 'Gives me an error
End If

If VarType(oMapApp) = VariantType.Object 'Returns True
' The above statement returns true because I dimmed it as an object, but
' I was hoping it would return false, since I haven't created the object
' yet. In FoxPro I would say - VARTYPE("oMapApp.Visible") = "L" - and
' if MapPoint was not created I was in business. What am I missing in
' VB, because it seems to be the same in VB.NET.
Else
oMapApp = CreateObject("MapPoint.Application")
End If

Thanks again for the help.

Randy Belcher