Mike,
there's a setting in CreateProcess that will make it invisible. Try something like this:

process_info = REPLICATE(CHR(0), 16)
START = this.long2str(68) + REPLICATE(CHR(0), 40)+this.long2str(1)     
         +this.long2str(0)+REPLICATE(CHR(0), 16)
* execute the batch file
File2Run = THIS.cAppStartPath+[temp.cmd] + CHR(0)
RetCode = CreateProcess(0, File2Run, 0, 0, 1, ;
	NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, 0, 0, @START, @process_info)

>This still pops up the black shell screen for a second. Is there any way to avoid that?