ShellExecute / ShellExecuteEx cause Notes 6/7 to hang launching TIF files

HCL Domino Domino Forum
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I created an app ages ago that lets users enter an order number and it launches the TIF file of the same name from a NAS device. This works perfectly on Windows 2000 or Windows 2000 Server (Terminal Services).

However, on XP or Windows Server 2003, the Image And Fax Viewer starts to load then it hangs. Notes passes control just fine, but the Image And Fax Viewer won’t finish loading the image and ends up as Not Responding and has to be killed.

Now for the truly bizarre parts:

  1. Only TIF images hang. BMP, JPG, GIF and PNG all load just fine using the Image And Fax Viewer app that comes with XP. All other file types load just fine from ShellExecute, only TIF cause a problem. I can double-click the images and they load, but using ShellExecute or ShellExecutEx causes the viewer to hang.

  2. It only hangs from Notes. The same code in VB5, VB 2005, Access 2000 and Access 2003 works perfectly. I get the same results from ShellExecuteEx, too, so it appears to be something with the way Notes is interacting with the Win32 API.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

There are two posts here from other people having problems (one in the R4/5 forum), but I didn’t see any resolution.

Thanks,

Charles

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Subject: ShellExecute / ShellExecuteEx cause Notes 6/7 to hang launching TIF files

I found the Kodak Imaging for Windows software and installed it on my XP and Windows 2003 Server Terminal Services boxes and it works just fine. Rather than using ShellExecute I simply use Shell {"C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\Imageview\kodakimg.exe " sPath & sFile}. It works just like it did on Win2k.