c++ ShellExecute not working

Question

I am working on a c++ program that is supposed to launch internet explorer and display a local html file on Windows 7. I am trying to use ShellExecute, but it doesn't work. I googled around, but could not find an answer that worked. Here is the code:

ShellExecute(NULL, "open", "start iexplore %userprofile%\\Desktop\\html_files\\file.hml", NULL, NULL, SW_SHOWDEFAULT);

I copied the command into a system() call just to see if it would work, and it did. Here is the system() call I tried:

system("start iexplore %userprofile%\\Desktop\\html_files\\file.html");

Since the system call worked, its clearly a problem with ShellExecute. Basically, Internet Explorer does not come up. Everything compiles correctly, though. Any ideas?

Answer 1

I dont think IE will recognize environment variables in URI's. In fact % have special meaning.

Something like this should work:

#include <windows.h>

int main()
{
     ShellExecute(NULL, "open",
                  "C:\\progra~1\\intern~1\\iexplore.exe",
                  "file:///C:/Users/UserName/Desktop/html_files/file.html",
                  "",
                  SW_MAXIMIZE); 
     return 0;
}

Another way, obtain the %userprofile% enviroment variable value and concat your URI:

#if (_MSC_VER >= 1400) 
#pragma warning(push)
#pragma warning(disable: 4996)    // Disabling deprecation... bad...
#endif 

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>

int main()
{
     std::string uri = std::string("file:///") + getenv("USERPROFILE") + "/Desktop/html_files/file.txt";

     ShellExecute(NULL, "open",
                  "C:\\progra~1\\intern~1\\iexplore.exe",
                  uri.c_str(),
                  "",
                  SW_MAXIMIZE); 

     return 0;
}

Im disabling warnings here, but you should use _dupenv_s instead of getenv.

Good luck.