EXEC() Command Can Cause System Integrity Error in Excel

ID: Q68419

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel versions 2.x, the following command starts Word for Windows and loads the file ISV.DOC: 


   =EXEC("c:\winword\isv.doc",1)


If you execute this macro command in Microsoft Excel version 3.0 or 4.0, the following error will be displayed:
This application has violated system integrity and will be terminated; close all applications, exit Windows, and reboot your computer.
If you execute this macro command in Microsoft Excel version 5.0, the following error will be displayed:
Cannot access the file at this time. Make sure the file is not in use by another program, and is a valid program file.


WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do the following:

  1. Specify the application and a fully qualified path.


  2. Specify the document name.


The following example works correctly: 


   =EXEC("c:\winword\winword.exe c:\winword\isv.doc",1)

Additional query words: 3.0 4.0 4.00a 


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Last Reviewed: March 21, 1999