Launch Only One Instance

[Bobmeister]

I am supporting several users that are start the day with a clicking frenzy.
This results in their opening several instances of the Winword.exe process.
The creates error messages and quirky behavior as both instances of Word try
to latch onto and hold normal.dot only to find that the other has a hold on
it.
What do I do to insure that end users can open only one instance of
Winword.exe at a time rather than have several instances open at once? I
already checked the list of command line switches available for Winword
(Technote Q210565) and came up dry. Therefore any insights would be
appreciated.
Bob T.

 

[Beth Melton]

There is a known issue with using the Quick Launch bar in some
versions of Windows (I know it happens on Windows 95/98) where
double-clicking will attempt to launch more than one instance of
Winword.exe and both attempt to lock Normal.dot. Is this what you are
encountering?

If that is what is happening then the only workaround is to click once
on the Quick Launch shortcut or use a Desktop icon instead.

Otherwise what version of Word are you using and how are they
launching Word?

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Bobmeister]

I'm sorry for the lack of information in my initial posting. This user is
using Windows XP on a 1.8 MHz computer and the version of Word is 2000 with
SP3. I am inquiring of the end user to find the answers to questions about
how she normally launches the application.

Once Word is up and running, it is possible to open another instance of
Word without specifying a command line switch that will force a seperate
instance to start?
Bob

 

[Beth Melton]

Word 2000 shouldn't allow multiple instances of Winword.exe. It was in
Word 2000 they changed this behavior.

Now, you can still force more than one instance but it shouldn't be
happening if the user is opening a Word document or using a shortcut
to start Word unless the shortcut contains some additional
switches/parameters.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/