Launching Multiple Progams At Once

There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single click.
(E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.) Is
there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut that
launches them all.)

Comments:
(1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the Startup
folder.
(2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista seems
to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process the
next line in the batch file.

Thanks.

On Jun 21, 9:50 am, BillK62 <Bill...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single click.
> (E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.) Is
> there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut that
> launches them all.)
>
> Comments:
> (1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the Startup
> folder.
> (2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista seems
> to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process the
> next line in the batch file.
>
> Thanks.


If Vista's batch files are anything like XP's batch files, you will
need to launch the apps with the START command.

You could also try putting the shortcuts in a folder, selecting them
all and pressing enter. Just SWAG'ing here - but I know I have
accidently launched many apps and instances of apps by doing that.

In the batch file, use the "call" command to launch the apps. This will
start the desired program and immediately return control to the bat file.

call winword.exe
call excel.exe

Val
"BillK62" <> wrote in message
news:833CA237-8148-4E73-9561-...
> There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single
> click.
> (E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.) Is
> there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut
> that
> launches them all.)
>
> Comments:
> (1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the Startup
> folder.
> (2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista
> seems
> to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process the
> next line in the batch file.
>
> Thanks.

Thank you. I used the "start" command, finding its parameters by typing
"start /?" in a command window, and that did the trick. Thank you very much.

(I didn't try "call" because "start" seems to do what I need it to. The only
exception is that the "start /MAX" option doesn't seem to work on one of the
older programs I'm launching--but I'm happy now. Thanks again.)

"theclyde" wrote:

> On Jun 21, 9:50 am, BillK62 <Bill...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> > There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single click.
> > (E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.) Is
> > there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut that
> > launches them all.)
> >
> > Comments:
> > (1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the Startup
> > folder.
> > (2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista seems
> > to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process the
> > next line in the batch file.
> >
> > Thanks.
>
>
> If Vista's batch files are anything like XP's batch files, you will
> need to launch the apps with the START command.
>
> You could also try putting the shortcuts in a folder, selecting them
> all and pressing enter. Just SWAG'ing here - but I know I have
> accidently launched many apps and instances of apps by doing that.
>
>

The call command will not accomplish what is needed. Call will launch
a program and return control to the batch when the program closes. Any
issues with simultaneous launching will not go away. The start
command will spawn the application as a seperate action, allowing the
batch to resume immediately.

On Jun 21, 10:50 am, "Val" <vma...@NOSPAMrap.midco.net> wrote:
> In the batch file, use the "call" command to launch the apps. This will
> start the desired program and immediately return control to the bat file.
>
> call winword.exe
> call excel.exe
>
> Val"BillK62" <Bill...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>
> news:833CA237-8148-4E73-9561-...
>
>
>
> > There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single
> > click.
> > (E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.) Is
> > there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut
> > that
> > launches them all.)
>
> > Comments:
> > (1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the Startup
> > folder.
> > (2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista
> > seems
> > to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process the
> > next line in the batch file.
>
> > Thanks.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Oops, my bad.

It does work the inteneded way in XP, launching both apps.

Chalk this up as another way Vista breaks things.

Sigh,
Val


"theclyde" <> wrote in message
news: ups.com...
> The call command will not accomplish what is needed. Call will launch
> a program and return control to the batch when the program closes. Any
> issues with simultaneous launching will not go away. The start
> command will spawn the application as a seperate action, allowing the
> batch to resume immediately.
>
> On Jun 21, 10:50 am, "Val" <vma...@NOSPAMrap.midco.net> wrote:
>> In the batch file, use the "call" command to launch the apps. This will
>> start the desired program and immediately return control to the bat file.
>>
>> call winword.exe
>> call excel.exe
>>
>> Val"BillK62" <Bill...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:833CA237-8148-4E73-9561-...
>>
>>
>>
>> > There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single
>> > click.
>> > (E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.)
>> > Is
>> > there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut
>> > that
>> > launches them all.)
>>
>> > Comments:
>> > (1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the
>> > Startup
>> > folder.
>> > (2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista
>> > seems
>> > to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process
>> > the
>> > next line in the batch file.
>>
>> > Thanks.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
>

On Jun 21, 10:15 pm, "Val" <vma...@NOSPAMrap.midco.net> wrote:
> Oops, my bad.
>
> It does work the inteneded way in XP, launching both apps.
>
> Chalk this up as another way Vista breaks things.
>
> Sigh,
> Val
>
> "theclyde" <thecl...@happy-gods.com> wrote in message
>
> news: ups.com...
>
>
>
> > The call command will not accomplish what is needed. Call will launch
> > a program and return control to the batch when the program closes. Any
> > issues with simultaneous launching will not go away. The start
> > command will spawn the application as a seperate action, allowing the
> > batch to resume immediately.
>
> > On Jun 21, 10:50 am, "Val" <vma...@NOSPAMrap.midco.net> wrote:
> >> In the batch file, use the "call" command to launch the apps. This will
> >> start the desired program and immediately return control to the bat file.
>
> >> call winword.exe
> >> call excel.exe
>
> >> Val"BillK62" <Bill...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>
> >>news:833CA237-8148-4E73-9561-...
>
> >> > There are several programs I'd like to be able to launch with a single
> >> > click.
> >> > (E.g., Word, a Dictionary, a Thesaurus, other reference programs, etc.)
> >> > Is
> >> > there an easy way to do this within Vista? (I want to create a shortcut
> >> > that
> >> > launches them all.)
>
> >> > Comments:
> >> > (1) I don't always use them, so I don't want to put them into the
> >> > Startup
> >> > folder.
> >> > (2) I've tried doing a batch file, but on some of the programs, Vista
> >> > seems
> >> > to want for me to close out the previous program before it'll process
> >> > the
> >> > next line in the batch file.
>
> >> > Thanks.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I don't think call ever worked like that, but you may have lucked out
with the apps you are launching.