MOM/OSB Application Button/Command Always Runs New Instance (124062)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Office for Windows 4.0
- Microsoft Office for Windows 4.2
- Microsoft Office for Windows 4.2c
- Microsoft Office for Windows 4.3
- Microsoft Office for Windows 4.3c
- Microsoft Office for Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q124062 SYMPTOMS
When you click an MS-DOS program button or a 16-bit (legacy) Windows
program on the Microsoft Office Manager (MOM) toolbar or the Microsoft
Office Shortcut Bar, a new instance of the program is started, even if an
instance of the same program is currently running.
CAUSEMicrosoft Office Shortcut Bar
With the Office Shortcut Bar, this behavior occurs because when you click
a program's button or command on the Shortcut Bar, the Shortcut Bar
only checks the 32-bit layer in memory in Windows 95 and doesn't check the
16-bit subsystem where MS-DOS and legacy programs are loaded. Therefore,
the Office Shortcut Bar does not detect that a 16-bit program is already
running, and starts a new instance of that program.
Microsoft Office Manager
Under Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups, this behavior occurs because
when you choose a program's button or command from MOM, MOM checks to
see if it can locate the executable file (*.exe or *.com) for the
program in memory. If MOM locates the file, it then activates that
instance of the program. If the executable file is not currently loaded
in memory, MOM starts the program.
However, when you run an MS-DOS program in Microsoft Windows, the
program is loaded within the Cmd.exe shell. When an MS-DOS program
is running, MOM only detects the Cmd.exe file in memory, and doesn't detect
that the MS-DOS program's executable file is loaded in memory. MOM then
loads a new instance of the program.
WORKAROUND
To avoid running another instance of an MS-DOS program (or under Windows
95, another instance of a legacy program), switch to the program by using
any of the following methods.
Method 1: Press and hold down the ALT key, and press the TAB key repeatedly
until the program that you want to switch to is selected.
Release the TAB key to activate the program.
Method 2: (Windows 95) Click the program on the Windows taskbar.
Method 3: (Windows 3.1 and Windows For Workgroups) Run Task Manager by
doing the following:
- Press CTRL+ESC to run Task Manager.
- In the Task List, click the program that you want
to activate, and click Switch To.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products
listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem
and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it
becomes available.
REFERENCES
For more information about how to Switch Between Programs, choose the
Search button in Microsoft Office Help and type:
Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 8/16/2005 |
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Keywords: | KB124062 |
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