Running a WinForms application using Excel VBA

Question

I have written a WinForms application in vb.NET using vs 2017. The application opens an excel Workbook which contains a document register, and updates the files as necessary.

I am very happy with the application, however one possible improvement I would like to pursue would be to attach the application to a macro in the Excel worksheet that the application updates, as the users of the application tend to open this worksheet by habit as it is.

I have the following code, which opens the application from the document register:

Sub AppMacro_Click()
Dim AppOpen
AppOpen = Shell("C:\Document Updater.exe", 1)
End Sub

The user can then run the application.

The problem with this method is that the application checks that no user has the workbook open, so that it can open the original copy (workbook is on a network drive), so if the user runs the macro, they will then have to close down the workbook before clicking the run button on the application. I would prefer if this didn't have to be the case.

What I would like to achieve is the following:

1) If the user runs the application using the macro, the application adapts and updates the opened workbook (as long as it isn't read-only)

2) If the user runs the application as usual, it still detects that no other user has the workbook open

What would be the best way to achieve this?

Answer 1

In general storing a workbook on a shared folder to be accessed/modified by multiple users is usually asking for trouble, you are better off using an Access DB if your users pool is fairly small or use full grown SQL (mySQL, SQL Server). Also since you have a working application in .NET where the user is very dependent on Excel, I would recommend you transition to an Excel Add-in. It is really easy and your solution would be more integrated with Excel