ACC: Determining How Many Instances of Application Are Active

ID: Q167843


The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Access versions 7.0, 97

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.


SUMMARY

You can use Windows API calls in Visual Basic for Applications code to determine how many instances of an application are running. Then you can use the information to prevent re-entrance of an application that is already running.

For information about how to do this in Microsoft Access 1.x and 2.0, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q96591 ACC: Determining How Many Instances of Application Are Active
This article assumes that you are familiar with Visual Basic for Applications and with creating Microsoft Access applications using the programming tools provided with Microsoft Access. For more information about Visual Basic for Applications, please refer to your version of the "Building Applications with Microsoft Access" manual.


MORE INFORMATION

The following example uses a procedure in the Open event of a startup form to determine if Microsoft Access is already running. If it is running, a message advises the user, and then the second instance of the program closes.

  1. Start Microsoft Access and create a new, blank database called TestAPI.mdb.


  2. Create a module and type the following lines in the Declarations section:


  3. 
          '------------------------------------------
          ' Global Declarations Section Of The Module
          '------------------------------------------
    
    
          Declare Function GetWindow Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
          ByVal wCmd As Long) As Long
    
          Declare Function GetWindowText Lib "user32" Alias "GetWindowTextA" _
          (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal lpString As String, ByVal CCh As Long) _
          As Long
    
          Declare Function IsWindowVisible Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long) _
          As Long
    
          Public Const GW_HWNDFIRST = 0
          Public Const GW_HWNDLAST  = 1
          Public Const GW_HWNDNEXT  = 2
          Public Const GW_HWNDPREV  = 3 
  4. Type the following procedures:


  5. 
          ' This function returns the Caption Text of each window passed to
          ' it. If a window does not have a Caption bar, then this function
          ' returns a zero-length string ("")
    
          Function GetAppName(Lnghwnd as long)
             Dim LngResult As Long
             Dim StrWinText As String * 255
             Dim LngCCh As Long
             LngResult = GetWindowText(Lnghwnd, StrWinText, 255)
             GetAppName = Left(StrWinText, LngResult)
          End Function
    
          ' This function counts all instances of an application that are open,
          ' including any windows that are not visible.
          ' Arguments: LngHwnd        = Any valid window handle.
          '            StrAppCaption  = The window caption to search for.
          ' Example:   GetCountOfWindows(hWndAccessApp,"Microsoft Access")
          Function GetCountOfWindows(Lnghwnd, StrAppCaption)
             Dim LngResult As Long
             Dim LngICount As Long
             Dim StrAppName As String
    
             LngResult = GetWindow(Lnghwnd, GW_HWNDFIRST)
             Do Until LngResult = 0
                If IsWindowVisible(LngResult) Then
                   StrAppName = GetAppName(LngResult)
                   If InStr(1, StrAppName, StrAppCaption) Then
                      LngICount = LngICount + 1
                   End If
                End If
                LngResult = GetWindow(LngResult, GW_HWNDNEXT)
             Loop
             GetCountOfWindows = LngICount
             End Function 
  6. Save the module as Module1 and close it.


  7. Create a new form not based on any table or query in Design view.


  8. Set the OnOpen property of the form to the following event procedure:


  9. 
          Private Sub Form_Open(Cancel As Integer)
          If GetCountOfWindows(hWndAccessApp, "Microsoft Access") > 1 Then
             Cancel = True
             MsgBox "Please use the instance of Microsoft Access that is " _
                    & "already open."
             DoCmd.Quit acQuitSaveNone
          End If
          End Sub 
  10. Save the form as frmStartup and close it.


  11. On the Tools menu, click Startup.


  12. In the Startup dialog box, select frmStartup in the Display Form box, and then click OK.


  13. Close and then reopen the TestAPI database non-exclusively. Note that the frmStartup form appears.


  14. Start another instance of Microsoft Access and open the TestAPI database. Note that you receive a message, and then the instance of Microsoft Access closes.



REFERENCES

For more information about the GetWindow, GetWindowText and IsWindowVisible API procedures, refer to the Win32 SDK.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbinterop kbprg
Version : WINDOWS:7.0,97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: August 5, 1999
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