How To Check If Program Is Running in the IDE or an EXE File

This article demonstrates how to determine if your program is running in the Visual Basic integrated development environment (IDE) or as a compiled executable file. You might want to check where your program is running if you need to add debugging information that would not be visible in the compiled version of your program.

There are two methods you can use to determine if your program is running from the IDE or the EXE.

Method 1: EXE File Name Differs from Project Name

The App object contains general information about the program, such as the executable file name. If the project name and the compiled version of the project have different file names, then you can use the App.EXEName property to determine if the EXE is running or if your project is running in the IDE. If the program is running from the Visual Basic IDE, the EXEName property returns the project name. When a program is running from an executable, the EXEName property contains the EXE file name.

Method 2: EXE File Name and the Project Name Are the Same

If the project name and the compiled version share the same name, then use the GetModuleFileName API function to determine if your program is running from the IDE or from a compiled version. GetModuleFileName retrieves the full path and filename for the executable file containing the specified module. If the function returns a path to the Visual Basic file, VB5.EXE, then the program is running in the IDE. Otherwise, the program is running from an executable file.

GetModuleFileName requires the following arguments:

• hModule: the handle to the module whose filename you want. Use the hInstance property of the APP object for this parameter.
• lpFilename: a pointer to buffer to receive module path. Create a string variable 255 characters long and pass that variable for this parameter.
• nSize: the size of buffering characters. Use 255 for this parameter.

The next section illustrates how to create a sample project that implements both of these methods.

Sample Project

1. Start a new Standard EXE project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by default.
2. Add two CommandButtons to Form1.
3. Copy the following code to the Code window of Form1:

         Option Explicit
   
         Private Declare Function GetModuleFileName Lib "kernel32" _
            Alias "GetModuleFileNameA" _
            (ByVal hModule As Long, _
            ByVal lpFileName As String, _
            ByVal nSize As Long) As Long
   
         Private Sub Form_Load()
            'Set the command button names
            Command1.Caption = "Different Project and Executable Names"
            Command2.Caption = "Similar File Names"
         End Sub
   
         Private Sub Command1_Click()
             'Click this button if the project name and the compiled file
             'name are different.
             MsgBox VB.App.EXEName
         End Sub
   
         Private Sub Command2_Click()
            'Click this button if the project name and the compiled file
            'name are the same.
   
            Dim strFileName As String
            Dim lngCount As Long
   
            strFileName = String(255, 0)
            lngCount = GetModuleFileName(App.hInstance, strFileName, 255)
            strFileName = Left(strFileName, lngCount)
   
            If UCase(Right(strFileName, 7)) <> "VB5.EXE" Then
                MsgBox "Compiled Version"
            Else
                MsgBox "IDE Version"
            End If
         End Sub
   						

4. Save the project with the IDEApp project name.
5. Compile two different executable files from this project. Use the default file name, IDEApp.exe, for the first executable file. For the second executable file, use the file name EXEApp. To compile the project, complete the following steps:
   
   
   • From the File menu, click Make IDEApp.exe. The Make Project dialog box appears.
   • Use the default file name or type your file name in the File name text box.
   • Click OK to create the executable file and to close the Make project Dialog box.
6. On the Run menu, click Start or press the F5 key to start the program. Click the Different Project and Executable Names button. A message box displays with the message, "IDEApp," to indicate that the program is running from the IDE. Click the Similar File Names button. A message box displays with the message, "IDE Version," to indicate the program is running from the IDE. Close down the project.
7. Run either executable file and click the CommandButtons. A message box is shown indicating the program is running from an executable file.

For information about determining if a 16-bit Visual Basic application is running in the design environment, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: