Start Associated Application (Tip #2206) from Leon Brumin is a utility function that accepts a filename and then initiates a Windows applications associated with the file type. This is just like double-clicking on a file in the Windows Explorer program. Files with extensions recognized by Windows cause the associated application to start. This function makes use of the VLAX functions inside Visual LISP to create a shell object that is then started with the given filename. The shell object is the avenue to the Windows operating system where the open method accepts a filename and starts up the application. Once started, the application object is released from Visual LISP, and the application can continue to run on its own. For programmers looking for an example of how to start up a spreadsheet or text editor from inside LISP, Leon comes through for you with this easy way.