# Howto: Use Flash to start programs on Active desktop

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/howto-use-flash-to-start-programs-on-active-desktop/61826>\
**Category:** flash\
**Created:** [August 22, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/howto-use-flash-to-start-programs-on-active-desktop/61826 "2004-08-22T07:14:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![iveyxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@iveyxs](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/iveyxs)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/howto-use-flash-to-start-programs-on-active-desktop/61826/1 "2004-08-22T07:14:37Z")

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try applying this action to your button:

[font=Courier New]on ([color=seagreen]release[/color]) {geturl ("[color=red]c:\WINNT\explorer.exe", “\_blank[/color]”);[/font]  
[font=Courier New]}[/font]

if you don’t use \, flash will truncate the code like this: c:\INNT\xplorer.exe", "\_blank - this obviously will not go anywhere.

You should use WINNT or WINDOWS depending on where your root directory is located.

If you just try to launch this from a regular browser or inside flash, it will prompt like your trying to download a file. Thankfully, there is no prompting when the flash page is set as the active desktop.

Hope this helps

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**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 11:06am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/howto-use-flash-to-start-programs-on-active-desktop/61826/2 "2004-08-22T11:06:01Z")

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First of… paths in Flash go this way drive:/path, and not drive\path.  
Second, you should use FSCommand and not getURL.

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**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/howto-use-flash-to-start-programs-on-active-desktop/61826/3 "2004-08-22T16:33:09Z")

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> [@deQue](#):
>
> First of… paths in Flash go this way drive:/path, and not drive\path.  
> Second, you should use FSCommand and not getURL.

Whatever works - doesn’t really matter