Automation Slower Than Windows Explorer

[Neil]

I have an Access 2000 mdb file which opens MS Word docs using automation.
Our WAN is somewhat slow, and it takes about six seconds to open Word and
the specified document (20 KB) from within Access using automation. I also
noticed that if I use Shell to open Winword and the document, or if I just
enter the document name from a Command window, it also takes 6 seconds.
However, if I double-click on the file from Windows Explorer to open Word
and the file, it only takes 4 seconds.

Any ideas as to why opening the file from Windows Explorer is faster than
any of the other above-mentioned methods?

Thanks.

 

[Wayne Morgan]

It may have to do with Caching. Once a file has been opened once, it will
open quicker the next time. There may also be something in Explorer that
pre-caches some aspect of opening the file when it sees it as you browse the
folder (such as already having the connection to the network folder open),
but this has to be done without warning when you call the file from within
code.

 

[Terry Kreft]

You're actually using three different methods to open the file
Automation
Command line
DDE

Having said that, entering the document path alone in the run box or double
clicking on the file should both be using DDE. teh difference in results
could be doe to cacheing or some other network glitch of which we are
unaware.

In order to get a statistically sound group of tests I would try all the
methods at least 10 times each and take the average time before comparing.