Question

How do I open an HTML page in the default browser with VBA? I know it’s something like:

Shell "http://myHtmlPage.com"

But I think I have to reference the program which will open the page.

Answer 1

You can use the Windows API function ShellExecute to do so:

Option Explicit

Private Declare Function ShellExecute _
  Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" ( _
  ByVal hWnd As Long, _
  ByVal Operation As String, _
  ByVal Filename As String, _
  Optional ByVal Parameters As String, _
  Optional ByVal Directory As String, _
  Optional ByVal WindowStyle As Long = vbMinimizedFocus _
  ) As Long

Public Sub OpenUrl()

    Dim lSuccess As Long
    lSuccess = ShellExecute(0, "Open", "www.google.com")

End Sub

As given in comment, to make it work in 64-bit, you need add PtrSafe in the Private Declare Line as shown below:

Private Declare PtrSafe Function ShellExecute _

Just a short remark concerning security: If the URL comes from user input make sure to strictly validate that input as ShellExecute would execute any command with the user’s permissions, also a format c: would be executed if the user is an administrator.