We’re working on a WPF application that is going to work closely with other applications. Right now, it is working with Microsoft Excel.
I would like to run some custom code in the install of our WPF application that scans the user’s computer and finds the location of Excel so that I can save it in the app.config file of our WPF program. Later, when we need to launch Excel to edit a file, I will use this path in the config file to pass into Process.Start().
I do not want to create an Excel Add-in or Template (not an option, so don’t suggest this as an answer).
What security concerns do we have to worry about? Is this scheme “kosher”? What if I was trying to work with another app that did not have as much plug-ability as Excel. What methods would you suggest for locating and launching this app? Is it better to simply ask the user to locate the program instead of searching the file system for it?
Edit: Anyone want to discuss the general question? What if I am not launching Excel, but some other tool (iTunes, Audacity, etc)? No one has discussed or talked about the security question. Is it OK to search for the executable? Should I just ask the user where to find it?/Edit
The install path is in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Excel\InstallRoot
14.0 might be different depending on the version.
Edit:
In general, most installers will allow users to install the app anywhere they want so the app executable could be on any disk within any folder and therefore only a recursive search of all the folders on all the drives (after common installation paths are searched) would be a reliable method of finding an executable.
Hence, it is IMO better to present users with the browse dialog and allow them to locate the executable on their own.