Open a URL using VBA

This is just a quick tip on opening a hyperlink using the default browser in VBA. It uses the ShellExecute Windows API call. Call the OpenHyperlink function shown below with the URL that you want to open.

Private Declare PtrSafe Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" ( _
  ByVal hWnd As Long, _
  ByVal lpOperation As String, _
  ByVal lpFile As String, _
  ByVal lpParameters As String, _
  ByVal lpDirectory As String, _
  ByVal nShowCmd As Long _
  ) As Long

Public Function OpenHyperlink(ByRef strHyperlink As String) As Long
    OpenHyperlink = ShellExecute(0, "Open", strHyperlink, vbNullString, vbNullString, vbNormalFocus)
End Function

An example of calling it is:

Call OpenHyperlink("http://blog.xoc.net")