Get path of "Program files" folder that contains 32-bit programs

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I thought I'd summarize the conclusions that can be drawn from the information scattered across all answers here, plus a bit of integration on my part. Credits to all previous answer posters!

The output of Environ for any given "program file"-related environment variable will vary depending on Windows (32 or 64 bit) as well as Office (32 or 64 bit) as follows:

Windows Office  ProgramFiles            PROGRAMFILES(X86)       ProgramW6432
------- ------  ----------------------  ---------------------   ----------------
32-bit  32-bit  C:\Program Files        [empty string]          [empty string]
64-bit  32-bit  C:\Program Files (x86)  C:\Program Files (x86)  C:\Program Files 
64-bit  64-bit  C:\Program Files        C:\Program Files (x86)  C:\Program Files

Note that for the Windows 64 bit + Office 32 bit setup, the output of Environ("ProgramFiles") does not match with the actual value of the ProgramFiles environment variable in Windows! At the command prompt, echo %ProgramFiles% returns C:\Program Files, not C:\Program Files (x86).

If you need the path to the 32 bit program files folder (C:\Program Files for 32-bit Windows, and C:\Program Files (x86) for 64-bit Windows) then you can use this function:

Function Get32BitProgramFilesPath() As String
    If Environ("ProgramW6432") = "" Then
       '32 bit Windows
       Get32BitProgramFilesPath = Environ("ProgramFiles")
    Else
       '64 bit Windows
       Get32BitProgramFilesPath = Environ("ProgramFiles(x86)")
    End If
End Function

Environ will do the trick:

debug.print Environ("ProgramFiles") 
debug.print Environ("PROGRAMFILES(X86)")

'If you want to check if current PC is x64
debug.print Environ("PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER")

List of environment variables can be found here.

UPDATE: Based on the conversation I've had with Christian and based on my comments, I looked into this a little more.

I have two machines I tested on:

  • Machine 1: Win 7 Ultimate, 64 Bit, Office 2010 64 Bit
  • Machine 2: Win 7 Ultimate, 32 Bit, Office 2007 32 Bit

I ran the following statements in the immediate window:

? Environ("ProgramFiles") 
? Environ("PROGRAMFILES(X86)")
? Environ("ProgramW6432")

Results

Machine 1:

C:\Program Files 
C:\Program Files (x86) 
C:\Program Files

Machine 2:

C:\Program Files
//Blank//
//Blank//

So, based on these limited findings, you may want to see the if ProgramW6432 has a value. If not, assume 32 bit and use ProgramFiles.

IF Environ("ProgramW6432") <> "" THEN
   'I'm 64 bit so check both ProgramW6432 and PROGRAMFILES(X86)
ELSE
   'I'm 32 bit so check ProgramFiles
END IF

Conversely, you could use PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER to determine x64 vs. x86 and do the same thing.

I wouldn't say either way is foolproof but should get you on the right track.

Tags:

Windows

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