 <p><code>ShellExecute</code> or <code>CreateProcess</code> should be able to open link file. If they can't find the associated file and/or the program, you can always use those API and delegate the hard work to "cmd start" or "explorer". E.g. <code>ShellExecute(0, "open", "explorer", linkfile, 0, SW_SHOW);</code></p>